Posted on May 27, 2010

Spring Youth Advocate Award Winners

Five Town Communities That Care is pleased to announce its latest Youth Advocate Award winners!  Adam Kohlstrom, Senior Pastor of Chestnut Street Baptist Church in Camden was selected as the individual winner, and Tangle 4-H Camp and Learning Center (located in Lincolnville) was the organization / group winner.  The Tanglewood award was accepted by the Tanglewood Summer Camp Director, Jessica Decke.

Five Town CTC bestows the awards (one to an individual and one to an organization or group) each quarter at its Coalition Network Meetings.  Winners are selected from a pool of candidates who have been nominated due to their work on behalf of youth in the five town community of Appleton, Camden, Hope, Lincolnville, and Rockport, Maine.

To nominate either an individual or an organization / group for the Youth Advocate Award, email their name and the reasons why you feel they should win the award to dalene@fivetownctc.org.  Nominations for the next quarter will be accepted through mid-August.

Adam Kohlstrom (left) and Five Town CTC Board Chair Dick Strong

Tanglewood Summer Camp Director Jessica Decke (left), Five Town CTC Board Chair Dick Strong, and Tanglewood Executive Director Sandy Neily.

Posted on May 27, 2010

WHO Calls for Action to Reduce Harm From Alcohol

Five Town Communities That Care applauds the World Health Organization (WHO) for its agreement to a global strategy to reduce harm due to excessive alcohol use through higher taxes on alcoholic drinks and tighter marketing regulations. Five Town CTC Executive Director Dalene Dutton notes, “Binge drinking and other excessive alcohol use is a serious global problem.  The involvement of international organizations like the World Health Organization is a significant step towards a solution.”

To read the WHO press release, please go to: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2010/alcohol_20100521/en/index.html

Posted on May 23, 2010

Table Talks hosts needed

FTCTC has been awarded a small grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to conduct a series of Table Talks in our community. These are small, intimate gatherings of parents who know one another where a facilitator takes the group through a series of exercises related to youth alcohol use.

We are seeking parents of middle-schoolers to act as hosts for the Table Talks. Hosting duties are minimal: invite 5 to 10 friends who are parents of children ages 9 to 14 to your home for a discussion of underage drinking. We will provide the facilitator—we just need the homes and guests! The meetings take about two hours, and a simple refreshment (cookie and drink) will be provided by the host or by FTCTC.

PLEASE consider hosting a Table Talk for your friends. The deadline for completing these discussions is June 30, and we are in need of five more hosts.

To volunteer to host, or for more information, contact Sheryl Whittier at the FTCTC offices (236-9800 or mentors@fivetownctc.org).

Posted on May 21, 2010

Celebrating Community Collaborators in April

Five Town Communities That Care’s ongoing efforts to strengthen community collaboration and build community partnerships to prevent and reduce youth substance abuse has been greatly assisted by the participation of the following organizations:

Camden-Rockport Animal Rescue League

Aldemere Farms

Please join us in thanking and celebrating these collaborative efforts.  We are grateful for your financial, in-kind, resource, personnel or any of many forms of support that allow us to offer our STAR, Guiding Good Choices or Mentoring programs.

Posted on May 21, 2010

STAR Students take Korfball skills on the road

Over spring break, two STAR students and their STAR instructor traveled down to Hamilton College in CT, to participate in an open Korfball Tournament. Rebecca Shields, the instructor, had offered to take any of her Korfball students to the tournament upon the completion of the class. Ryan Shields of CRMS and Dylan Taylor of AVS decided to take her up on it. Kevin Shields, Rebecca’s husband and a photographer, offered to go along as well.

It was a two day event with participants coming from as far away as California and the United Kingdom. Everyone got to play including our STAR students as you can see from the pictures. It was a great time to have fun, meet others and put the skills to use that the STAR students learned in class.

Korfball is a game that is similar to basketball in some respects, but quite different in others. It was invented in the Netherlands around the turn of the last century and developed concurrently with our American game. It is as popular as basketball and played by more people in many European countries.

To find out more about STAR visit
http://www.fivetownctc.org/programs/star/

Posted on May 21, 2010

It Takes A Village

Please join Five Town Communities That Care at 7:00 pm at the Strom Auditorium at Camden Hills Regional High School in Rockport for:

The Midcoast Community Chorus Presentation of:
It Takes A Village

A Benefit Concert for Five Town Communities That Care
Under the Direction of Mimi Bornstein

Tickets on sale now at the following ticket outlets:
HAV II in Camden, The Grasshopper Shop in Rockland, and The Green Store in Belfast
$15 General Admission
$22 Side Orchestra
$27 Center Orchestra
FMI: Please visit our the website  of Midcoast Community Chorus at www.mccsings.org or call 975-0582 for more information.

Posted on May 21, 2010

STAR Celebration June 3rd

June 3rd at 6:00 p.m.
Hope Elementary School Gym

The Star Celebration for Cycle 19 will be held on June 3rd, from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. in the gym at Hope Elementary School. This will be a night of fun, family and community as we recognize the achievements of the students from our five towns that have been involved with STAR this spring.

We will gather for a pizza party, with salad and dessert. The drama class will perform a skit they have been working on. The digital photography class will have some of their work on display.

The instructors of their class will individually present students with their certificates of achievement, awards, and incentives. There will be a group picture taken to commemorate the event as well. Of course we will have the door prizes for both students and their parents who attend.

This is a wonderful opportunity to show all of our STAR participants our support and applaud their efforts and accomplishments. They have shown great enthusiasm and commitment to try new things and learn new skills that they can then take with them and out into our community.

So put this date on your calendar. Please RSVP Tug Kellough by phone at 236-9600 or e-mail at star@fivetownctc.org.

We look forward to seeing you there,
Douglas “Tug” W. Kellough

Posted on May 21, 2010

Tickets for Midcoast Community Chorus Benefit Concert Going Fast!

Be sure to get your tickets to the June 12th MCC Concert to benefit Five Town CTC soon, as they are going fast!  The concert is at 7PM at the Strom Auditorium in Camden Hills Regional High School and features the combined voices of more than 100 local singers.  General admission tickets ($15) are on sale at HAVII in Camden, The Grasshopper Shop in Rockland, and the Green Store in Belfast.  Reserve tickets ($22) can be purchased by calling 975-0582.