Pine Tree Society

Pine Tree Society Blog

Welcome to Our Barn

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Let it goat, let it goat, let it gooooaat!  Winter, we goat this.

With a little help from our facilities assistant, Peter Halligan, our famous goats Oreo, Dunkin and Stewart are settled into their new barn at Pine Tree Camp where they will be snug during the winter months on the shores of North Pond.

Thanks to the Burger-Roy Family Charitable Trust and Campbell’s True Value, in September this barn was built through a traditional barn raising with a group of volunteers.

Check out the time-lapse of the barn being built at this link.

We’re not yolking when we say this barn gives us all something exciting to cluck about.

It’s much more than just a barn.  This new addition to Pine Tree Camp gives us the chance to expand our programming around farm animals and gardening in ways we would not be able to do otherwise.  Whether it’s learning how to feed and care for animals or getting their hands dirty in the garden, campers will now have even more opportunities to connect with nature in unique and meaningful ways that impact their lives all year-round.

Please consider supporting this new programming through donating to our annual fund at this link.

This barn was made possible through the Burger-Roy Family Charitable Trust along with donations and support from local partners including:  Higgins Construction, Kavestone Construction, Mainely Trusses, TLG Concrete and Mattingly Products.  CMP employee volunteers also participated in the barn raising.

Watch: Pine Tree Camp’s barn raising in under two minutes

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Thanks to the Burger-Roy Family Charitable Trust and Campbell’s True Value, on Saturday, September 28, 2019 Pine Tree Camp became home to a brand new barn, built through a traditional barn raising with a group of volunteers.

Watch the barn be built in less than two minutes with this time-lapse video below:

Nothing but powerful, positive experiences with Pine Tree Society

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“She has had nothing but powerful, positive experiences with Pine Tree Society since the beginning. The solid foundation they provided helped her to be who she is today. Pine Tree Camp, wow, that’s the icing on the cake.”

Kate’s mom, Deborah, recently shared this with me. In no uncertain terms, Pine Tree Society has transformed Kate’s life.

Kate, who has cerebral palsy, began working with Pine Tree Society when she was in preschool. She could not communicate. Over time, she learned sign language and began using a high-tech device to communicate.

Now as a young woman, she is discovering the magic of Pine Tree Camp.

“It brought tears to my eyes because it was such an authentic experience for her. It’s what every parent wants for their child. The counselors were amazing. The training is phenomenal. They were equipped with the skills to make her feel included, which is no small feat when you don’t know any of the other campers. It’s been a year of growth and independence for her.”

I am so proud that we, you and I, are a part of Kate’s story. You make this possible. I cannot say it enough – our impact is because of you.

The funding Pine Tree Society receives through reimbursement for services only covers a portion of our costs. Families caring for loved ones with disabilities have fewer and fewer resources to turn to for help. You are a critical part of the promise of our mission – a mission that has been in place for more than 80 years.

Your donation will be put to work immediately to impact the lives of Maine children and adults with disabilities and their families. We cannot do it without you. Together, we will help people like Kate discover lives of passion and purpose. Thank you.

Pine Tree Society CEO Noel Sullivan

 

 

Noel J. Sullivan

President & CEO

Give today by clicking here.

Pine Tree Camp opens facility for use by non-profit organizations and increases impact

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To many, Pine Tree Camp is known as a summer camp.  What might not be so widely known is that Pine Tree Camp is open all year long.  About 10 years ago, Pine Tree Camp began offering retreat opportunities, providing the ability for similar organizations to use the beautiful barrier-free campus for their programming.

“It’s always been our goal to support other organizations’ programming,” said Pine Tree Camp director, Dawn Willard-Robinson.  “By doing so, we increase our impact dramatically.  We have a fully accessible, barrier-free campus with extremely committed staff who work nonstop to make sure people are actively participating in anything they want to do.”

For guests, the use of the campus isn’t the only highlight.  Organizations partner with Pine Tree Camp to design and offer dynamic, adaptive programming in which all can meaningfully participate.

“We like to say that we are completely accessible inside and out,” continued Dawn.  “By that we mean, our 285-acre campus is fully accessible, and so are we.”

Dozens of special purpose programs call Pine Tree Camp a short-term home.  In fact, Pine Tree Camp welcomes close to 2,000 people a year through retreats alone.

From organizations looking for a barrier-free natural setting, to schools building student leadership, to camps and programs with a focus on discovering abilities, the sky is the limit for how Pine Tree Camp’s team can help organizations achieve their goals.

JMG is an example of an organization that utilizes our facility for conferences. Their Leadership Education Conference brings 500 Maine middle and high school students together to explore the skills they have to offer to the Maine workforce.  Watch the news story at this link.

Camp No Limits was one of Pine Tree Camp’s very first retreat groups and what started as a retreat for four families has expanded to serve hundreds of people from around the world.  Read more at this link.

