Home Counselors Inc., founded by Projects, Inc. under the original name “Home Builders,” was first established as a domestic crisis counseling program. In its earliest stages, the organization focused exclusively on interventions with dysfunctional families – dispatching trained counselors to homes in crisis. Now operating independently, Home Counselors has evolved substantially over the past 27 […]
Read moreIn 1991 PROJECTS was invited to create a service-learning program at Waterville High School in Waterville, Maine. Much like the program at Orono High School, PROJECTS raised money to fund the program. In exchange, Waterville High School created space in the budget for a new community service learning coordinator position. Working in conjunction with Waterville […]
Read moreWhen Orono High School first implemented its service-learning requirement in 1994, all of the school’s ninth grade students signed a petition objecting to the new program. They believed that the initiative, which required all students to undergo a three year service-learning curriculum before they could graduate, amounted to forced volunteerism. They were right, of course, […]
Read moreIn 1975, PROJECTS, Inc. started a maple sugaring operation geared at supplementing the classroom learning of Camden, Maine high school students. “We sensed that, especially for senior students in their final year of high school, there was a need to balance classroom learning with out of classroom experience,” recalled Perry Gates of PROJECTS. After first […]
Read moreIn 1988, PROJECTS, Inc. helped King Middle School in Portland, Maine establish its “Y.E.S.” program. The program, composed of 20 students in the 6th, 7th and 8th grades, provided participants with the opportunity to work together during and after school to solve community problems. During open periods, students met with advisors twice a week in […]
Read moreIn 1994 PROJECTS was invited to create a service-learning program at Belfast Area High School in Belfast, Maine. Similar to the programs at Orono and Waterville high schools, PROJECTS raised private money to fund the creation of a service-learning coordinator position at Belfast. In exchange, Belfast Area High School allocated office space and administrative support […]
Read moreFrom 1992 – 1995, PROJECTS Inc. helped create a service learning program at Brunswick High School in Maine. Much like PROJECTS flagship service learning program at Orono High School, the initiative combined a core service curriculum with service projects in the Brunswick community. The goal of the program was to involve students in organized community service that addressed […]
Read moreWalking into YouthLinks, a youth community service organization in Rockland, Maine, feels like walking into somebody’s home. You enter through a side door that leads to a mudroom, stuffed with shoes and coats that belong to a mix of adults and students. Up a few steps is the kitchen, where you’re likely to see someone, […]
Read more“Odd Jobs,” established by PROJECTS in 1979, developed as an outgrowth of the organization’s “Knox County Youth Employment Training Program.” The participants, who had been developing employment skills through community service work, approached PROJECTS with a proposal: “Can we start getting paid for the work we’re doing?” Impressed by the kids’ initiative, the PROJECTS staff […]
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