Announcements

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The Cobscook Community Learning Center (CCLC) will participate in the ninth annual Maine Nonprofit Day at the State House on Thursday, February 2. The CCLC will join together with the Maine Association of Nonprofits and 11 other organizations chosen from across the state to display information about their organization and to raise awareness of the important role nonprofits play in supporting communities and strengthening Maine's economy. Nonprofit Day provides an opportunity for nonprofits and government to assert their commitment to working together in order to creatively, efficiently and effectively serve the people of Maine.

The Cobscook Community Learning Center is committed to creating responsive educational opportunities that strengthen personal, community, and global well-being. The CCLC offers two alternative high school programs, Passages, for pregnant and parenting teens, and The Community Year, an experiential, expedition and place-based educational experience. The CCLC also offers a full range of arts, traditional arts, and music and wellness classes for all ages, a venue for local performers, and a gathering place for the community. Other offerings include hiking trails, a handicapped accessible community garden, a computer lab with free Wi-Fi, and meeting and event space. The CCLC is currently raising money for the Heartwood Lodge, scheduled to be built in 2012-13, which will offer dorm space, art studios, and common areas that will greatly expand the capacity of the learning center.

Nonprofit staff and volunteers from the CCLC and other organizations are integral partners in helping make the complex decisions necessary to keep working families in Maine from falling through the cracks. Quality of life in Maine needs to be preserved and Maine's nonprofits work every day in our local communities enriching our lives through education, promotion of the arts and our culture, preservation of our environment, advancement of science and technology, and much more. Together, we can make important decisions about the future of Maine. The 2012 Nonprofit Day at the State House shines a light on the essential nature of Maine's nonprofit sector and its commitment to work with state government to restructure our systems in thoughtful and sustainable ways. Members of the community are encouraged to join the conversation and to visit the State House on Nonprofit Day, call or email their legislators, or connect with others on Facebook and Twitter to spread the word about the positive impact nonprofits have on their community and the state of Maine.

For more information on the Cobscook Community Learning Center please call 207-733-2233 or visit our website www.thecclc.org. For more information on this event, please call the Maine Association of Nonprofits at 871-1885 or visit www.nonprofitmaine.org/nonprofitday.asp.
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Introductory Newsletter of the Lost Fishermen's Park Memorial Association

Prom Connection

Quoddy TV

Region-Wide

Maine/New Brunswick Creative Residency Fund

Region-Wide

Sculpture Saint John

St. Andrews

New Road to Fundy Discovery Aquarium

St. Andrews

Update on the St. Andrews Film Society

Dear friends and supporters of the St. Andrews Film Society,

We, the board (Jane Dickson, Wilma Blokhuis, Ed Rice, Sylvia Humphries, Stratis and Carol Gavaris, Larry Lack and Lee Ann Ward), met last Sunday afternoon to discuss future films and the future of the film society. Late last fall we had sent out a poll to get feedback from you all as we decide whether to forge ahead with the film society or not. We appreciate all the responses we received, and were encouraged by many of you to continue showing movies on the (fairly) big screen here at the arena theatre.

Overall, most folks seem satisfied with the current time and day(s) of our screenings. Our audiences may have waned in part due to technology (live streaming, downloading, Netflix, all the other online options, bigger TV screens, more movies on cable and satellite, etc.), along with plain old Sunday night inertia, and perhaps the choice of films on a particular evening. We'll make an effort to choose more entertaining films that aren't available online. We'll also try to schedule some of our documentaries as special events or series on evenings other than Sundays.

(Larry and Lee Ann are planning some documentary screenings independent of the film society, starting with "Gasland," the influential doc that has never been shown publicly in Charlotte County. Good time to show it now that serious prospecting by the frackers is starting on the ridges behind St. Stephen).

A few complaints about the theatre being cold or musty have been passed on to arena staff and to Sue Rangeley of the St. Andrews Centre for the Arts, and as a result the theatre now has a dehumidifier in action which has brought a big improvement in the air quality. The heating system has also been repaired.

Our income from donations and memberships has decreased significantly over the last few years. We'd like to encourage people to continue supporting the film society with their annual membership ($10 for individuals, $15 for families). Since we don't want to spend time on keeping records that we could be spending on finding and arranging to show good films, we're asking that folks consider paying their memberships each New Year, or on their birthday, or on some other annual date easy for you to remember. We need this income so we can continue to pay for our licenses and films.

If our financial situation doesn't improve by the end of the year, we may be forced to drop one of our two licenses, which would cut our expenses but also limit our film choices significantly. We feel encouraged, however, that the great lineup of films we've selected for screening over the coming year will draw many of our members back to our films (and also attract new members), and we look forward to seeing you all at the arena theatre soon.

Please do what you can to help us get back on track financially and encourage folks you know to attend our screenings and become members.

Best from all of us, The St. Andrews Film Society Board
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St. Andrews

Volunteering at Sunbury Shores

Trescott

CCLC to Host Warming Center This Winter

The Cobscook Community Learning Center (CCLC) is once again partnering with United Way of Eastern Maine to provide a community warming center this winter. This year has seen drastic cuts in LIHEAP funds and despite the unseasonably warm weather, many people in Washington County are in critical need of staying warm. Located in Trescott, the CCLC is well-positioned geographically to offer this valuable service to people in the area, as it is within a thirty-minute drive of towns from Machias to Perry.

The warming center is available to anyone, anytime the center is open. Regular hours are: Monday through Friday from 8 am to 5 pm. The CCLC is also open during evening and weekend hours for programs and activities. Additionally, the warming center can be open anytime there is an expressed request, a need, or an emergency. Coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and snacks will be available regularly.

The CCLC's largest building, the Community Commons, is a 3,000 square-foot building housing the pottery and arts studio, a large commercial kitchen, and a 1,200 square-foot multi-purpose room. This room is used for gatherings, concerts, classes, meetings, and much more. It is outfitted with tables, chairs, bathrooms, some fitness equipment, and kitchen access. Newspapers, board games, and books are available for visitors. The other main building, Rice Hall, houses administrative offices, a classroom, a computer lab, a community library, and a small kitchen. All spaces are handicapped accessible and available to those accessing the warming center.

All visitors are invited and encouraged to participate in regular CCLC programming. Participating in arts, fitness, or other programming are important components of individual health and growth. Music circles are offered at the center two or three times per month, and are attended by many people interested in gathering with others while enjoying local music. Each week the CCLC hosts a group of knitters and weavers, yoga classes, and other opportunities for fitness, music lessons, a poetry circle, a monthly pizza night, and a Monday night music circle. The CCLC provides an array of enrichment opportunities while serving as a safe and comfortable place to stay warm.

For more information about the warming center or any of the CCLC's programs or classes, contact the center at 733-2233, email penny@thecclc.org or visit our website www.thecclc.org.
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