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A Message from the Executive Director
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It is the season to give thanks,
so from all of us at the Maine Women's Fund, Thank You
for your support in so many ways: as volunteers, donors, event attendees, grantees.
I
t is our honor and
pleas
ure
to serve, and we are grateful for your
involvement
.
This newsletter should be finding you just before Thanksgiving, before the rush of retail overindulgence we call Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and
finally,
Cyber Monday. Well, not "finally," really,
because
after the spending spree, we have the ability to give back to our non-profits on Giving Tuesday. This year you can donate once, quick and easy, or become an active fundraiser yourself. We'll be celebrating Giving Tuesday for a few weeks, so take advantage of our
user-
friendly
tools and help your friends and family find
this
great organization for their Giving Tuesday.
Be generous; be bold.
I had the great pleasure of introducing our first Swift Grantees at a Celebration we held earlier this fall (more below). I learned so much from them about their work, living in Maine during these times, and how very
resilient
people can be. We are incredibly grateful to all the donors to the Karen Moran Leadership Fund which has helped to make this exciting new grant program possible. It is helping the Fund to be more inclusive in our work.
And thank you to those who came to our
inaugural
Women Mean Business forum Nov. 2. If you went and haven't taking
our
evaluation survey yet, you can find it here. This is the first of what we
plan to create as a more diverse, year-round set of events to
highlight
women
in business, the community, and our lives through the lens of equity and power. In that vein, o
ur signature luncheon is back for 2018! Save the Date: Thursday, April 26, 2018, at the Holiday Inn
By
the Bay. Yes, it's the same place, but we're working to re-imagine the event to keep it fresh and relevant; if you are interested in joining that committee, just give me a call or e-mail and you can join our next meeting. We need volunteers to help generate sponsors, plan the actual event, and create the marketing - we need you!
It is the time to give thanks, and again, Thank You for all you do for women and girls.
Until next time,
Megan Hannan
Executive Director
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The Maine Women's Fund was thrilled to host our first celebration of the Swift Grantees this fall! Hearing the stories about what these amazing women and their organizations are doing to take advantage of the opportunities or address the threats women and girls are experiencing in their communities across the state left us deeply moved by their strength and courage, and thrilled to continue to find ways to support social justice activities by and for communities of women and girls at risk because of the current political and cultural environment through the
Swift Social Justice Grants Program
!
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We had
the opportunity to tour their new facility, and see all that has been so generously donated from their friends, advocates and neighbors in Mid Coast Maine. They tend to treat people with very complex health histories, and have the ability to provide to mental, physical and dental care to their patients as well as help them access the medications they may need to help treat mental, physical or dental issues. Oasis was founded by retired physicians and has always had a plethora of (mostly male) retired doctors and dentists who keep the center running. Just a few years ago they made the decision to hire a paid Executive Director and a paid Medical Director, both of whom are relatively young women, and they are experiencing a shift in the volunteer providers who provide most of the care to their patients too. The changes they are experiencing are reflective of our economy more generally - and the rapid changes the health system has been and continues to experience. To learn more about Oasis and the services it provides, call (207) 721-9277.
Our site visit to Oasis Free Clinics also has us thinking about the ACA enrollment period this year - which is in full swing but has been shortened to: November 1, 2017 - December 15, 2017. For more information about available health plans, call your local health insurance agent, check out
enroll207.com or
healthcare.gov or call Maine's own
Consumers for Affordable Health Care hotline at 1-800-965-7476 to learn more and find out how to apply. Consumers for Affordable Health Care can also help you figure out what other options you may have if the ACA plans are not a good fit for you.
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Please join the Maine Women's Fund for an evening with Shay Stewart-Bouley,
founder of Black Girl in Maine Media, for a participatory discussion
"From Talk to Action: Talking about Racism and How to Take a Stand Against Hate"
at the Apohadion Theater in Bayside.
Challenge Yourself - look critically at racism in our communities and our nation by examining the roots of white supremacy and how the past impacts our present.
Make Change - we'll be sharing and learning practical tools to start conversations about racism and difference in predominantly white spaces and to take action to combat racism.
Click here to register!
For more information: contact Kimberly Crichton, Grants Director at
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On behalf of the staff and board of the Maine Women's Fund, thank you for
investing in the power of women and girls.
Office location:
74 Lunt Road, Suite 100, Falmouth, ME 04105
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The Maine Women's Fund thanks MaineShare for its ongoing support. MaineShare makes it easy to donate to more than 30 statewide organizations working every day to make Maine a better place to live. For more information, please visit the
website.
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