More than 60 Maine nonprofits receive nearly $900,000 from Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation for COVID-19 relief efforts

(Portland, ME) – More than 60 Maine nonprofits have received nearly $900,000 from Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation for COVID-19 relief efforts. Harvard Pilgrim Foundation awarded the following grants in its initial round of funding starting in mid-March: Good Shepherd Food Bank, $150,000; United Way of Eastern Maine, $60,000; United Way of Greater Portland, $25,000; and Boys & Girls Club of Portland, $10,000. Most organizations across the state received a $10,000 grant for supporting community needs during the pandemic, such as food access and meal delivery, services for older adults and immigrant families, social and community services, and emergency response.

“During these challenging times, it is critically important to support our communities and the people of Maine who need help,” said Bill Whitmore, vice president of Maine regional market for Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, a local, not-for-profit health services company. “As part of our initial grant-making nearly two months ago, we made every effort to address the immediate needs facing nonprofit partners and communities throughout Maine, and we remain steadfast in our commitment to supporting them in the weeks and months ahead.”

Last week, Harvard Pilgrim Foundation announced a $60,000 grant to Cooking for Community and the YMCA of Southern Maine to coordinate with local restaurants to prepare and deliver 1,000 weekly meals to older adults and immigrant families in need in Portland, Biddeford, Freeport and New Gloucester.

The following Maine organizations have also received funding:

Adopt-A-Block of Aroostook (Houlton, ME)
Alan Day Community Garden (Norway, ME)
Alfond Youth & Community Center (Waterville, ME)
Aroostook County Action Program (Presque Isle, ME)
BBBS Big Brother Big Sisters of Southern Maine (Westbrook, ME)
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Mid-Maine (Camden, ME)
Boothbay Region YMCA (Boothbay Harbor, ME)
Boys & Girls Club of Southern Maine (Portland, ME)
Bridgton Academy (North Bridgton, ME)
Catholic Charities Maine (Portland, ME)
Central Lincoln County YMCA (Damariscotta, ME)
Central Maine Area Agency on Aging (Augusta, ME)
Community Concepts Inc. (Lewiston, ME)
Consumers for Affordable Health Care Foundation (Augusta, ME)
Cooking for Community (Portland, ME)
Crossroads for Women (Scarborough, ME)
Cumberland County Food Security Council (Yarmouth, ME)
Frannie Peabody Center (Portland, ME)
Freeport Community Services (Freeport, ME)
Full Plates Full Potential (Portland, ME)
Good Shepherd Food Bank (Auburn, ME)
Good Will-Hinckley (Hinckley, ME)
Goodwill Industries of Northern New England (Gorham, ME)
Health Equity Alliance (Ellsworth, ME)
Healthy Acadia (Ellsworth, ME)
Independence Advocates of Maine (Orono, ME)
Kennebec Region Health (Waterville, ME)
Kieve Wavus Education Inc (Nobleboro, ME)
Locker Project (Portland, ME)
Maine 4-H Foundation/New England Arab American Organizations (Orono, ME)
Maine Council on Aging (Brunswick, ME)
Maine Highlands Senior Center dba The Commons at Central Hall (Dover-Foxcroft, ME)
Maine Partnership for Children’s Oral Health (Yarmouth, ME)
Maine Seacoast Mission (Bar Harbor, ME)
Maine Veterans Home (Augusta, ME)
MOBIUS, Inc. (Damariscotta, ME)
My Place Teen Center (Westbrook, ME)
Northern Light Home Care and Hospice (South Portland, ME)
Oxford County Mental Health Services (Rumford, ME)
Partners for World Health (Portland, ME)
Penobscot Bay YMCA (Rockport, ME)
Penobscot Community Health Center, Inc (Bangor, ME)
Penquis CAP (Bangor, ME)
Port Resources (South Portland, ME)
Saint Mary’s Nutrition Center (Lewiston, ME)
Sanford-Springdale YMCA (Sanford, ME)
SeniorPlus (Lewiston, ME)
Shalom House Inc (Portland, ME)
South Portland Food Cupboard (South Portland, ME)
Southern Maine Agency on Aging (Scarborough, ME)
The Salvation Army Maine Capital Region (Augusta, ME)
Trinity Jubilee Center (Lewiston, ME)
Twin Villages Foodbank Farm (Nobleboro, ME)
United Way of Androscoggin County (Lewiston, ME)
United Way of Aroostook (Presque Isle, ME)
United Way of Eastern Maine (Bangor, ME)
United Way of Greater Portland (Portland, ME)
United Way of Kennebec Valley (Augusta, ME)
United Way of Mid Maine (Waterville, ME)
United Way of the Tri-Valley Area (Farmington, ME)
Veggies to Tables (Newcastle, ME)
Washington County Food and Fuel Alliance (Machias, ME)
YMCA of Southern Maine (Portland, ME)
Youth Full Maine (Biddeford, ME)
YWCA Central Maine (Lewiston, ME)

Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation committed more than $3.5 million in initial grants for COVID-19 relief efforts in Maine, Mass., New Hampshire, and Connecticut.

About The Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation
Created in 1980, The Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation supports Harvard Pilgrim’s mission to improve the quality and value of health care for the people and communities we serve. The Harvard Pilgrim Foundation provides the tools, training and leadership to help build healthy communities throughout Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. In 2019, the Harvard Pilgrim Foundation awarded nearly $2.9 million in grants to 990 nonprofit organizations in the region. Since its inception in 1980, the Foundation has awarded $155 million in funds and resources throughout the four states. For more information, please visit www.harvardpilgrim.org/foundation.