Portside’s 1% Back to Maine initiative is proud to share it has granted Maine Children's Home (MCH) with a $10,000 grant to support ongoing programs that help young parents navigate a safe path to positive parenting, understand their own self-worth, and make positive connections with their children and the community.
Maine Children's Home Mission: Founded in 1899, MCH has been supporting children and families in Maine through four main programs:
- Family Adoption Program
- Family Counseling Center
- Christmas Program
- Journey Program
1% Back to Maine funding was allocated to support the Journey Program. Maine Children’s Home's (MCH) Journey Program provides young parents with the knowledge, tools, and skills they need to be academically, financially, and emotionally successful individuals and parents.
Founded in 1974, the program’s focus is to build upon the strengths of pregnant and parenting youth, offering classes in prenatal education, parenting instruction, independent living skills, mental health access and supports, and other practical knowledge. Maine Children’s Home provides individualized guidance for each parent as they learn new skills. Staff also organize opportunities for the parents, their children, and members of their support system to bond as a group and grow together.
MCH Director of Operations, Diana Rafuse shares, “We are thrilled to have this gift from Portside’s 1% Back to Maine Foundation to support young parents who are part of our communities and our future as are their children. Being able to provide guidance and support at a pivotal time in their life has been the specific vision of the Journey Program since 1974. We have many success stories as we look at the last 50 years that this program has been in existence and would love to be able to share important milestones from our past but more importantly how we will continue this support well into the future.”
Allison Grady, a 2017 Journey Program graduate, shares, "Without the program, my life would have taken a completely different path. Everything would be different. I owe my high school diploma, subsequent opportunities, and even my friendships to the program and guidance from the coordinators. They helped me with literally every obstacle, ever. I don’t think I would have been a good person in society if it wasn’t for their support."
Read more about Allison’s experience on the MCH blog and view a recent WMTW feature interview.
In addition to supporting the MCH Journey Program through grant funding, Portside also hosts an annual Pop-Up Gift Drive. The drive encourages agents and their spheres to give back to those in need during the season of giving. These generous donations, in turn, impact over 1,500 children and their families in Maine. Additional information about the Pop-By Gift Drive is available on Portside’s Blog.
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