Press Release
The Maine Seacoast Mission is accepting scholarship applications until Friday, March 29 for the 2024-2025 academic year. Mission scholarships are open to graduating high school seniors and adults who have completed the HiSET or GED, who live in Washington County, eastern Hancock County or on a Maine outer island served by the Mission.
The Maine Seacoast Mission's Housing Improvement program helps Downeast homeowners
keep their homes accessible, warm and dry. MSM photo.
Since 1918, the Mission has awarded almost $3 million to more than 3,500 students from Maine’s outer islands and Downeast coastal communities. For the 2023-2024 academic year, 75 Mission Scholars received $211,500 in scholarships. Seventy-two percent of those scholars attended a college in Maine and 46 percent of the scholars attended a University of Maine campus or a Maine community college. Each year approximately 20 new scholarships are awarded.
In addition to offering financial support, the Mission provides guidance throughout each scholar’s transition to college and during their academic career. Moira, a current Mission Scholar who graduated from Charles M. Sumner Learning Campus, said the Mission staff “were always happy to chat with me if I had any questions, connect me with resources that might help my academic career and show their support in little ways that mattered.”
“The Mission offer regular workshops for our Scholars once they enter college, on topics ranging from time management to graduate school,” Oliveri added.
For more information on schools and to apply, click here. For inquiries about scholarships, email scholarships@seacoastmission.org or call (207) 814-8546.
The Maine Seacoast Mission also operates a Housing Improvement program for homeowners in Washington and eastern Hancock counties. The program, established in 2003, brings hundreds of volunteers to Cherryfield each year to make improvements to homes in the Mission’s service area. Applications are also open for groups who would like to volunteer this summer.
“This program has allowed community members to stay in their homes which is vital to our mission of supporting and strengthening communities,” says Jennifer Kempthorne, Housing Improvement program director.
In addition to providing repairs, the Mission partners with Downeast Community Partners (DCP), which identifies homes DCP can weatherize after Mission volunteers make improvements. This work lowers homeowners’ heating costs over time. This partnership between the Mission and DCP is supported by the C.F. Adams Charitable Trust. The program also connects recipients to other resources available from the Mission and partnering organizations offering comprehensive support to individuals and families.
Homeowners qualify for the Housing Improvement program if they self-identify as low to moderate income, provide proof of homeownership, own one home, live in the home receiving repairs and reside within a 30-minute drive from the Mission’s Cherryfield campus.
Homeowners can apply online through the Housing Improvement web page. For assistance in applying, call 546-4466 or visit the Mission’s Cherryfield office.