The experience people have at Pine Tree Camp has a lasting, positive impact in their lives through the confidence and independence they gain from their experiences.  From the camp’s fully accessible cabins to the dining hall, tree house, nature trails, and fishing and boating on picturesque North Pond, retreat program attendees actively participate in all the activities for which Maine is famous, experiencing freedom and independence in our uniquely barrier free setting.

For more information about hosting a retreat at Pine Tree Camp, please visit this link.

Cards for a cause

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This year, Pine Tree Society went back to its expansive holiday card archive to offer a special, limited edition rerelease of customer favorites featuring beautiful paintings by two celebrated Maine artists: Sandy Crabtree of Bath and Marieluise Hutchinson of Cushing.

Crabtree’s paintings have been featured on Pine Tree Society’s holiday cards 11 times. She is a noted children’s book illustrator and a longtime Bath resident who taught at Morse High School for nearly 30 years.

“Pine Tree Society’s art collection is wonderful and I love being a part of it,” she said. “You never know how it strikes people’s hearts. The holiday cards evoke feelings of nostalgia for Maine as a place where you grew up or visited.”

Her painting “Pemaquid Lighthouse” is a captivating watercolor of a beloved Maine lighthouse amidst snow-covered rocks.  On a brisk, winter day, softly falling snow coats the landscape in large, white, peaceful flakes.

Cushing artist Marieluise Hutchinson’s paintings have been featured on Pine Tree Society’s holiday cards seven times.

“I call my work traditional realistic rural new England,” she said. “I love farmhouses with connected buildings and barns and village scenes with groups of houses. Winter scenes are my favorite things to paint. I like the warmth. Even though it’s cold, it’s a warm scene.”

Hutchinson is proud to paint what she loves to benefit worthy causes and it means a lot that her work can help Pine Tree Society fulfill it’s mission to serve Maine people with disabilities.

“Pine Tree Society does so much for adults and children alike and it’s an honor to use what I can do to help people,” she said.

Her painting captures a quintessential Maine farmhouse under a fresh blanket of snow.  This scene is based on a favorite setting in Wiscasset Village where the perfect snowman and classically lit evergreens adorn the house and barn.

One hundred percent of proceeds from annual holiday card sales support Pine Tree Society’s programs. For more 50 years, sales of these cards has raised over $3 million dollars to support and transform the lives of Maine people with disabilities.

Cards are available in two formats, folding and postcards, and each purchase has a very important purpose: to help Maine people with disabilities lead richer, more socially connected lives.

Holiday cards can be ordered online at www.pinetreesociety.org or by calling 207-443-3341.

Something I can’t do anywhere else

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“I don’t want to do something I can do anywhere.  I want to do something I can’t do anywhere else.”

That’s how one of our counselors described why she chose to work at Pine Tree Camp this summer.

Our assistant camp director, Mary Schafhauser, couldn’t agree more.  “It’s the best experience I’ve ever had.  Every day, I get to help someone experience something new.  Every day, someone does something incredible they’d never tried before. That knocks my socks off.”

Helping Maine kids and adults with disabilities have experiences they would otherwise not be able to have is what makes Pine Tree Camp so unique.  Counselors and program staff seamlessly integrate hundreds of adaptations to traditional camp activities to ensure all campers can fully participate.  From providing a larger ball for soccer, to giving verbal descriptions of activities for campers who are visually impaired, to adding sound to disc golf baskets, Pine Tree Camp staff finds creative ways to ensure activities are accessible for everyone.

Mary recalled how enthusiastic a camper was about all the new things she was trying. “She kept saying ‘Oh wow!  I’ve never done this!” and when she got a certificate for one of her achievements she broke down crying because she’d never received anything like that before.”

Camp director Dawn Willard-Robinson said “Our motto for the season was ‘Purpose guides you.  Mission drives you.  Vision is what you aspire to.  Impact is what matters.  And we put that motto into action and took advantage of every opportunity for campers to fully participate in whatever they were doing.  For example, when we went to the overnight camping area, campers packed their own backpacks, decided what they wanted to have for food, then prepped and cooked all the food together.  Not only was it a fun experience, they were building decision making, communication and teamwork skills at every step.”

Dawn remembered a girl who came to camp last year who was very shy.  “She was a little girl and her suitcase was bigger than her.  She was timid and unsure of herself.  But when her parents came to pick her up, she said ‘I’m coming back next year.’  This summer, she was the queen of her cabin.  She taught the other girls how to sign and showed them that you don’t have to talk to communicate.  It was so cool to see that interaction.  She gave them something they might not have ever had the opportunity to experience otherwise.”

Next summer when campers return, there will be a new archery pavilion and mini-barn to check out.

“Archery is really popular and our current shooting station will expand to include a bench, a railing to put your bow on and storage space for all the equipment,” continued Dawn. “And our new mini-barn will allow us to create stalls for our goats and expand the number of chickens we have.  Campers will get the chance to clean out the stalls, take care of the animals and actively learn about growing and caring for a garden.”

