The River Fund Maine-December 2020 Newsletter

Quarterly Newsletter

December 2020 | Volume 1

Feature Articles

An Exciting New Chapter for

The River Fund Maine

2020 has been a challenging year, For TRFM it has also been an exceptional opportunity to serve our community. Your generous support has sent a local student to college, offered creative problem-solving workshops for students, and —during the COVID-19 crisis—provided meals for food-insecure families, as well as internet access and laptops for all local students who otherwise had no access to on-line schooling. The positive results of your support are powerfully felt throughout our community.

Thank you for doing so very much good! As we look forward to 2021, The River Fund Maine is excited to welcome our new Executive Director, Noah Tanguay-Collins. Noah brings an unmatched commitment to this community and a wealth of new ideas to TRFM. I guarantee that Noah will never waiver from his belief that you can have a whole lot of fun while giving back to a community that means so much to all of us. We look forward to seeing you on the slopes soon!

-Leslie Jones, Board President

Directing The River Fund Maine: 2021 Events & Taking in Hand TRFM Reins

First and most important, I hope you and your families are having a healthy, happy, holiday season.

Reflecting on what has certainly been a turbulent year, there are many bright spots to look back on, and so many more to look forward to in the coming months. Adapting with the current landscape, we will be hosting our second Dare to Dream Design Thinking Workshop, hosted by Gould Academy’s Sara Shifrin. The workshop will be held virtually this February, and we could not be more excited to see how the students tackle this year’s complex, and region-specific scenario.

Though gathering was difficult this year, we are proud to have hosted nearly all of our events (with some restructuring) and, after much anticipation, we couldn't be more excited to host the inaugural Master of The Mountain event March 14, 2021 at Sunday River. Signups go live January 1, 2021.

Also going live on January 1, 2021 is registration for the third annual Ridge2River Challenge. This one-of-a-kind trail running event is the product of a collaboration between The River Fund Maine, Mahoosuc Land Trust and Inland Woods & Trails which find commonality in our collective work to provide educational and recreational opportunities for area youth.

These first few weeks in the Executive Director role have been a thrill. I can’t wait to see what we all accomplish in the New Year.

See you out on the slopes!

-Noah Tanguay-Collins, Executive Director

In Luci's Words: Friendships, Social Distancing and the President's List

Hello to The River Fund Maine Community!

Despite the unfortunate circumstances of COVID-19 and its guidelines that influenced my first semester at Husson, I had a great beginning to my college life. I have made some amazing friends on my basketball team and with my roommate. Classes have been difficult due to social distancing and the material, but I am excited to be taking the healthcare classes of my major.

During the week of Thanksgiving, students were sent home until next semester. The transition from in-person to online classes at home has been a challenging adjustment, but it’s nothing I haven't done before.

I am looking forward to enjoying the holidays and spending more time with my family while we are all staying safe. I’m beginning my final exams for the semester so wish me luck! My goal is to make the President's List for Husson this semester, and as of right now, I am on track!

-Luci Rothwell, TRFM Scholar

TRFM Board Member Profile:

Caitlyn Mosher Ellis, Find the Cause

For more than 20 years I have worked in the nonprofit sector, largely in development efforts. Currently, I am the Executive Director of a breast cancer research nonprofit in Boston. On the weekends though, you can find my husband Jason and me. along with our dog Surfer, beating traffic to head north as soon as we can.

We built our home in Newry five years ago as a place for us to recreate in our off time and enjoy the ski season. After long days on the slopes and tired legs—and a stop at the Matterhorn—we come back with great stories to share and having had plenty of laughs with our friends.

From the moment that we broke ground for our mountain home, I have felt a deep connection to the people of this community. I had an immediate sense of belonging and a need to give back to an area that gives us so much. I wanted to channel my experience in fundraising to support the area we love in a meaningful way.

I have been a TRFM board member for almost two years and have enjoyed seeing the growth in the reach and service The River Fund Maine can have that makes such an impact for so many, especially during these challenging times. I am honored this year to be the new Vice President of the Board and look forward to great things to come.

-Caitlyn Mosher Ellis

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