The John T. Gorman Foundation has awarded 90 grants totaling $1.5 million to provide food, shelter, and other essential services to Mainers in need through its 2022 Direct Services Grant Program. The total includes $505,000 for 31 programs specifically serving older adults.

“From gas to groceries, rising costs have made it much harder for Maine people to afford essential items and services. Older adults with low incomes have been put into especially difficult situations,” said Lauralee Raymond, the foundation’s manager of special initiatives, said in a news release from the foundation. “The John T. Gorman Foundation is privileged to be able to boost the efforts of organizations who are helping Mainers meet vital needs in all 16 counties with this year’s Direct Services Grant Program.”

The foundation’s annual Direct Services Grant Program supports nonprofits that are addressing basic needs for Maine people — including food security, shelter, health care/mental health, and economic supports. This year, the foundation increased funding available for organizations meeting a range of needs for older adults, including companionship, transportation, home repair and legal assistance.

Full descriptions of the grants, including counties served, are available at jtgfoundation.org.

Grants are as follows (*denotes grants serving older adults):

Adoptive and Foster Families of Maine, Inc., Bangor, $10,000;
Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders Association — Maine Chapter, Scarborough, $16,500*;
Amistad, Portland, $20,000;
Androscoggin Head Start and Child Care DBA Promise Early Education Center, Lewiston, $9,000;
Aroostook Area Agency on Aging, Presque Isle, $20,000*;
Aroostook County Action Program, Presque Isle, $15,000;
Ascentria Community Services, serving Androscoggin, Oxford, Franklin, Kennebec, Somerset and Sagadahoc counties, $15,000;
Augusta Food Bank, Augusta, $18,000;
Bangor Area Homeless Shelter, Bangor, $15,000;
Bath Housing Development Corporation, Bath, $20,000*;
Belfast Soup Kitchen, Belfast, $15,000;
Boothbay Region Community Resource Council, Boothbay Harbor, $15,000;
Boys And Girls Club Of Kennebec Valley, Gardiner, $10,000*;
Bridging the Gap, Emmanuel Lutheran Episcopal Church, Augusta, $15,000;
Caring Unlimited, Sanford, $15,000;
Castine Community Partners Inc., Castine, $15,000;
Catholic Charities Maine, Portland, $20,000*;
Center for a Green Future dba Growing to Give, Brunswick, $7,500;
CHiP, Inc., Newcastle, $10,000*;
Coastal Rivers Conservation Trust / Twin Villages Foodbank Farm, Damariscotta, $20,000;
Common Unity Place, Skowhegan, $8,500;
Community Compass, FS Downeast Community Partners, Ellsworth, $15,000;
Community Health and Counseling Services, Bangor, $25,000*;
Day One, South Portland, $25,000;
Eastern Area Agency on Aging, Brewer, $20,000*;
Elder Abuse Institute of Maine, Brunswick, $20,000*;
Ellsworth Free Medical Clinic, Ellsworth, $15,000;
Family Violence Project, Augusta, $25,000;
Freeport Community Services, Freeport, $15,000*;
Friends in Action, Ellsworth, $12,000*;
Gateway Community Services Maine, Portland, $15,000;
Greater Portland Family Promise, Portland, $10,000;
Habitat for Humanity/7 Rivers Maine, Topsham, $10,000*;
Hand in Hand, Mano en Mano, Milbridge, $20,000;
Harrison Food Bank, Harrison, $10,000;
Healthy Acadia, Ellsworth, $20,000;
Healthy Peninsula, Blue Hill, $12,000*;
Hope Acts, Portland, $20,000;
In Her Presence, Westbrook, $10,000;
Island Commons Resource Center, Chebeague Island, $10,000*;
Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine, Portland, $15,000;
KidsPeace National Centers of New England, Inc., South Portland, $5,000;
Knox County Homeless Coalition, Rockland, $15,000;
KVCC Foundation, Fairfield, $15,000;
Lake Region Senior Service, Bridgton, $12,000*;
Legal Services for the Elderly, Augusta, $20,000*;
Loaves and Fishes Food Pantry, Ellsworth, $15,000;
Locker Project, Portland, $15,000;
Mabel Wadsworth Women’s Health Center, Bangor, $25,000;
Machias Area Food Pantry, Machias, $20,000;
Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition, Portland, $25,000;
Maine Medical Center, Portland, $25,000;
Maine Needs, Portland, $15,000;
Maine Seacoast Mission, Northeast Harbor, $15,000;
MaineGeneral Medical Center, Augusta, $25,000;
MaineHealth Care At Home, Saco, $25,000*;
MCH, Inc., Rockland, $20,000*;
Medical Care Development / Healthy Lincoln County, Damariscotta, $25,000;
Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program, Brunswick, $15,000;
Milestone Foundation, Portland, $25,000;
Neighbors Driving Neighbors, Mt. Vernon, $10,000*;
New Beginnings, Lewiston, $15,000;
New England Arab American Organization, Portland, $20,000;
Oasis Free Clinics, Brunswick, $15,000;
Oxford Hills Community Gardens, Foothills Foodworks, Norway, $15,000;
Penobscot Community Health Care, Bangor, $25,000;
Piscataquis Regional Food Center, Dover Foxcroft, $15,000*;
Portland Area Villages (PAV), Portland, $10,000*;
Rangeley Health and Wellness, Rangeley, $20,000*;
Rockland District Nursing Association, Rockland, $20,000*;
Rural Community Action Ministry, Leeds, $17,000;
Saint Andre Home, Bangor, $15,000;
SeniorsPlus, Lewiston, $20,000*;
Shalom House, Portland, $15,000;
Southern Maine Agency on Aging, Biddeford, $20,000*;
St. Joseph Hospital, Bangor, $25,000;
Tedford Housing, Brunswick, $20,000;
The Opportunity Alliance, South Portland, $20,000*;
The Root Cellar, Lewiston, $25,000;
The Shaw House, Bangor, $15,000;
Through These Doors, Portland, $15,000;
Town of Danforth, Danforth, $18,500*;
Town of Mount Vernon Aging in Place Committee, Mount Vernon, $6,800*;
Town of Vinalhaven, Vinalhaven, $7,200*;
Trinity Jubilee Center, Lewiston, $15,000*;
Veggies to Table, Newcastle, $10,000;
Volunteers of America Northern New England, Brunswick, $25,000*;
Waterville Area Soup Kitchen, Waterville, $15,000;
Western Maine Community Action, East Wilton, $20,000*; and
York County Community Action Corporation, Sanford, $20,000*.

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