Congratulations to Marc Cone from from Gardiner, the winner of Pine Tree Society’s March 2022 St. Patrick’s Day Sweeps drawing at Pine Tree Society.

Pine Tree Society Sweepstakes raise money to help Pine Tree Society transform lives. For information about the sweepstakes, call us at 207-443-3341.

“It was refreshing.”

“It felt like we finally did something fun.”

“It was nice for all of us to just be away from home.”

“I was so surprised at what he did and what he was good at.”

That’s what parents had to say after coming to Pine Tree Camp’s Adventure Day Pass this winter.

“For many parents, they got to see their child in an entirely new light when they realized they could do things they’d never seen them do before,” said Pine Tree Camp director Dawn Willard-Robinson. “They were blown away and amazed to see what their child can do at Pine Tree Camp.”

Pine Tree Camp Adventure Day Pass allows Maine children and adults with disabilities and their families the chance to come to camp together for the day, providing much needed time outdoors in a barrier-free environment.

“So often when you’re a special needs parent you can lose sight of the importance of just having fun with your kid,” said Pine Tree Camper mom, Erin. “Sometimes you need to step back from the role of being your child’s advocate. You just want to be your kid’s mom and have fun with them.”

In January, Erin and her son, Jackson, came with his younger sister, Sabrina. Jackson loves to fish and got to try his hand at ice fishing for the first time. They all enjoyed sledding and making s’mores around the camp fire, but the big surprise was how much they loved snowshoeing. Sabrina pushed them all to give it a chance and they were glad they did.

“It was awesome!” Erin said.  “I never in a million years thought that was something we would ever try. It was nice to be surprised how much we all enjoyed it!”

Spending the day at Pine Tree Camp also gave Erin the chance to relax knowing they were in a safe environment. She also appreciated the fact there were so many activities set up that, as a mom, she didn’t have to plan herself. They could just get outside and enjoy being together.

As a school nurse, Erin knows how important being outdoors is for overall well-being, especially for children and families living with disabilities who find it more difficult to get outside.

“Spending the day outside in nature at Pine Tree Camp, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain,” she said.  “It’s very grounding and helps quiet your mind. Being outdoors helps reduce depression and anxiety. Our children are lost behind screens right now and anytime we can get them outside in nature helps.”

Pine Tree Camp’s Family Camp returns again in February, giving families the chance to get away from home and spend the weekend together in a cabin. The team is laser-focused on summer and welcoming Pine Tree Campers back in-person for week-long camp sessions.

“This is what we’ve been waiting for,” said Dawn. “We’re very excited to be able to provide overnight camp sessions again.”

There are stringent Covid safety protocols in place and sessions will be run at 60% capacity, which will provide ample opportunity to spread out.

Dawn and her team are in full swing recruiting camp staff for the summer season and it won’t be long before the sweet sounds of summer camp return. It will be music to their ears.

There’s no easy way to say it: Referrals are at an all-time high at our Early Learning Center and we’re seeing first-hand how the pandemic has torn the fabric of our most vulnerable children’s lives in ways we have never seen before.

The needs are significant. Parents are struggling. Families are coming to us who are homeless, dealing with domestic violence and living in apartments with no heat.

“We’re all collectively going through a traumatic event,” said Karen McClure-Richard, director of Pine Tree Society’s Early Learning Center. “Life is stressful right now.”

Our Early Learning Center in Auburn provides early intervention and educational programming for children ages three to six. Karen and her team of educators are seeing a huge slide in daily living skills among their students.

A great number of kids are still on bottles at age four and many kids require feeding therapy.

“A lot of our kiddos slated for kindergarten are still in diapers, and there’s no developmental or medical reason why,” Karen continued.

When life feels out of control, toileting, talking, eating and sleeping are things kids can control and there’s a huge slide in development of these areas. Many of the children at the Early Learning Center have spent half their lives in a pandemic and are struggling with social emotional skills as well.

“Most of the kids are pretty good at keeping themselves busy, but they’re not really sure what to do with other people,” said Karen. “They haven’t grasped the basics of how to greet people, play with other kids, or take turns. We’re seeing a lot of ‘grab and go’ where kids want something and just take it without asking and don’t understand why that’s not good.”

Referral numbers are double what they were pre-Covid, and with this growing rate of enrollment, the Early Learning Center needs more classroom space and additional staff. A new occupational therapist joined the team this winter and the center is on track to add a new classroom in 2023.

“We can’t go around this, we have to go through it,” Karen concluded. “We’re doing everything we can to create the best plan possible for each child and build on the scaffolding of what we have.”

“Spring: A lovely reminder of how beautiful change can truly be.” I came across this quote the other day and couldn’t help but think about how that applies to our work at Pine Tree Society right now in 2022.

Take the story of 11-year-old Jackson. Two years ago, Jackson was set to attend Pine Tree Camp for the first time, then the pandemic hit.

“We had to put everything on hold,” his mother, Erin, recently told us. “He was heartbroken he couldn’t go to Pine Tree Camp.”

A few weeks ago, Jackson got his chance to attend Pine Tree Camp – along with his mom and his younger sister. They enjoyed ice fishing, snowshoeing and, of course, s’mores over the fire.

“It was awesome,” Erin told us. “At Pine Tree Camp I feel I can let my kiddo have more freedom. I can let him be himself.”

It’s incredible to think that two years ago, Pine Tree Camp was closed during the winter, spring and fall. Today, we are offering a full slate of programming to meet the needs of Maine children and adults with disabilities and their families all year long.

Changes can be seen in other programs as well. Our Early Learning Center is growing to meet the increased needs in the community, our adult services program has focused on getting clients outside to experience the restorative benefits of nature and we are launching a new conference to support parents caring for children with disabilities.

We are proud to change to continue to meet the evolving needs of Maine children and adults with disabilities and their families during a time in which they need us most – and we could not do this critical work without you.

Your support today will go right to work to help us continue to impact Maine people with disabilities through Pine Tree Camp, early intervention, day programs for adults, and case management services to implement and retain critical services.

Jackson and his family are just one of thousands of families who are counting on us. Please send in your gift today. It will go right to use to help Maine people who need us. We thank you for your continued support.
Sincerely,

Noel Sullivan
President and CEO