Recently, a Scarborough school social worker telephoned Project GRACE A student needed a warm coat and boots. Could they help? By the end of the day, a volunteer had delivered a gift card to the school. It included a little extra for a new hat and scarf in the student’s favorite color.
They got another call from a community member: Do you know anyone who could use some firewood? I want to make a donation in honor of my father. By that afternoon, Gary from the Lions Club had been enlisted to pick up and deliver a truckful of wood to a neighbor.
Later that week, another call: We have a dozen dinner baskets. Does Project GRACE know anyone who could use one? Ralph and Jim from the Volunteers in Police Service delivered the turkeys, potatoes, and other fixings to families in need, just in time for Thanksgiving.
For more than twenty years, Project GRACE, a Scarborough non-profit, has been known around town as a group with a big heart. Backed by the generosity of local donors and friends, the group says “yes” as much as possible to helping neighbors.
Project GRACE’s volunteers and Executive Director Steffi Cox, play an often quiet, but critical role in Scarborough, stepping up to give aid and comfort, and connecting those who can give with those who have a need.
The non-profit focuses mostly on the basics: food, clothing, school supplies, heat. The group values helping in small but meaningful ways – a holiday gift and card for a senior living alone, fresh green beans or flowers from the community garden for someone who is housebound, a new pair of shoes for a child.
“Sometimes, the solace people feel in being seen and heard can be as important as the material items,” says Cox. “I recall when Cindy at Community Services noticed one of the regulars at the senior café was embarrassed – after getting her groceries she hadn’t enough left over to get her hair done and was reluctant to come to the lunch.” Project GRACE gave a few salon certificates to encourage her to keep those all-important social connections while more long-term help was sought.
Project GRACE often acts as a catalyst and convener, organizing and funding collaborative efforts with local partners. “We put resources in front of a good idea,” says Cox. One example is how Project GRACE’s “Food for Thought and Action” convenings sparked the creation of one, two, then three community gardens that now produce vegetables for the Scarborough Food Pantry. Another was to put a collection box at the Scarborough Public Library, where it would be easy to donate food for the pantry. The Scarborough Community Thanksgiving, an idea wished for by many in the community, gathered momentum when Project GRACE brought like-minded people together to make a plan and get things going. Together with the other founding partners, they established a strong foundation upon which to build.
Looking for ways to amplify the efforts and good work already being done in the community is a hallmark of Project GRACE’s approach to community building.
The organization began in 2000 with a group of friends putting together Christmas and Easter baskets. It felt good, but they knew the families’ struggles persisted long after the holidays. “We realized it was just the tip of the iceberg,” says Alberta “Bert” Follansbee, a longtime board member. Under the leadership of founder Karen Packhem, they decided to form a non-profit in 2002. “GRACE” stands for Granting Resources and Assistance through Community Effort and celebrates the state of grace people are in when they give to others.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, about 4% of Scarborough residents live below the federal poverty line.* This is below the overall rate in Cumberland County and Maine (8% and 11%, respectively) but it represents a large number of people – an estimated 800 Scarborough residents, including about 150 children.
Project GRACE’s volunteers have seen this need firsthand, and they understand its most common causes – an injury or illness, a job loss, divorce – can happen to anyone. Whenever possible, they connect people to established programs. If those resources fall short, they help fill in the gaps. Cox says they often help many people just once or twice, during a difficult time in their lives, and later some become supporters and donors. One of the group’s cherished gifts was a $10 bill from a former beneficiary that came with a note: “Heat is in our rent. We hope this can help somebody else.”
Children are a special priority for the group. Referring to students, a school employee once told Follansbee, “It’s hard to be poor in Scarborough.” Kids can’t help but notice their more affluent classmates. Project GRACE is careful to help students in a way that respects their dignity and privacy. When they ask for donations of something like backpacks and water bottles, they request a variety of colors and styles, so the items can’t be easily identified as charitable gifts.
Cox tells of receiving a letter from a youth, now in their twenties, who had been reflecting on gratitude. They said, “Project GRACE made me and my siblings feel like every other kid in school at the holidays. We got what they got.” The letter included a donation.
Follansbee and Cox are both quick to mention the good work being done by their partners and allies throughout Scarborough: the library, the food pantry, the schools, churches, neighborhood groups, and the Kiwanis, Rotary, and Lions clubs. Sometimes an idea emerges among these “doers” that needs a bit of support to become a reality. One such initiative was Nonprofits at the Market, which allows local nonprofits to showcase their work at the Scarborough Farmers Market. Another is the annual three-town food drive to address food insecurity in Scarborough, South Portland, and Cape Elizabeth. Project GRACE contributed organization and resources to launch both efforts. When these collaborations happen, Cox says, “It’s like cotton candy. There’s all this wonderful love and energy swirling around; for it to come together, someone has to be the stick at the center of it. That’s us.”
This February, the town and Project GRACE will hold their 12th annual Keeping Neighbors Warm rally for fuel assistance. To date, this initiative has raised over $250,000 to ensure that no one in Scarborough is left in the cold. What was once a neighborly holiday outreach effort to help a few dozen families has grown to a community-wide endeavor.
