BAR HARBOR, MAINE – Bar Harbor Bank & Trust is pleased to present donations from its employee-driven charitable giving program, Casual for a Cause. After pooling all contributions from employees and directors collected during fourth quarter 2018, and tallying employee votes for non-profit beneficiaries, the following organizations each received a generous gift: Healthy Acadia’s DownEast Teen Leadership Camp (Machias, ME), Friends Program, Inc. (Concord, NH), and Vermont Institute for Natural Science (Quechee, VT).
“Gifts through our Casual for a Cause program truly make a difference in our communities. Our collective support enhances nonprofit community programs, leading to greater economic prosperity for local individuals and families,” said Jack Frost, VP, Director of Community Giving at Bar Harbor Bank & Trust. “By simply wearing jeans or less formal business attire on Friday and contributing to Casual for a Cause, our employees are making a big difference in the communities they serve.”
“We are grateful to Bar Harbor Bank & Trust employees for their incredible support of the DownEast Teen Leadership Camp,” said Terri Woodruff, Camp Coordinator with DownEast Teen Leadership Camp. “Campers come to camp for the fun and empowering experience. They gain communication, decision making, and leadership skills, which they carry with them into their family, school and community circles. This generous gift helps ensure we will not turn anyone away.”
DownEast Teen Leadership Camp (DETLC) is an annual, five-day residential summer camp program for teens entering grades 7 to 9, hosted by Healthy Acadia and held at the University of Maine at Machias, primarily serving Washington County youth. The vision of DETLC is to provide youth with social, communication and leadership skills to promote resiliency and to deter misuse of substances, including tobacco, alcohol and other drugs. DETLC is deeply impactful for the youth who participate, in terms of their opportunity to have a positive summer experience, the knowledge and tools they gain to make healthy choices, as well as the leadership skills they develop during camp and build during the following years through ongoing school-based programming.
“Thanks to the community-minded employees of Bar Harbor Bank & Trust, this generous donation will support at-risk children in the Friends Youth Mentoring Program,” said Terri Smith, Youth Mentoring Director at Friends Program Inc. “These children gain advice, advocacy, and access to all kinds of new learning opportunities through healthy one-on-one mentorships. Bar Harbor Bank & Trust’s investment in the next generation is admirable as they help us place these children on pathways to success.”
Founded in 1975, the Friends Youth Mentoring Program provides boys and girls, ages 6-17, from Merrimack County, New Hamsphire with a mentor who serves as a positive role model and a supportive advocate. At the core of this healthy one-on-one relationship is the bond that is established. Mentoring has shown to help strengthen the life of a child at home, in school, and in the community. In this strength-based, prevention program the children respond to this special opportunity and mentors truly propel them forward in life. The Friends Youth Mentoring Program has earned a reputation as life-changing. The program gives encouragement and hope to youngsters referred by a professional network of partner schools and youth serving organizations.
“The Vermont Institute of Natural Science in Quechee, Vermont is greatly appreciative of this financial support and partnership with Bar Harbor Bank & Trust,” said Mary Davidson Graham, Assistant Executive Director of the Vermont Institute for Natural Science (VINS). “Despite the improved economic trends overall; many families are still experiencing poverty or financial hardship in our region. With these funds, we will be able to support several children in the Upper Valley to attend VINS Nature Camp this summer.”
The Vermont Institute of Natural Science (VINS) Nature Camp helps young people develop the life skills necessary to be a positive force for their community and the environment. By exploring the diversity of nature’s living creatures and habitats, VINS Nature Camp nurtures each child’s curiosity and helps them to build respectful, caring relationships with themselves, others, and the natural world. VINS Nature Camp provides unique opportunities for hands-on learning in programs that immerse children in nature and bring them face-to-face with endless possibilities for discovery, which invoke curiosity, inquiry and innovation – the roots of science and learning.
Bar Harbor Bankshares (NYSE American: BHB) is the parent company of its wholly owned subsidiary, Bar Harbor Bank & Trust. Operating over 50 locations across Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, Bar Harbor Bank & Trust is headquartered in Bar Harbor, Maine and has more than $3.6 billion in assets. As a leading Northern New England community bank, Bar Harbor Bank & Trust offers a full range of personal and business banking services, as well as wealth management services through its subsidiaries Bar Harbor Trust Services and Charter Trust Company. For more information about Bar Harbor Bank & Trust, visit www.barharbor.bank or call 888-853-7100. Member FDIC.
