On Saturday, Feb. 16, The Bridgton Historical Society hosted a meeting with several community leaders to find out how it can better serve the community and fulfill its mission.

The outcome of the meeting went beyond a few specific ideas for the society, as a strong feeling emerged that there was a tremendous need for the nonprofits in Bridgton to find ways to work more closely together, to pool their resources and coordinate their efforts. The group intends to continue to meet and hopes to include many more organizations.

Those in attendance agreed that a collaborative, community-oriented approach was particularly important in the current economic climate, where an increasing number of worthy causes are clamoring for a piece of what seems to be a shrinking pie.

Instead of several organizations holding competing, similar activities on a given summer weekend, for example, different organizations could collaborate with different activities around one theme. Carmen Lone, executive director of the Bridgton Community center, also pointed out that there are a number of grant programs that were simply too big for any one group to apply for, but if a consortium of nonprofits pooled their resources, they would be in an excellent position to submit a competitive application.

It was also agreed that many of the problems came down to a lack of public awareness of the various organizations and what they do, and the group’s first concrete project will help to address this issue. The historical society is planning a town-wide mailing of its newsletter in June, to kick off the busy summer season, and representatives from other organizations were enthusiastic about helping to defray the printing and mailing costs in exchange for space to publicize their own activities.

In addition to Carmen Lone and Ned Allen, president of the Bridgton Historical Society, the meeting was attended by Holly Hancock, Bridgton Public Library Director, Caroline Jordan from the South Bridgton Congregational Church, Sheila Rollins from the Rotary Club, and Stephen Oliver, director of Affinity Arts.

The group plans to meet again Saturday, March 15, at 9 a.m., at the Bridgton Historical Society Museum on Gibbs Avenue in Bridgton, and is inviting representatives from any other interested nonprofit groups in Bridgton to attend. For further information, contact Ned Allen at 647-5977, or e-mail the historical society at info@bridgtonhistory.org.

Ned Allen

President, Bridgton Historical Society