Opportunities like these build confidence and independence and form the foundation for interests that can last a lifetime. The independence, friendships and confidence gained at Pine Tree Camp has a positive impact in the lives of campers and their families that extends long after summer is over.

This year, Pine Tree Camp welcomed 475 returning campers and 167 new campers ranging in age from six to 75.  Campers came from every single county in Maine and some travelled from out of state to have the unique experience that only Pine Tree Camp can provide.  Of those nearly 650 campers, 99% required tuition assistance, which was covered by more than $960,000 in donations, which made this Maine summer camp experience possible for hundreds of families.

Next year is the 75th anniversary of Pine Tree Camp and staff will be energized and ready to do something they can’t do anywhere else, which is transforming lives of Maine people with disabilities and discovering abilities together with every camper who comes down the hill.

National Direct Support Professionals Week

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All of us here at Pine Tree Society and Pine Tree Camp are celebrating National Direct Support Professionals week.  Our president and CEO Noel Sullivan thanks all DSPs for their service to the people of Maine.  He says:

“National DSP Recognition Week shines the spotlight on the incredible work of Direct Support Professionals and the vital contributions they make to our communities nationwide. 

Here in Maine, our outstanding Direct Support Professionals are the backbone of so much of our work at Pine Tree Society. Every day, our team of DSPs ensure people with disabilities have the necessary supports to live, work, and enjoy life as independently as possible.  

Our DSPs are dedicated, creative advocates for the people we work with and bring a unique approach to every individual’s goals. 

I am inspired every day by their commitment to discovering abilities together.”

Discover more about our direct support programs in Auburn and Scarborough:

 

Quimby Family Foundation partners with Pine Tree Camp

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Pine Tree Camp stands alone when it comes to nature and nature-based recreation for people with disabilities. This uniqueness earned the camp a 2019 Movement Grant from the Quimby Family Foundation.

“We fund camps that provide a really unique experience,” said Hannah Quimby, executive director of the Quimby Family Foundation. “Pine Tree Camp is designed for kids and adults with disabilities to experience nature. It’s such a beautiful spot and it was really wonderful to see their passion for the work they’re doing.”

Pine Tree Camp is Maine’s only American Camp Association accredited camp exclusively serving people with disabilities. The camp’s 285-acre barrier-free campus is designed to provide the ultimate level of access, allowing Mainer’s with disabilities maximum independence.

“It’s easy to take for granted the ability to take a walk in the woods, swim in cool water on a hot summer day or enjoy a paddle across the lake,” noted Noel Sullivan, president and CEO of Pine Tree Society. “These things are so simple and make a big difference in an individual’s quality of life. But, for people with disabilities, there are significant barriers to participating in those simple joys.”

Pine Tree Camp’s founders were visionaries. They identified these challenges and opened Pine Tree Camp in 1945. They shared a vision of the critical importance of recreation and access to the outdoors as essential to the well-being of children with disabilities. Today, Pine Tree Camp offers a full range of outdoor recreational opportunities including kayaking, swimming, exploring the woods on a network of nature trails, fishing, a challenge ropes course, a fully accessible tree house, gardening and sleeping under the stars in a real tent.

The independence, friendships and confidence gained at Pine Tree Camp has a positive impact in the lives of campers and their families that extends long after summer is over. In fact, people who attended Pine Tree Camp as a child report that the impact of the experience was profound, altering the trajectory of their life’s path. Pine Tree Camp credits that to the unique combination of immersing in nature, complete access to nature-based recreation and the opportunity to develop friendships. While these sound like every day experiences, for people with disabilities these activities are anything but typical. Thanks to the Quimby Family Foundation, the lives of Maine people with disabilities will continue to be transformed.

There’s no place better than Pine Tree Camp

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“I’ve come to realize that I know of no other place like it.”

That’s what Amber Lambke says about Pine Tree Camp.

“To think that we have this in central Maine on a beautiful pond in a beautiful setting is really special,” said Amber. “I’ve been so pleased to see the infrastructure improvements and how it continues to get more and more accessible. It shows people care about Pine Tree Camp as a resource and are committed to sustaining it.”

Amber worked as a counselor at Pine Tree Camp in the early 1990s before going on to become a speech language pathologist and, later, founder of Maine Grains in Skowhegan, which she founded with fellow Pine Tree Camp alumni, Mike Scholz.

Mike not only was a counselor at Pine Tree Camp, his parents worked there when he was a boy so he spent many of his childhood summers on North Pond.

“One of the best things about being involved in Pine Tree Camp at a young age was to grow up and be friends with kids with disabilities who would come to camp and, no matter what, to see them as a kid just like me with the same thoughts, ambitions, desires and need for friendship,” said Mike. “That was very valuable to me. There’s no place better than Pine Tree Camp.”

Amber agreed.

“It gave me building blocks and instilled in me the ability to observe and see people at their core and be able to look past the physical self,” she said. “As a proud introvert, Pine Tree Camp forced me to get outside of yourself a little bit. Camp is for the campers and that’s what life is all about.”

Keep in touch – join the alumni association!