November 27, 2024
Column

Old Town pupils raising money for trip abroad

With the help of family, friends and community members, two honor roll pupils at Leonard Middle School in Old Town are in the midst of raising part of the tuition that will take them on a once-in-a-lifetime journey as members of the People to People Student Ambassador Program.

Eighth-grader Elise Jordan, daughter of John and Lynn Jordan of Old Town, and sixth-grader Eryn Nelson, daughter of Wes and Roberta Nelson of Old Town, leave July 11 and return July 30. They will spend time in France, Italy and Greece.

The mission of People to People, founded in 1956 by President Dwight Eisenhower, is to encourage and promote world peace through children and their peers by having delegations of young people traveling throughout the world, experiencing other cultures and learning about other governments and traditions.

Each girl needs to raise about $3,000 to cover airfare, board, three daily meals and ground transportation for the trip.

To raise the funds, they are holding a spaghetti dinner and family dance from 5 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 26, at the Old Town Elks Lodge on North Fourth Street.

Admission is $5 for adults, $3.50 for students and seniors, and $10 for members of immediate families.

What makes this fund-raiser of even greater interest is the fact that Sen. Susan Collins is scheduled to speak, as are two People to People chaperones who will describe the program and the experiences awaiting the girls.

Saturday’s fund-raiser includes a raffle during the dance.

If you cannot attend but would like to help the girls represent our country abroad, contributions can be sent to Elise Jordan, c/o Bank of America, 230 Main St., Old Town 04468, or to Eryn Nelson, c/o University Credit Union, Orono 04473.

As a point of historical interest, I was pleased to read on the People to People Student Ambassador Programs Web site that the founder’s granddaughter, Mary J. Eisenhower, is continuing her grandfather’s legacy of promoting international peace through understanding by serving as president and chief executive officer of the organization.

For those of you who remember our 34th president, I can report his granddaughter bears a remarkable, and very attractive, likeness to him.

Looking for a way to entertain the youngsters in your family this vacation?

Children ages 9 to 12 can attend the Camera Workshop for Children 1-3:30 p.m. today at Bangor Museum and Center for History, 6 State St. in Bangor.

Mari Abercrombie of Windover Arts Center will conduct the workshop, which is related to the museum’s exhibit, “Images of New England: Visions of Bangor, Photography and the Human Experience.”

That exhibit closes Monday, Feb. 28.

Supported by the Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation, admission is free.

For information call 942-1900.

Games of skill and chance from around the world, gallery visits and Northeastern Native American games and races are all part of the 15th annual Hudson Museum Games Day.

That school vacation event is 10 a.m.-noon Thursday, Feb. 23, at Hudson Museum in the Maine Center for the Arts at the University of Maine in Orono.

Open to children age 6 and up, the fee is $3 per child, and you can register or receive information by calling 581-1904.

Hudson Museum director Gretchen Faulkner reports the event is open to families and groups, including Scout troops, and can be used to fulfill badge, loop and pin requirements.

You are invited to join hundreds of fellow winter outdoor enthusiasts for the second annual Winter Fun Day at Pine Tree Camp beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 26, at the Pine Tree Society’s 250-acre facility off Route 8 in Rome.

Among the many fun activities are Radar Runs sponsored by ATV Maine; a fishing derby; a snowmobile poker run; an Antique and Vintage Sled Show hosted by Maine Antique and Vintage Snowmobile Association; obstacle course events; snowshoe races; groomer demonstrations; hayrides and a barbecue lunch. The event is sponsored by the organizations mentioned above along with radio station 104.7 The Bear, which will broadcast live from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., and Pine Grove Lodge.

For information, or to volunteer or receive directions to Pine Tree Camp, call Kevin Ward, 634-2167, or e-mail shrek@usasatanet.net.

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

Correction: An item in Joni Averill’s column on Feb. 22 contained an incorrect address for the bank handling donations to help send eighth-grader Elise Jordan on a student trip to Europe this summer. The correct address is Elise Jordan Fund, care of Bank of America, 330 Main St., Old Town, ME 04468.

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