The Midcoast Maine Chapter founding members of 100+ Women Who Care gathered Sept. 9 at the American Legion in Bath to pick the first recipient of a speed dating—style grant.

Every pink tablecloth—covered table was occupied; 150 participants arrived at 6 p.m., eager to cast their votes.

The names of three area nonprofits were plucked from a jar: Teens to Trails, Sullivan’s Sanctuary of Maine and Midcoast Literacy. After listening to a five-minute presentation from each nominated group, the women voted. The winner was Midcoast Literacy. 

The process is similar to speed dating but bound by the belief that if you take a $50 check and add another and another, you’ll soon have a sizeable chunk of change in your hands. After choosing the group’s first donation recipient, members wrote a check or made an electronic payment. 

$6,550 was raised at the event, and the giving cycle will remain open through Dec. 8. The next meeting is scheduled for Dec. 9, where Midcoast Literacy Executive Director Dan Burson will receive a check with the sum total.

Each contender gave a convincing argument, with many murmuring during the voting period, “I wish I could choose all three.”

Teens to Trails touted its success in implementing 68 outdoor clubs in schools statewide, offering experiences in nature — skiing, ice fishing and camping — to 4,000 kids in 2023. With a $365,000 budget to support four staff members, the rest goes toward schools — 77% of whom, according to Executive Director Alicia Heyburn, “have no wiggle room to introduce professional training or transportation for club outings.” 

Sullivan Sanctuary of Maine, founded by Brunswick resident Casey Sullivan, is run out-of-pocket, aside from the rare birthday GoFundMe. What began as a care ethic turned into a commitment — now, overflow animals from the Humane Society wind up at Sullivan’s “cat condo,” which she keeps heated, cooled and full of food throughout the year. 

Ultimately, the founding members voted in favor of Bree Candland’s speech, a teacher at Morse High School in Bath who nominated Midcoast Literacy. 

Midcoast Literacy

Candland helps administratively at events and recruits some of her Morse students to help at Midcoast Literacy’s annual Reader’s Theater program.

The group has been around for 54 years, providing free programs to people of all ages in Lincoln, Sagadahoc and northern Cumberland counties. Founded in 1970, originally known as Literacy Volunteers of Bath, it became Tri-County Literacy after a 2003 merger, then Midcoast Literacy in 2018. 

“Low literacy is an invisible problem,” said Candland, noting that 13% of adults in Maine (roughly 12,000 people) can’t read above the fifth-grade level. “Literacy opens doors and provides access to stable employment, which is why we provide free tutoring for kids, adults and non-native Mainers learning English as a second language [ESL], to help families break out of generational poverty.” 

Volunteers offer more than one-on-one tutoring. They run additional programs such as workplace literacy — group classes for ESL learners held on-site at local businesses — and a summer book initiative, offering free books to children participating in local summer food service programs. 

Last year, 180 child and adult learners received free tutoring, and 2,112 free books were distributed. 

With the impact donation, Candland said the group plans to buy more supplies, pay rent for the library space tutors use daily and train new volunteers. 

Looking forward

During the voting period, Aimee Marzan, a recent recipient of $24,000 from the Southern Maine Chapter of 100+ Women Who Care, spoke. 

Madeline’s Mission, formed after her daughter’s death, has an annual operating budget of roughly $20,000. She explained how the impact donation allowed the nonprofit to say yes to some more long-term projects they had planned. 

“It’s a game changer,” Marzan said. “It reaffirms that what they’re trying to accomplish in the community — closing the gap in bereavement services — is seen and supported.” 

Like Marzan, when Burson receives the check on Dec. 9, he too will address the crowd. 

Cindy Marsh, founding member of the Midcoast chapter of 100+ Women Who Care, said she couldn’t have been more proud to see women across all age groups willing to give the new group a chance. 

The Midcoast chapter is currently accepting nominations for its next meeting this winter. The goal is to reach 200 members by December — which has already risen to 170 since Monday — and find a few businesses willing to sponsor a quarterly donation to the two groups that present but don’t get chosen.

“We’re going to be around a long time,” Marsh said. “We hope 10 years down the line when we’ve raised $1 million, kept it local, solved some problems, all the founding members feel proud.”

Correction: Due to a reporting error, an earlier version of this story misspelled Midcoast Literacy Executive Director Dan Burson’s last name.