Seal Harbor congregation sponsors Habitat home

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The membership of Union Congregational Church of Seal Harbor may be small, but its members are committed to their church and their community as well.

The 40 church members have agreed to be the local sponsor for the ninth Hancock County Habitat for Humanity home that will be built in their community.

“I’m just blown away” by the fact fellow church members have agreed to this project, said Jackie Davidson, chairwoman of the steering committee for this project.

Davidson, who is a first-timer to Habitat for Humanity work, said the group is “anxious to get started,” but has to wait for road and weather conditions to begin excavation and foundation work.

The home will be built for popular, longtime Seal Harbor resident Rosie McQuinn and her two children on Day Street in Seal Harbor.

Since the street is posted now for heavy loads, Davidson said, the equipment needed for that work has to wait until the posting is lifted. A group of University of Maine students was at the site last Saturday, however, to begin clearing the land.

Dick Silven of Brooksville is chairman of Hancock County Habitat for Humanity, which has its office in Ellsworth. The local organization was founded in 1988 and is one of more than 1,000 HH affiliates throughout the country.

Donations of materials and services are being sought for the Seal Harbor home, as well as volunteers to do the work. Many in-kind donors have already signed on to help, including B.C.M Construction of Northeast Harbor.

Steve Boucher, John Sweet and David Sweet of Northeast Harbor and Larry Herlth of Seal Harbor are among those lending their expertise and working with job boss Todd Ewing of Somesville.

Dead River Co., Island Plumbing & Heating, W.A. Stanley Inc., Blanchard & Gray, H.A. MacQuinn Inc., attorney Philip Worden, Sherwin-Williams Co., Wood Structures Inc., Sprowl Building Components, Mainely Vinyl Inc., Dow Chemical Co., Whirlpool Co., Hunter-Douglas, and Larry Wescott are also participating in the project.

However, much is still needed to make this home a reality for the McQuinn family.

Donations of a well, windows and roofing materials in addition to cash contributions of approximately $55,000 will complete the home built by Habitat for Humanity, a nonprofit organization founded on the conviction that everyone should have a simple, decent affordable place to live in dignity and safety.

With the weather warming up, Davidson believes the actual work on the newest Hancock County Habitat home should begin this weekend. If you are interested in helping with this project, call Davidson at 276-9810. If you are interested in learning more about Habitat for Humanity, how it might help you obtain a home of your own, or are interested in becoming a Hancock County Habitat for Humanity volunteer, call Silven at 326-8099.

According to Silven, the group needs volunteers for everything from office work to pounding nails.

With your help, associates of Sam’s Club will reach their 2001 goal of raising $20,000 for the Children’s Miracle Network.

The final event in its series of CMN fund-raisers is a Children’s Miracle Network craft fair and bake sale from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 5, in the parking lot outside Sam’s Club in Bangor.

The cost for individuals or organizations to participate is $25 per table, and you must bring your own table and chairs. Organizers are also seeking donations for an auction.

In addition to the fair, auction, craft and bake sale, the fund-raiser will feature a bounce house, ducks on the pond, face and nail painting for children, and a cookout with hamburgers, hot dogs and homemade french fries.

If you would like to donate an item for the auction, or bring a table for the craft or bake sale, call Carol Lackedy at 947-4606.

Events such as these are what make Bangor Sam’s Club tops in the nation in community involvement. Bangor Sam’s Club recently was presented the Helen Walton Community Involvement Award for 2000, based on the $130,000 it raised, donated and committed to community organizations.

Included in that amount was $16,000 for CMN, more than twice the amount raised by the average club; and $3,000 for the National World War II Memorial, more than four times that of the average club.

Local Sam’s Club associates helped 31 organizations through the company’s Community Matching Grant and Bonus Grant programs, and 99 percent of its associates participated in payroll donations through United Way of Eastern Maine.

Additionally, associates volunteered more than 5,000 hours to more than 50 organizations thorough Sam’s Club’s Volunteerism Always Pays program, which was more than 30 times that of the average club and placed this club as one of the top five locations in the company.

To all the Bangor Sam’s Club associates, on behalf of the community, we congratulate you, thank you and commend you for your commitment to helping your neighbors.

With the Bangor Municipal Golf Course now open, Pat Martin of the Bangor Women’s Golf Club invites female golfers in the Bangor area to join the league.

The group plays at the Muni on Thursdays during the golfing season.

For more information, call Martin at 990-1514 or Bangor Muni pro Brian Enman at 941-0232.

Joni Averill, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor 04402; 990-8288.