Mini Grants Awarded to Community Partners

AROOSTOOK COUNTY, Maine — The Aroostook Agency on Aging has granted nearly $18,000 in Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act mini-awards to five non-profit organizations serving northern Maine.Signed into law in March, the CARES Act provides additional funding to states, territories, and tribes for the various programs authorized by the Older Americans Act of 1965. The funds are intended to help strengthen services that support the health, safety, and independence of older adults and adults with disabilities challenged by the coronavirus (COVID-19) public health emergency.

Each of Maine’s five designated Area Agencies on Aging used CARES Act funds to assist qualifying partner organizations in their service regions. Aroostook Agency on Aging granted one-time mini-awards of up to $2,500 to local organizations delivering vital support services to vulnerable residents. They include:

  • The City of Presque Isle Recreation & Parks Department’s Sargent Family Community Center to plan and create programming for older persons who have been unable to recreate and socialize during the pandemic.

  • Limestone Age Friendly Community to help defray the cost of food and delivery containers for a new program to help meet nutritional needs of local residents that have been exacerbated by COVID-19.

  • Winterville Plantation to adapt existing space at the town office to meet the needs of at-risk residents and visitors.

  • Limestone United Methodist Church to purchase telecommunications equipment to enable services and special events to be delivered to community members remotely.

  • The Center for the Advancement of Rural Living to support a newly opened Men’s Recovery House that helps rural residents deal with the devastation of substance use disorder.

  • The Town of Danforth to make critical upgrades to the Danforth Food Pantry.

  • The Grace Interfaith Food Pantry in Presque Isle to maintain operations and help defray the rising cost of food.

  • The Presque Isle Historical Society to support the development of additional virtual tours.

The mission of the Aroostook Agency on Aging is to improve the quality of life and promote the well-being of older people in our communities. Since 1973, the agency has served as a resource, helping people to access information and services, while also advocating to assure the rights we all value are respected. For more information, about the agency or its programs and services, please call 207-764-3396 or visit www.aroostookaging.org.

Elizabeth Singer