Stories

Volunteers of America break ground for veterans’ housing Portland Press Herald story The $4.2 million Cabin in the Woods project will build 22 cabins for homeless veterans. Dignitaries toss a ceremonial shovel of dirt at the Cabin in the Woods groundbreaking on Friday at VA Maine Healthcare Systems-Togus. Staff photo by Joe Phelan The $4.2 million Cabin in the Woods project will build 22 cabins for homeless veterans. CHELSEA — Joseph Robichaud traveled from Biddeford to be a part of the Volunteers of America celebration Friday morning as officials broke ground for the Cabin in the Woods project. In the…

Congressman Jared Golden returns to visit veterans at Cabin in the Woods on Veteran’s Day November 11, 2020 – Chelsea, Maine. Volunteers of America Northern New England welcomed Congressman Jared Golden (D-Maine) to Cabin in the Woods on Veteran’s Day. This was a return visit for the Congressman who has been a strong proponent of the Cabin in the Woods since the start. “No Maine veteran should have to experience homelessness. Cabin in the Woods and other programs across our state are working hard to make that future a reality,” said Congressman Golden. “It was my honor to spend Veterans…

Congressman Jared Golden visits with fellow veterans at Cabin in the Woods Volunteers of America Northern New England welcomed Congressman Jared Golden (D-Maine) to Cabin in the Woods on Saturday. Congressman Golden has been a strong proponent of the Cabin in the Woods project since sponsoring LD 1062, Housing for Homeless Veterans, in 2014. President and CEO of Volunteers of America Northern New England, Rich Hooks Wayman, discussed the level of comfort that the residents feel in their homes as well as the need for more services provided to our veterans. “We built these homes with the hope of creating…

Volunteers of America Northern New England welcomed U.S. Senator Susan Collins and Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert Wilkie to Cabin in the Woods. President and CEO of Volunteers of America Northern New England, Rich Hooks Wayman, provided an update on how the project has been received in the community as well as the status of the veterans living there. “Volunteers of America is proud of our work with service men and women at Cabin in the Woods. We were delighted to host Senator Susan Collins and Secretary Wilkie this week and remain humbled and appreciative for their close partnership and…

Volunteers of America Northern New England (VOANNE) announced today that Richard Hooks Wayman has been named the human service organization’s new president and CEO, effective May 30, 2018.  He assumes leadership from June Koegel who has led the organization since 1992. Ms. Koegel has accepted a position as Chief Operating Officer with Volunteers of America’s national office in Alexandria, Virginia, where she will oversee operations for the 33 VOA affiliates nationwide.  Ms. Koegel leaves a legacy of thirty housing and social service programs in Maine and New Hampshire. Mr. Hooks Wayman most recently served as National Executive Director of the…

View numerous stories about Camp POSTCARD’s 25th birthday that were published and broadcasted across the state! Camp POSTCARD celebrates 25 years My favorite week of the year Camp Postcard celebrates 25 years of law enforcement helping Maine kids To protect and serve … lunch Volunteers honored leaders who made the camp possible for of Maine children Smiling like a kid at summer camp Save-A-Lot donates food to Camp Postcard Camp POSTCARD gives Maine kids gift of outdoors Maine 5th and 6th graders enjoying free week of camp in Poland Camp POSTCARD: 25 years of helping Maine kids Twenty-five years later,…

Crews are “So happy to be part of this project.” On the last Sunday in April, the grounds of Togus were quiet. So quiet, in fact, that you could hear at least six species of birds calling, competing with spring peepers. The land is easy walking distance to Togus, yet feels a world away from the acres of brick buildings and parking lots. Trees and grassy meadows line seasonal ponds. Hawks soar overhead. In a few months, this eleven acre parcel will be home to 22 Cabins that will provide permanent housing for veterans (women and men), who have experienced…

from Happy Camper to Competent Counselor and Fundraiser I first learned about camp when I was in the third grade. My best friend Delaney went to camp and she came back telling so many great stories, I couldn’t wait until the fifth grade. When June of fifth grade year finally rolled around, I was so excited! I had been to summer camps but none like how my best friend described Camp POSTCARD. I was so excited, but nervous at the same time. My mother and grandmother dropped me off after a five hour trip that seemed like days. Camp was…

A Camp Leader for 14 Years Loves His Work The Hollands are the kind of family you want to live next door to. When all the neighborhood kids were growing up, the Hollands would always be outside doing something fun: ice fishing in the winter, baseball in the summer. Six or Eight kids would join them for fun in the morning, and by the afternoon when they got the grill out, there might be thirty or forty kids running around laughing and having a terrific time. Tim Holland was a DARE officer in the early days of Camp (and still…

With a projected 2017 harvest of 100,000 pounds, Reentry Residents who work at the farm have lots to be proud of. Our Reentry Programs offer offenders who are serving the last months of their sentence a chance to learn interpersonal and employment skills, engage in community service, take personal enrichment classes and work within a transitional model of creating a life post-incarceration. In Belfast, at the Waldo County Jail, residents are offered the option of working in the Waldo County Maine Coastal Regional Reentry Center (MCRRC) Garden Project. “People either love it or hate it,” said Commissioner William Shorey, founder…