MAINEiacs Education Foundation
By Paul Spellman
The Lewiston MAINEiacs organization is firmly committed to providing our players a quality education during their playing days in Lewiston as well as their post playing days, wherever that may be.
The Lewiston MAINEiacs Education Foundation was founded in the spring of 2004 as a non-profit organization. Nineteen of our former players have been accepted, and some currently enrolled, at U.S. colleges and Canadian universities such as McGill, Dalhousie, and the University of Ottawa to name a few. Most continue their playing careers while attending school.
The mission of the Foundation is to provide present and past MAINEiacs players the best education programs while they are here and financial support in the form of scholarships for those players who wish to pursue academic objectives after their major junior careers are over. The Foundation has committed over a half-million dollars in educational expenses and committed scholarships to existing and former players, a worthwhile investment in the young men who have spent so much time playing hockey and being part of the Lewiston-Auburn community.
Long-time area educator, administrator, and current coach of the Bates College women’s hockey team, Roger Lachapelle, has been the team’s Educational Coordinator since the team’s inception in Lewiston. “We realize a relatively small percentage of our players will go on to play professional hockey” said Lachapelle. “Mark (Just) has always felt strongly that his players get a solid education while here and provide them financial assistance in the means of scholarships when they are ready to make the commitment to higher education. We have one of the best educational programs in the league, parents realize it, and it has actually turned out to be a pretty good recruiting tool.”
Providing an education to players from various provinces and countries does present its challenges. Each Canadian province has its own specific requirements for its students’ curriculum. For players that don’t speak or understand English when they arrive in Lewiston, special adult education English courses are offered.
The Education Foundation is funded in part by personal and corporate donations, 50/50 raffles, chuck-a-puck contests, player’s game worn jersey auctions, and other contests and events. Contributions may also be made by designating your United Way contributions to the “Lewiston MAINEiacs Education Foundation.” When considering what charity to direct your donations for those specifying the “charity of one’s choice”, please consider this worthy cause. For more information on how you can support the Foundation, financially or otherwise, please contact me at pspellman@lewistonhockey.com
See you at the games!
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