Hi all –

I was contacted by Jeanne Shaw at the Whitefield Food Bank to see if I could find a volunteer willing to plow the St. Denis Church Parish Hall when it snows on a Friday.  The church provides plow service on Saturdays for the Hall so this would be a rare (presumably) occasion when it is a plowable snow that happens Thursday night or Friday morning on the first Friday of the month when the Food Bank is open.

If you are able to help or know someone who would be willing to provide this service please let me know!  Thanks.

Best,

Lise Hanners

Hi all –

We had a group of about 10 people join our Zoom meeting which was great!  We used the time to catch up on activities we have performed to help our Whitefield neighbors.  We were fortunate to have Brittany Gill join us; Brittany is the Project Manager for the Community Home Improvement Project (CHIP, Inc.) that helps people in Whitefield with home improvements and heating fuel support.  Below are announcements of upcoming opportunities to help others as well as a summary of some ongoing projects.

1. Winter Sand for Seniors – Lise Hanners was able to use some of the funding provided to Whitefield Cares! via the Maine Community Foundation’s Lifelong Communities Mini-grants, to buy 5 gallon paint buckets.  The buckets will be kept at Town Office and when someone calls to request a sand bucket delivery, a volunteer will pick up the bucket and fill it (2/3 full?, not all the way) at the Town sand shed, then deliver it the appropriate address.  Please let Lise know if you are willing to deliver buckets, we already have two volunteers, Tony Marple and Mike McMorrow.  And let your friends and neighbors know about this service.  We are advertising on the Town website and putting up fliers at Town Office, the Food Bank, and local stores.
2. A previous post on this website described two opportunities to help neighbors that came through contacts with Brittany Gill at CHIP, Inc.  A resident from Somerville requested help with yard work and Remy Henry was willing to help.  Also, a resident of Whitefield requested help making his trailer weather-proof and Frank Ober and Mike McMorrow held up their hands to help!  I am so hopeful that our budding relationship with CHIP will help us connect with people who need help – with these efforts we are on our way!
3. The Whitefield Cares! Resource List (available on this website) is a summary of local places people can get help with food, housing, clothing, and other needs.  This was originally put together last fall when we first started meeting.  I will be working on updating the list with George Fergusson – I’m sure much has changed during this time of Covid-19 and will update the list again once we’re all able to interact again.
4. Jim Torbert asked about where contributions of Christmas presents for children could be made.  He will be contacting the Whitefield School which is taking donations now.
5. George and Margaret Fergusson have been delivering school breakfasts and lunches to about 9 families in Whitefield.  This is ongoing.
6. The Food Bank made a request for help in picking up supplies from Damariscotta and Mike McMorrow was able to help.  This is an ongoing big project and I’m sure Mike would appreciate more support.

Please let me know if any of these projects interest you and if you are available to help out.  And I will continue to post occasional updates when we learn of identified needs.  Thanks for joining the Zoom call and I hope to hold another meeting in the Spring.  Stay safe and warm!

Hi all –

I am scheduling a Zoom meeting for Friday, December 11, at 10:30 AM to bring us together and get reacquainted.  My agenda is pretty simple – I have a few opportunities for us to help neighbors that I will tell you about and seek volunteers.  And then we’ll open up the floor to see what everyone has been up to.  I think you’ll be surprised at how many people have continued to help each other and their neighbors through the pandemic.  And hopefully we can keep our energy high and keep moving forward until we can gather in person once again.

To join the meeting you have to download Zoom onto whatever device you want to use and click this link or paste it into your browser:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89361523806?pwd=dUZvYVZCdThMUW1GWGt4dC9nZkdsQT09

Open up Zoom and there we’ll be!  Unmute yourself and join the party.  I will also be sending everyone an invite via email for those have signed up for the Whitefield Cares! emails.  I look forward to seeing everyone soon!

Best,

Lise Hanners

Happy December Everyone –

I received an email from Brittany Gill, the Project Manager at the Community Housing Improvement Project (CHIP, Inc), looking for volunteers or contractors in our area.  She recently met with a Whitefield man who lives in a small, self-built home that needs a piece of skirting installed under his deck and possibly a creative solution to keep snow from piling in front of his sole entrance/exit.

Also, an elderly couple in Somerville is looking for a trust-worthy handi-person to help with various repairs and yard work.

Are any of you interested in helping out?  Or do you know someone interested?  Thanks for considering this opportunity, just let me know.  I am hopeful that next summer we can build a relationship with CHIP bringing our volunteers to projects they identify in Whitefield.  Once things settle down a bit…..

Look for an email from me in the next day or so regarding a Zoom call I want to hold next week to bring us back together and share what we’ve been up to, helping our neighbors!

Best,

Lise Hanners