Thank you for attending the Greatest Auction on Earth!

Ladies and gentlemen from all over joined us Saturday, October 15 for our 2022 Life Has Been a Circus Auction Gala. With nearly 300 attendees, we enjoyed a fabulous night together again under the big top. Live music, painting, and magic shows alike, guests bid on over 200 silent and 22 live auction items raising a combined $90,000 for the agency’s programs and services! Thank you to our many donors, sponsors, guests, volunteers, and employees who made this event possible. The 2022 tents have come down, but plans for 2023 are already in the works. Prepare to be amazed all over again!

A Night at the Museum for TFC Families and Friends

November is National Adoption Month, a time to celebrate and raise awareness around the importance of finding permanent loving homes for youth in foster care. What better way to celebrate Adoption Month then to highlight our Therapeutic Foster Care Program’s recent event at the Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine. Our team welcomed more than 100 current, former, and prospective foster and adoptive family members to the museum for a night of community, connection, and awareness. From the water tables to the climbing wall and everywhere in between, our foster and adoptive families had so much fun connecting and reconnecting with friends both new and old.

Donate to the Woodfords' Community Fund this Giving Tuesday

Donate

Worldwide, Giving Tuesday, the Tuesday following Thanksgiving and the unofficial ‘holidays’ of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, is recognized as a day to take a break from the typical hustle and bustle of holiday shopping to give back to the organizations and causes that mean the most to you.

This Giving Tuesday, consider directing your donations to Woodfords’ Community Fund through the agency’s Facebook Fundraiser on Tuesday November 29 or at our website. The Community Fund helps Mainers with special needs experience meaningful community inclusion by providing access to activities and experiences such as event tickets, state park passes, museum memberships, retail gift cards and so much more. Help someone with special needs in your neighborhood through the Woodfords’ Community Fund today.

Rich Moment: Navigating Life's Major Transitions, the Poore Family Story

Named after Woodfords' Founders, Alan & Katrina Rich, Rich Moments celebrate the dedication of our staff to the agency's mission, and the successes, big and small, of the individuals with whom we work.

Each year, Woodfords debuts a special signature video bringing a Rich Moment to life. The annual signature video serves as the agency’s year-long reminder of the importance of the services we provide and the lasting impact they have on the families served. This year’s video focuses on Marston Poore, a young adult who has been receiving services from Woodfords since preschool. Marston recently transitioned from children’s to adult services, and the piece highlights the importance of family, connection, and inclusion. We invite everyone to take a few moments to watch this year’s video and to reflect on the fact that there are hundreds, if not thousands, of Woodfords stories and mission moments just like this one, made possible only by the collective commitment, compassion, and dedication of our staff members. A special thanks to Vicky Shaw, Adult Case Management Supervisor, and Whitney Brown, Senior BHH Coordinator for Transition, who lent their voices to this story and to videographer Alex Coppola of Stoop Kid Productions for capturing this story. While on YouTube, check out the Woodfords’ Channel to watch videos from past years and recent projects.

Sibshops 2022-2023 Session Begins, Enroll Now!

Sibshops is a free, monthly peer support group for the siblings of children with special needs. The program provides meaningful and fun opportunities for siblings to meet each other, interact with peers who share a unique bond, and learn from each other how to cope with challenging family situations. Each month, Sibshop participants have the opportunity to express themselves, to share experiences, to participate in an activity that celebrates siblings as unique individuals, to find support in a relaxing setting and to share a meal. Sibshops meets monthly, October – June, on the first Friday of the month at the agency’s Training & Resource Center in Westbrook and is free to participating families.

Donor Spotlight: HCMMC Ride Benefits Waterville Playground

In September, the generous members of the Higher Calling Motorcycle Ministry Club held a benefit ride to support the expansion and renovation of the Waterville Preschool and K-5 Special Purpose Private School Program’s playground. Together the club raised $1,500 to support the work on the playground. Thank you HCMMC, we appreciate your support and look forward to future partnerships.

Halloween Fun Around WFS

Introducing the Woodfords Community Fund

The Virginia Hodgkins Somers Foundation awarded a $10,000 grant to support the agency's York County Children's Programs. Thank you for your continued Support.

Kennebunk Savings Bank awarded a $5,000 grant to the Kennebunk Expeditions Community Support Program for supplies, equipment, and community activities. Thank you for your continued support.

M&T Bank has committed to providing $2,500 to support the agency's Thanksgiving program, providing meals for 200 families in need.

Through AmazonSmile our generous community members have donated a collective $700 to support the agency’s programs and services. You can support Woodfords while you shop on Amazon by shopping at smile.amazon.com or turning on AmazonSmile in your Amazon app.

Employee Spotlight: Recently Recognized Staff

Congratulations to the employees recently recognized as Employee of the Month in their programs. For more information about our programs' Employees of the Month follow us on Facebook!

Woodfords Family Services is committed to the support and inclusion of people with special needs and their families in Maine communities.

Woodfords Family Services is accredited by the Council on Accreditation (COA), whose program of quality improvement is designed to identify providers that have met high performance standards and have made a commitment to their stakeholders to deliver the very best quality services.