Many could benefit from ‘Angels’ programs

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Two years ago, I wrote a column about an Enfield woman who had discovered a volunteer project call ChemoAngels.

That column was read by Sue Hart of Bangor, who e-mailed in mid-July to say that she “checked it out and became a very active angel” shortly after reading the column.

She then informed me that People magazine recently had a short story about the organization, adding that, “The article was accurate but, unfortunately, it never mentioned the sister program, SeniorAngels.”

Hart received her sixth official ChemoBuddy about two months ago and, is now an “angel” to three seniors.

“I can’t begin to tell you how much this program means to me,” she wrote.

ChemoAngels and Senior Angels was founded by Californian Laura Armstrong, with the purpose of bringing a ray of sunshine into the lives of people with cancer and those living in nursing homes.

“We send out notes of encouragement, sympathy cards, birthday cards and congratulations to graduates” of chemotherapy or other treatment programs, Hart explained.

And even though she works full time for the town of Orono, Hart wrote that she has found volunteering for this organization “really fits my lifestyle. My enthusiasm is contagious, and one of my good friends and co-workers has also signed on.”

Hart reported that Staci Krug, the Enfield woman about whom I first wrote, “is wonderful, and still very involved” with this program.

Hart believes “that there are many people who would really benefit from our work.

“When you sign up,” she explained, “you are assigned somebody. You send them a small package and a couple of cards or letters once a week.”

Items that are included in a package can range from something as simple as a bookmark to stickers or decorative items.

Hart believes that seniors in our area “who are homebound or in nursing facilities” really would appreciate having their own “angel.”

And she speaks from experience.

“I lost my mother to ovarian cancer in 1998,” she said. “Two years later, my dad, who was nine years older than my mother, also died.”

Hart believes a ChemoAngel would have really been nice for her mother, and a SeniorAngel even more important for her father during that difficult time of his life.

Hart suggests that if you are interested in this program, you visit www.chemoangels.com.

During its 41-year-history, Nichols Day Camps on Walker Pond in Sedgwick has enabled more than 8,000 children to learn to swim, and has employed more than 1,200 young adults, mostly residents of the Blue Hill Peninsula and the communities of Deer Isle and Stonington.

To help build the organization’s endowment, and to make improvements to facilities, campers will help kick off a $500,000 fund-raising campaign at noon Friday, Aug. 20, when they parade from Blue Hill Consolidated School to the Town Park.

The 120 children in the final summer session will carry posters that identify “what I like about camp.”

At the park, Scamp Campers and Nichols Day Campers will present original drama productions and receive their end-of-session awards.

A singalong led by Allison Dibble is planned for 2 p.m. and puppeteer Joel McGraw will perform at 2:15 p.m.

Free games, ice cream and balloons will be offered to all children from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m.

Founded by Francis and Louise Nichols in 1963, their goals for the camps remain the same today for the nonprofit Blue Hill Society for Aid to Children, which owns and operates the camps: Giving all area children an opportunity to attend camp, regardless of their families’ finances.

I am sure that the society’s executive director, Candy Eaton, would be thrilled to hear from anyone (especially former campers) who would be willing to contribute to, or help out with, this campaign.

You may reach her at 374-5548.

Penobscot County Extension Educator Gleason Gray invites the public to the extension’s third annual Garden Gathering Field Day 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 21, at the University of Maine Rogers Farm on Bennoch Road in Old Town.

He wrote, “This full day of educational programs includes an opportunity to have some of your own garden problems identified.”

Extension pest management specialists will be available from 9:30 to 10:15 a.m., so bring samples of plant disease and insect specimens to help identify those problems.

For more information, and a complete program, call the extension office at (800) 287-1485 or 942-7396.

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