BANGOR – Sharon E. Barker of Bangor was presented with the Sarah Orne Jewett Award, a lifetime achievement award from The Maine Women’s Fund, at the Evening to Honor Maine Women and Girls on Tuesday, Oct. 12, at the Holiday Inn by the Bay in Portland. The award carries with it a $1,000 grant, which Barker may assign to an organization of her choice.

More than 700 people were expected to attend the event.

The board of directors of the Maine Women’s Fund chose Barker for the award because of her lifelong work to meet the needs of women and girls in the areas of health care, poverty, sexual assault, juvenile justice, gender equity, education and peace. Barker’s work includes the founding of a community school in Aroostook County where she grew up; co-founding the Mabel Wadsworth Women’s Health Center, an independent health center providing women with a full range of education and services; and taking on the position of founding director of the University of Maine’s Women’s Resource Center.

Carol Kulberg and Ruth L. Lockhart, both of Bangor, nominated Barker for the award.

“Sharon epitomizes the essence of our Sarah Orne Jewett Award – she champions the causes she believes in, she has a great vision for a just world, and she maintains her sense of humor as she does the hard work that needs to be done,” said Karin Anderson, executive director of the Maine Women’s Fund.

Recently Barker was able to secure funding for the Women’s Resource Center from the American Association of University Women Educational Foundation to establish a scholar-in-residence program.

The funding enabled the center to collaborate with national experts such as Lyn Mikel Brown, author and authority on girls’ lives, their friendships and the effect those friendships have on women as adults.

In addition, Barker organized the statewide conference “Girls Will Be Girls?” Barker is in the process of creating a video about the event. A videoconference was held on the same topic and linked educators statewide to discuss girls’ lives.

Barker has served on many boards and committees for nonprofit organizations working statewide to improve women’s lives, and was appointed to a gubernatorial commission to find “common ground” in the choice debate. She also has served on an advisory group to former U.S. Rep. John Baldacci to examine domestic violence and hate crimes.

“We’re very lucky to have Sharon in our community,” said Judy Groth of Groth & Associates in Bangor and a Maine Women’s Fund board member. “She has done so many things for the region and is a founding mother for a number of important agencies in this community. Her level of expertise and ability to make things happen has helped women and girls in Bangor as well as in more rural areas,” said Groth.

Barker will direct the $1,000 grant that comes with the award to the Mabel Wadsworth Women’s Health Center in Bangor, the only independent women’s health center in Maine and one of only about 20 in the nation.

The Maine Women’s Fund has hosted the Evening to Honor Maine Women and Girls since 1990. It has grown into the primary fund-raising event for the organization.

Money raised by the Maine Women’s Fund are given as grants to bold and daring organizations working to create systemic change for women and girls throughout Maine.

Since 1990, the Maine Women’s Fund has awarded more than $1.2 million in grants to eliminate gender barriers; build self-esteem; promote economic self-sufficiency; prevent all types of violence; and increase access to quality health care for women and girls.

Karin Anderson has been the executive director of the Maine Women’s Fund since 1994.