Social service organizations grateful for support of Windham residents

 By Ed Pierce

Agencies and social service organizations that provide valuable assistance when needed to residents of Windham want to recognize the town for its continued support and generosity.

The town of Windham has donated $2,000 to
LifeFlight of Maine as a charitable grant to
help the organization to continue to offer critical
care and medical transport services when required
for Maine residents. COURTESY PHOTO

Each year the town of Windham sets aside funding in its budget approved by town residents during the annual town meeting in June for deserving community agencies and the Windham Town Council makes funding awards based upon need and applications it receives. During the Windham Town Council meeting last month, Windham Town Manager Barry Tibbetts shared three letters that the town has received thanking Windham residents for their support.

Colleen Hilton, the president of Northern Light Home Care & Hospice, sent a letter to the town thanking Windham residents for their donation of $1,000.

“Rest assured that the funds you have awarded us will be used to care for patients who lack sufficient health insurance or require our telehealth program for daily monitoring,” Hilton wrote. “As you know, our patients are primarily the frail elderly, and all are homebound. Some are recovering from illness or surgery or may be managing one or more chronic illnesses while others have elected to spend their remaining days at home under hospice care.”

Hilton said many people that they assist are lonely and isolated who look forward to their visit by a clinician.

“Indeed, sometimes for some, their only visitor is their nurse,” she wrote. “We thank you once again for your continued support and generosity.”

Northern Light Home Care & Hospice is a non-profit organization providing direct, personalized care throughout Maine. It is committed to making visits to those at home who are recovering from illness and surgery and offers hospice and other programs to help those who prefer to spend their remaining days in the comfort of their own home. It addresses public health nursing by offering immunization clinics, adult health clinics, and education and awareness events for all ages.

Megan M. Walton, Chief Executive Officer for the Southern Maine Agency on Aging, also wrote to Tibbetts expressing gratitude for a $5,000 donation made on behalf of the town to the agency.

“For more than 40 years, the Southern Maine Agency on Aging has provided residents of York and Cumberland counties with resources and assistance to address the issues and concerns of aging,” Walton wrote. “The agency serves 20,000 individuals each year on our efforts to improve the physical, social, and emotional well-being of Maine’s older population. Thank you for support of SMAA, and for helping to create better days for Windham residents.”

SMAA is a non-profit organization dedicated to planning and implementing social services for adults ages 60 and older, prioritizing those with the greatest economic and social need, including low-income individuals, BIPOC communities, and individuals residing in rural areas. It provides many services and programs for seniors on a variety of issues, be they financial, medical, or personal. SMAA offers seminars to help navigate the array of insurance and Medicare options, delivers important dietary and fitness practices, and provides older adults with the opportunity to stay active in the community via participation or volunteerism.

Kate O’Halloran, Executive Director for LifeFlight of Maine, expressed her organization’s appreciation for Windham’s donation of $2,000 to their vital life-saving mission.

“We hope you take great pride in knowing what a difference your support makes,” O’Halloran said. “We are incredibly grateful. For your support and belief in LifeFlight’s vision for Maine in which every person in every community has access to critical care and medical transport when they need it.”

LifeFlight of Maine offers critical care and medical transport services when required for Maine residents. It achieves its mission by working with EMS partners such as Windham Fire/Rescue to transform the critical care transport medicine system into an integrated, high quality, patient-centered system worthy of the public’s trust.

The Little Sebago Lake Association’s Board of Directors also wrote to the town to thank residents for Windham’s grant of $10,000 to the association.

“Little Sebago Lake Association thanks you for your generous support of our fundraising efforts,” LSLA board members wrote. “Member contributions like yours help us raise the funds necessary to maintain the dam, control invasive plants, monitor water quality, and promote safe boating on our lake.”

The association is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation that owns and operates Hopkins Dam. Its mission is to protect, restore, and improve Little Sebago Lake’s water quality and fragile ecosystem. It aims to create and nurture a community of lake stewards, educate users on lake safety, and always be mindful that human needs must be balanced with the needs of the natural environment.

The LSLA board thanked Windham for partnering with them in the commitment to safeguard Little Sebago Lake’s environment and to be advocates for all Little Sebago property owners.

“Our goals could not be achieved without the generous support of devoted friends like you,” the board wrote. <