Stephanie Keene of Hearts & Horses, right, receives a $4,850 donation from Candace Laliberte, center, of the Michael Goulet Foundation. To the left is Laliberte’s son, Henry, and Karen Rice of Buxton, a riding center staff member, Robert Lowell / American Journal

Big gift for Hearts & Horses

A Scarborough woman delivered a $4,850 check donation from her family’s foundation last week to Hearts & Horses, a therapeutic riding center in Buxton.

Candace Laliberte’s brother, Michael Goulet, suffered a brain injury in a snowmobile accident when he was 13 and he died at age 21 in 2010 from complications related to the injury, she said. He was a psychology major at Saint Joseph’s College in Standish.

Laliberte’s father organized the nonprofit Michael Goulet Foundation to benefit others with brain injuries and to help prevent injuries.

Hearts & Horses will use its donation from the foundation for helmets and for riding center scholarships for those who have had traumatic brain injuries and seizure disorders, founder Stephanie Keene said.

Laliberte’s son, Henry, 8, takes riding lessons at the center, and she said the donation to the Hearts & Horses program was “so apparent.”

Hearts & Horses offers riding lessons to all ages and abilities. Its programs include therapeutic riding for individuals with physical, emotional and developmental disabilities at 63 Justin Merrill Road in Buxton. It can be reached at 929-4700. Learn more at heartsnhorses.com.

The Goulet Foundation has distributed more than 3,000 multi-sport helmets a year in Maine, according to the foundation’s website. It has also given thousands of dollars in individual scholarships. The foundation can be reached at 229-2072 or michaelgouletfoundation@gmail.com.

Keep the Heat On needs volunteers

Keep the Heat On, a program to assist Buxton residents in paying for home heating fuel, needs volunteers to help bag up returnable bottles and cans.

Ed Newell of Buxton founded the program in 2005 to assist the town’s elderly residents on fixed incomes in managing the rising costs of heating fuel. The Select Board appoints three residents to a committee to manage the fund.

Returnable bottles and cans are donated to the program, dropped off at the Buxton Transfer Station at 185 Portland Road. The money earned from the deposits goes directly to the Keep the Heat On fund. Cash donations are also accepted, and residents can participate in the program’s fundraisers throughout the year.

To volunteer or contribute, contact Krystal Dyer, a committee member, at 929-5191, ext. 1135.