PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — A first-of-its kind, region-wide project that will engage middle and high school students throughout Aroostook County in community service, while raising money for future scholarships, was announced last Friday by leaders and supporters of the Aroostook Aspirations Initiative (AAI).
The combined community service project and fundraiser, Heidi’s Hope Serve-a-Thon, will involve students in 16 county school districts in the fall of 2015. The effort will be piloted this October, with six schools participating in the initial event (Easton, Fort Kent, Houlton, Mars Hill, Washburn and Wisdom, which encompasses St. Agatha/Frenchville).
“Heidi’s Hope is an event that engages our youth in their communities,” said AAI Executive Director April Flagg. “By partnering with post-secondary schools and several non-profits throughout Aroostook, students will seek sponsorships for their participation in local projects to benefit their community during a county-wide community service day. This day will include major community service projects that are visual in nature and needed within a particular community. It is the linchpin fundraiser of our organization and part of the program’s six-point plan.”
Superintendents with the six school districts were the first to step forward to adopt the Heidi’s Hope Serve-a-Thon concept, which is designed to strengthen the bond young people in Aroostook have with their communities, thereby working to reverse the trend of outward migration in the region – one of the primary goals of AAI.
Tim Doak, superintendent of schools in the western St. John Valley’s AOS 95 and SAD 27, and president of the Aroostook County Superintendents Association, was one of the first to sign up for the pilot program.
“Today’s students need to have a better connection with their respective communities,” he said. “Having a common experience that will promote a positive outcome for their community is great, and helping to raise valuable scholarship funds for County students is wonderful. Students are more likely to live in the area in which they graduate from college. Aroostook County needs to increase the 18-24-year-old age group to provide a stable population for the future of Aroostook County.”
AAI, which includes the Gauvin County Scholarship Fund, was publicly launched last April by Mapleton businessman Ray Gauvin and his wife, Sandra, a 25-year veteran teacher, along with project co-founder Jason Parent, a St. John Valley native and Caribou resident who spent 14 years working for local colleges. The mission is to support the educational and career goals of the youth in Aroostook County, and to mobilize the future prosperity of the area. The initiative, which is governed by a 24-member board of directors comprised of community leaders county-wide, provides scholarships as well as guidance and professional development support for high school seniors in all 16 of the county’s school districts.
Heidi’s Hope Serve-a-Thon is named after the late Heidi Graham.
“We could not be more proud to name our signature community serve-a-thon in honor and memory of Heidi Graham,” said Parent, who serves as vice president of the AAI board of directors. “Born in Presque Isle and a resident of Mapleton, along with her husband, Tim, and three children, Jacob, Dustin and Mandy, Heidi succumbed to cancer in 2013 after a courageous two-year battle with stage four breast cancer.
“She was an inspiration to people throughout Aroostook County,” he said. “She embodied community service, and her contributions to The County business community are part of the reason the Aroostook Aspirations Initiative exists today.”
In addition to her key role building Advantage Payroll Service alongside Ray Gauvin, AAI founder, Graham was always willing to help out in any way she could. She volunteered countless hours with schools, church, Girl Scouts, Aroostook Teen Leadership Camp, and other community programs.
“Heidi profoundly believed in community service as an integral part of one’s life. She knew that service is paramount in making our communities a better place to live. The success resulting from Heidi and Ray’s hard work provided the seed funding for Aroostook Aspirations Initiative. Additionally, the commitment by both businesses leaders to serve their community and to ‘pay it forward’ is the very genesis of the county-wide project,” said Sandra Gauvin, AAI co-founder and president. “As such, it is only fitting that we recognize Heidi’s legacy and honor her with ‘Heidi’s Hope.’ Just as Heidi devoted her life to education, community, business and family, this event aims to bring out the best in Aroostook County by bringing together all parts of our community for the greater good.”
During last week’s press conference, members of Graham’s family unveiled the Heidi’s Hope Serve-a-Thon logo, which prominently features a butterfly. Graham’s son, Dustin, shared his thoughts.
“On behalf of my family, we are truly blessed and honored for Aroostook Aspirations Initiative to name the serve-a-thon as ‘Heidi’s Hope,’ after our late mother,” he said. “Being involved with community is something I have always been used to because together my parents raised the three of us children with the understanding of how important it is to help others and to get involved with our community. They did not only teach us this by preaching it; they led by example as parent volunteers and by being involved in their own community groups.
“From the time each of us was young, Mom volunteered with most anything we were involved with. She showed us the importance of being involved with community. This was not because she had to, but because she wanted to, which taught us that we weren’t forced to get involved, we were encouraged to,” said Graham. “Having this serve-a-thon named in her memory will not only teach our home county and community about the service our Mom gave to the community, it will always remind our family of the importance of continuing to be involved with the community.”
Heidi’s Hope Serve-a-Thon coordinators hope the engagement of county youth in service projects will not only help them learn the importance of community service, but lead them to realize the value of giving, and encourage them to become more engaged in their communities. They are also hoping students will be able to transfer their learning to their community service project and back to the classroom.
“We have a 5 percent civic engagement level from ages 18-24, and yet more schools than ever are requiring community service to graduate,” said Flagg. “What that tells us is that although kids are doing community service, they’re not gaining what they need to gain from it.
“What we’re hoping is that our program, starting in grade six which is a pivotal year for students, will work with them to build teams in a building and teams in a classroom,” she said. “They will choose projects that they have interests in and a like for. Then they will work in collaboration with social media, web pages and our software program to gather sponsorships and raise money for the endowment.”
Flagg said with support from local businesses, community and family members, the program “would be allowed to invest money into the endowment securing more scholarships with renewable years for more county students.
“Much of the problems plaguing Aroostook could be reduced with a large percentage of degree attainment among our residents,” she said. “Aroostook County is about more than dollars and cents; it’s about community, family and support. This event shows each of the three county strengths in powerful, visual ways.”
Aroostook County currently has the second highest outward migration in New England. AAI and school officials hope this project will help keep more youth in the region.
“We need to find new and innovative ways to keep our children in The County. Community service helps build empowerment and ownership in students, strengthens bonds, and allows the community to see the positive things our local schools are doing with the students of Aroostook,” said Flagg. “When students bond to a community, they are more likely to attend a post-secondary school within driving distance, or, if forced to attend school outside of the area, are more likely to return to their hometown. That’s the essence of our program.”