Author: Deb Nelson

One element of living well is lending a hand to those in need. By supporting nonprofits in your community, you can join efforts to strengthen community and improve the lives of those going through a rough time. Some friends and neighbors have chronic needs and some find themselves in a position they never imagined: seeking and accepting help to deal with a short-term crisis.

Check out nonprofits in your area that provide services to those who could benefit from a helping hand. I’ve listed 31 nonprofits below (along with a link to their websites); some are affiliated with national organizations, so you might find a similar organization in your world. Others might be more specific to the Portland, Maine area. In any event, there is no shortage of opportunity to boost someone’s spirits by making a donation of your time or dollars.

31 Nonprofits Doing Good Work to Strengthen Community

1. Caring Unlimited – working with the community to end domestic violence in York County.
2. Center for Grieving Children – provides loving support that encourages the safe expression of grief and loss and fosters each individual’s resilience and emotional well-being.
3. Cromwell Center – promotes safe, respectful and inclusive schools and communities.
4. Day One – improves the health of Maine by providing substance use, mental health and wellness services to youth and families.
5. Furniture Friends – Creating Homes. Rebuilding Lives.
6. Girl Scouts of Maine– builds girls of courage, confidence, and character who make the world a better place.
7. Girls on the Run – inspires girls to be joyful, healthy and confident, using a fun, experienced-based curriculum which creatively integrates running.
8. Good Shepherd Food Bank – eliminates hunger in Maine by sourcing and distributing nutritious food to people in need, building strong community partnerships, and mobilizing the public in the fight to end hunger.
9. Grahamtastic Connection – connecting kids when their world is out of reach.
10. Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine – promotes universal respect for human rights through outreach and education.
11. Iris Network – helping people who are visually impaired or blind attain independence and community integration.
12. Junior Achievement of Maine – inspires and prepares young people to succeed in a global economy.
13. Maine Association of Nonprofits – enriches the quality of community and personal life in Maine by strengthening the leadership, voice, and organizational effectiveness of our state’s nonprofits.
14. Maine Inside Out – initiates dialogue, develops leadership, and builds community across boundaries with collaborative original theater, inside and outside correctional facilities.
15. Maine Youth Leadership – works with Maine youth to seek out, recognize, and develop their leadership skills.
16. Make-A-Wish Maine – serves a unique, and vital, role in helping strengthen and empower children battling critical illnesses.
17. My Place Teen Center – provides a safe haven for youth, ages 10 – 18, sustaining them with comfort, meals, resources, and hope.
18. Pets for Vets – heal the emotional wounds of military veterans by using the power of the human-animal bond.
19. Portland Wheelers – giving the gift of bicycling – or adaptive tricycling – to people living with significant disabilities.
20. Preble Street – provides accessible barrier-free services to empower people experiencing problems with homelessness, housing, hunger, and poverty, and to advocate for solutions to these problems.
21. Purple Iris Foundation – raises awareness, provides support, and gives hope to individuals and families affected by cancer.
22. Riding to the Top – helps people with disabilities reach their highest potential through the healing power of horses.
23. Robbie Foundation – improves the quality of life for children with special needs.
24. Simple Gifts – provides limited financial support and encouragement to patients and their loved ones who are experiencing a medical crisis.
25. Strive – serving tweens, teens and young adults with intellectual and emotional disabilities.
26. Through These Doors (formerly Family Crisis Center) – creates innovate responses and mobilizes our community to provide safety and challenge systems of oppression and violence.
27. United Ways of Maine – improving people’s lives by mobilizing community caring and resources.
28. WinterKids – helps children develop healthy, lifelong habits through education and fun, outdoor winter activity.
29. Women United Around the World – celebrating, advocating and assisting women locally and globally to achieve independence through vocational training and community connections.
30. Woodford Family Services – committed to the support and inclusion of people with special needs and their families in Maine communities.
31. York County Shelter Programs – committed to ending homelessness and assisting people to reach their fullest potential.

Need a few more ideas? No problem:

• Connect with an organization like 100+ Women Who Care, Southern Maine that can introduce you to a variety of nonprofits.
• There’s a library in every town that could use your help.
• Rotary Clubs are in many towns doing a variety of local and international service projects.
• Food pantries in community after community would welcome your input.
• Call your town hall or connect with your school department to find out what needs are specific to your town.

Use my birthday month of October to investigate the world of nonprofits. Step in and see how viewing the world through that nonprofit lens impacts you, as well as the nonprofit(s) you choose to assist. Do you have more energy? Do you feel happier as you boost the day of others around you? Do you feel more engaged as you learn all that’s happening in your community? Let me know how 31 days of October affect you.

Live Well. Eat Well. Be Well.

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