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Project GRACE needs gift cards to grocery stores, pharmacies, and local take-out/curbside restaurants and national online retailers like Amazon, Walmart & Target. Please don't make a special trip; but if you're already out shopping for yourself, consider picking up a gift card to share with a neighbor. Or make an online gift to the Neighbor Helping Neighbor fund. This holiday season, the Scarborough Food Pantry is the beneficiary of the Hannaford Helps program at the Scarborough Hannaford. Next time you shop, please consider making a donation to help feed the hungry. >> More Info Here
The return to school will be different than usual, but one thing's for certain: kids will need school supplies at home as well as at school. Project GRACE and friends are gearing up to give families a helping hand. The usual items will be needed: new sturdy backpacks, pencils and paper, erasers, markers, glue and tape (check out the list of what's needed). This school year we also hope to offer personal hygiene items like hand sanitizer, hand soap, and masks. Mark your calendar for our town's drive-thru drop off on August 30th (2pm - 3pm) at the Scarborough Town Hall / Public Safety parking lot (275 US Route One). Volunteers will be standing by to receive donations curbside! Or make a gift today to Project GRACE to sponsor a child's backpack.
Using grant funds from the United Way of Greater Portland’s COVID-19 Community Relief Fund, two dozen totes with basic necessities, including a gallon of water, snack food, hand sanitizer, toothbrush & toothpaste, soap, and wipes were distributed by public safety in areas in Scarborough known to have a homeless population. These totes will also be available for officers to use as needed. “This certainly is no long-term solution to the growing homelessness in our town,” Dembski-Martin remarks. “However, I am hopeful as we circulate these bags we can also have genuine dialogues, helping to figure out other unmet needs and possible solutions.” >>MORE
"The vehicles rolled by in a steady stream, high-end models and compact economy cars, each collecting packages containing three prepared meals.. Butternut squash ravioli. Sweet and sour meatballs. New England clam chowder. And a mini bundt cake donated by a local retailer. All neatly stacked in a white plastic bag. A volunteer placed the packages in the back seat or trunk. Some drivers picked up additional meals for family members or friends." This is how an PPH reporter, Kelly Bouchard, describes the scene in Scarborough, as Community Services and SMAA partner to get meals to seniors. >>READ MORE
Community Services and Southern Maine Agency on Aging are teaming up with meals to go for seniors! Drive-thru pick up is at the High School from 10:00 am to 11:00 am on July 21st, August 4th, and August 25th. To sign up or for more info, call 730-4173 and leave a message so they can get back to you. >> MORE 
To help support the great dedication and drive shared by its friends and community partners, SMAA will serve as a pass-through agent, helping to disseminate these new CARES funds by making one-time Mini-Grants to organizations delivering vital support services to vulnerable residents of York and Cumberland Counties. Funds will be distributed through a competitive grant application process. Organizations may apply for one-time grants of up to $7,500. >>MORE The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, signed into law March 27, 2020, provides additional funding to states, territories and tribes for the various programs authorized by the Older Americans Act of 1965.
Friends of Project GRACE, including the Loyal Order of the Moose and Town & Country Federal Credit Union, have donated funds to help Project GRACE distribute simple health kits with 2 masks, 2 pairs of gloves, and a 2oz bottle of hand sanitizer. The donation is also being used to offer masks at two 'help yourself' locations: one at the Scarborough Public Library and one at the Post Office at Oak Hill. Be well, everyone! If you'd like to help keep the Post Office station supplied with masks, please get in touch!  Town of Scarborough, Scarborough Police Department, and Project GRACE Jointly Awarded $15,000 Grant from United Way's COVID-19 Community Relief Fund United Way of Greater Portland has awarded $259,073 in the second round of grants from the Greater Portland COVID-19 Community Relief Fund to 25 local nonprofits, schools, and faith-based groups on the frontlines working with individuals and families disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak. Project GRACE, Scarborough Police Department and Scarborough General Assistance were jointly awarded a generous and timely $15,000 grant that builds on our community's very long and successful history of working together to give a neighbor a helping hand when it is most needed. These are difficult times for everyone, and this grant will allow the three agencies to respond to urgent and immediate needs due to the COVID-19 crisis.
With the recent order from the Governor requiring face coverings in public places where social distancing is difficult, Scarborough public safety, public works, and town staff are in need of homemade masks to be able to perform routine tasks, particularly when they restart town services. If you have the ability to help, please contact Deputy Chief Rich C. Kindelan at (207) 730-4203 or rkindelan@scarboroughmaine.org, or email us via our "Give Help" form. Pick up can be arranged so you don't have to travel, and drop-off locations include:
UPDATE 4/14 - Other places looking for masks include Maine Veterans Home, Bessey Commons, Cape Memory Care, and several individuals who have contacted Project GRACE. UPDATE 3/31 - Scarborough Terrace would like to have homemade face masks. They prefer the pattern with the pocket. You can drop them off at their facility anytime (600 Commerce Drive). People across the country are putting their talents work, sewing masks and gowns. Project GRACE volunteers are collecting and distributing homemade masks to where they are needed, including right here in Scarborough. >>MORE Homemade masks are considered by the CDC to be ‘of last resort’, says a Central Maine Healthcare spokesperson, "but if they are worn OVER an N95 respirator, they could prolong the usable life of the respirator and help to conserve resources." Partners for World Health has surgical blue wrap and other materials to make masks for donations. Interested volunteers can learn more at facebook.com/PartnersForWorldHealth. If you have supplies like N95 masks that you want to donate to a hospital or health provider, please call ahead to ask about their needs and how they want you to make the donation.
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