Maine Service Fellows accepting applications for program

AUGUSTA — Maine Service Fellows is accepting community applications for the program.

Maine Service Fellows is a program of Volunteer Maine, the state service commission, and not part of the AmeriCorps national service network.

The application process is open through Friday, Oct. 28.

The mission of the program is to:

• Provide rural, underserved communities with a resource to address critical needs;
• Increase the opportunities for recent college graduates to devote a year of service to communities and use their skills to make a difference;
• Attract and retain people with a passion for public service, especially in rural areas; and
• Strengthen civic engagement and community resilience by involving community residents as well as Service Fellows in volunteer-based solutions.

Service Fellows devote between one and two years to helping a community address a challenge. They are recent college graduates who opt to apply their skills and knowledge to a service assignment. During service, they receive a stipend, health insurance, training, and other supports that help them focus on the community work plan, according to a news release from Jake Hurner, Maine Service Fellows coordinator.

Service Fellow sponsors may be county or municipal government, school districts, local nonprofits, faith-based organizations, or regional organizations authorized by the community to lead a project. The sponsor organization submits the application for the community and, if accepted, agrees to provide the required supports. Those supports include technical supervision, assignment of a community liaison for the Fellow, work space with appropriate equipment, and a modest financial contribution to the program ($1,800).

The program is open to communities located in parts of the state defined as very rural under the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural-Urban Continuum Codes. Specifically, that means communities in Aroostook, Washington, Hancock, Piscataquis, Franklin, Somerset, Oxford, Lincoln, Knox or Waldo counties, as well as towns in Penobscot County with populations of 5,000 or fewer residents.

Community project work plans for Service Fellows need to focus on one of the areas listed below:

• COVID 19 recovery;
• Housing including eviction prevention;
• Climate resiliency (planning, impact mitigation, etc.);
• Workforce development;
• Substance use prevention and recovery; and
• Public health including mental health.

For more information, visit volunteermaine.gov or email Hurner at jake.hurner@maine.gov.