By Elna Seabrooks
Staff Writer
HOULTON, Maine — Two local organizations recently accepted grants earmarked for technological support from the Aroostook County Fund of the Maine Community Foundation.
It recognized the A.E. Howell Wildlife Conservation Center and Spruce Acres Refuge in Amity and the Houlton-based Friends of Aroostook which operates under the umbrella of Empowering Life. Both were singled out for their broad reach in the county.
Jon McLaughlin, an adviser to the fund said a grant of $3,000 was made to Howell’s organization to purchase a scanner and printer because he “has developed a wildlife refuge and preserve — all with volunteers — and he made a phenomenal presentation that moved the committee.”
Arthur E. Howell is president of the conservation center and refuge which he founded 29 years ago “to educate children, families, school groups, seniors and the handicapped about the rehabilitation and return of animals to the wild.” Howell says animals who cannot survive in the wild are maintained at the facility for the educational programs.
The grant money, according to Howell, will be used to purchase a scanner and printer so that he can reproduce the work of renowned nature photographer Bill Silliker, Jr. who died in 2003 and donated his portfolio to the wildlife center. The reproductions will be sold for educational and fund-raising purposes, says Howell, who added that there are no paid staff members, only volunteers. The organization has a collection of more than 260,000 images and 700 videos.
Lori Weston, also an adviser to the fund, commented on the quality and significance of the “beautiful photos” of animals in the wild and said Howell got the grant because “he absolutely should have it. With so many worthy organizations, this stood out and was one that will stand out.”
Friends of Aroostook, an innovative program that connects “local resources with local needs” earned a grant of $2,000 labeled as start-up costs for computers and equipment, not operational costs.
Dale Flewelling heads up the group “which has its own bookkeeping system and its own record keeping but needed computers and equipment to keep us organized and operating efficiently.” Weston said the non-profit group is “very well organized” and by working countywide, Friends of Aroostook “recognizes the needs of many in our entire county who can benefit from things that folks already have resources of — like extra produce and wood. They really truly serve those who are in need.”
McLaughlin said he thought the program which works to serve the greater Aroostook County area in cooperation with other countywide organizations, like Catholic Charities, was very much needed and deserved the support. Flewelling and his volunteers have been harvesting fresh produce from area farms and picking up extra produce donated by farmers for distribution to food pantries, senior citizen programs and county residents. Their free wood program delivers donated fire wood to help residents heat their homes.
Flewelling, when accepting the grant, said: “This start-up grant is exciting and the dollar amount is always important. But, the most important aspect of receiving a grant from the Maine Community Foundation is that it is one of the premier giving foundations in the state of Maine. As we seek more grants it will give us credibility.”
