PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — After spending the past year focused on fundraising and growing their board of directors, the nonprofit Mainely Girls now hopes to find long-term ways to sustain their programs for young girls in Aroostook County.
Mainely Girls was founded in 1996 by Mary Orear and originally based in Rockland. Aroostook-based artist and instructor Carol Ayoob took over as executive director in 2015, and has since worked with the board to develop and host conferences, a book club, theater and visual arts programs for middle and high school girls.
According to their mission statement, Mainely Girls “focuses on nurturing confident, resilient, creative and connected girls through diverse programming” that places empowerment at the center.
But in recent years, sustaining the programs that have brought diverse Aroostook girls together has become the greatest challenge.
After the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Ayoob stepped down from her executive director position to focus on leading the board and recruiting new members and volunteers. The board opted not to rely on virtual programming and instead tried to find a more permanent location that would make the nonprofit more visible to the community.
Mainely Girls has relocated from the University of Maine at Presque Isle to the Aroostook Centre Mall and begun an in-person Summer Arts program, which includes middle and high school art lessons, open mic sessions and improv comedy nights. The program has been made possible by a $5,000 grant from the Onion Foundation, which supports arts programs in Maine.
Ayoob noted that the arts have always been essential to Mainely Girls’ mission because of the creative opportunities for girls to express themselves.
“Theater and visual arts helps these girls tap into their inner selves and share their emotions in ways that might not have otherwise,” Ayoob said.
Kennedie Dodson, 14, (left) and Brinleigh Kingsbury, 14, work on “self-portrait dolls” during a Mainely Girls Summer Arts session. (Melissa Lizotte | The Star Herald)
Currently, the mall is allowing Mainely Girls to occupy their new location across from JCPenney without rent payments for the next six months. As part of their agreement, Mainely Girls will remain in that space only if they can raise enough funds through individual donations and grants.
That is one of many reasons why Mainely Girls has launched a 25th anniversary campaign. Their goal is to raise $25,000 within the next six months and they have thus far raised $10,000.
Mainely Girls is also actively seeking grant opportunities that can support future outdoor, book club, music, arts and technology as well as an annual conference. Most of all, they hope to find funding opportunities that allow them to hire a full-time executive director and program director and invest more resources into regular programs.
Holli Nicknair, Mainely Girls’ Summer Arts program director, said that the pandemic has made long-term funding much more difficult to find and has forced the organization to rely on smaller, short-term grants.
“If there is any potential funder who could make a substantial donation or grant so we could sustain these programs, that would be the best thing,” said Nicknair, a Houlton native who recently returned to Aroostook from Portland, Oregon.
As part of their expansion goals, Mainely Girls hopes to forge greater connections between girls from all areas of The County. People from the nonprofit have already seen that start to happen through the Summer Arts program.
During the third high school girls session on July 8, 14-year-old Kennedie Dodson of Madawaska Lake took a break from sewing a “self-portrait doll” to reflect on her time with Mainely Girls thus far. Like others in the session, Summer Arts is Dodson’s first time being involved with the nonprofit.
“It was awkward [to meet new people] at first, but then everyone started opening up more, which gave us more creative ideas,” Dodson said. “With art, you get to speak through your emotions.”
Although Brinleigh Kingsbury, 14, is also new to Mainely Girls, she has already felt a sense of community and belonging by being part of Summer Arts.
“It gives me the freedom to express myself,” said Kingsbury, who is from Mars Hill. “I think it’s important that girls have the chance to form relationships outside of school. We all have different points of view here but people here are understanding and respectful.”
