Island Institute

 Rockland     Maine

http://www.islandinstitute.org/     << visit website

Categories:  Environment, [ view all ]

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Island Institute Charity Profile

We are a membership-based community development organization focusing on the Gulf of Maine, particularly the fifteen year-round island communities off the Maine coast.

The Island Institute is a nonprofit organization that serves as a voice for the balanced future of the islands and waters of the Gulf of Maine. We are guided by an island ethic that recognizes the strength and fragility of Maine's island communities and the finite nature of the Gulf of Maine ecosystems. Along the Maine Coast, the Island Institute seeks to:

support the islands' year-round communities;
conserve Maine's island and marine biodiversity for future generations;
develop model solutions that balance the needs of the coast's cultural and natural communities;
provide opportunities for discussion over responsible use of finite resources, and provide information to assist competing interests in arriving at constructive solutions.

Island Institute Volunteer Information

Most Maine-island organizations are managed by volunteers; island communities rely on them to serve as selectmen and school board members, contribute time to the local libraries and historical societies, serve as volunteer firefighters, and more. Often, these same volunteers serve on the boards of multiple organizations, and many island communities find that their volunteer force is stretched dangerously thin.

In a preliminary survey conducted in January 2008, Institute staff spoke with a number of Casco Bay islanders and asked them to identify potential volunteer needs. They told us about many areas in which additional short-term volunteers could make a real difference:

Grant Writing Advice & Support
Business Plan Development
Brush Removal & Beach Cleaning-Ups (Arms & Legs)
Legal advice regarding affordable housing: buy-back options, land leases, land trust models, eligibility language, etc.
GIS mapping and data management
Town ordinance language and planning and development
Small business development- marketing, website development, etc.

Are you someone who wants to put your time and energies to use in helping sustain these special places but can’t make a long-term commitment? The Island Institute has launched a pilot Volunteer Corps program in the Caso Bay area to match potential volunteers with island communities for short-term projects and, if feasible, work with the island communities on a virtual basis (e-mail, telephone, occasional visits to the islands for meetings).

Chris Wolff, the Institute’s Community Development Director, is working with the Casco Bay Islands to determine specific volunteer placements; at the same time, she is recruiting volunteers to serve with island communities. When you complete an application stating your skills and interests, Chris will do her best to match you up with an island community that has posted a volunteer “job” description that might be just what you’re looking for.

Although primarily geared to retirees, there is no age limit for volunteers, and Chris hopes that some seasonal residents will want to become more engaged in their summer communities during their stay on-island. If successful, the Island Institute will expand the Volunteer Corps program to Penobscot Bay and Downeast islands.