WESTBROOK – After two unexpected key donations in the form of a grant and a fund drive, Mission Possible Teen Center is close to making back the money it lost during budget cutbacks earlier this summer.

“I think people just get it,” said Susan Austin, a member of the center’s board of directors. “It’s a great organization helping kids.”

Even in a good year, the center still works to raise thousands of dollars to provide programs, meals and other benefits to Westbrook youth, but in July the center got an added shock: a loss of $50,000 due to cutbacks in city and state subsidies.

With more than 500 kids estimated to turn to the center for assistance this year, Donna Dwyer, executive director, had to find help, and fast.

Part of that help, she said, came out of the blue, from Casey Family Services.

Based in New Haven, Conn., the nonprofit has offices throughout New England. It recently announced that it would cease providing direct services ranging from adoption to parenting classes and shift to a grant-making strategy “that will help hundreds of foster care and other nonprofit human services agencies adopt innovative, proven approaches to improve child welfare practices,” according to its website.

Mark Millar, division director for Casey Family Services’ Maine office in Portland, said that both his organization and Mission Possible are members of the Community Partnership for the Protection of Children, so he was already familiar with what the center offered children in Westbrook.

“I think they do excellent work,” he said. “I didn’t want to see their services cut.”

After reading about the center’s problems in recent media reports, Millar said he spoke to Mission Possible staff members at a recent meeting of the collective and offered them the chance to apply for a grant.

“I saw a need, something that we were able to do,” he said.

Dwyer obliged, and within two weeks, the center secured $20,000. Compared to the grant work Casey Family Services does throughout New England, Millar said, this grant was relatively small, but he knew the benefit to the center would be huge.

“For a relatively small grant, it has a greater impact on many children in Westbrook,” he said.

As the center was securing that grant, James Tranchemontagne, owner of the Frog and Turtle restaurant in Westbrook, launched a fund drive of his own on a Facebook page. The drive offered prizes to some donors, including restaurant gift certificates and full-course meal vouchers to larger donors.

At the time, Tranchemontagne said the initial goal was to raise $5,000, but interest spiked so much, the drive wound up offering the center $15,000.

“That funded a lot of kids,” Dwyer said.

Austin said she was thrilled to see people reaching out to help on their own.

“Seeing the community come together (like) the Frog and Turtle,” she said. “That wasn’t expected.”

Karen Stephenson of Scarborough, the director of volunteer engagement for the United Way, unpacks a bag of donated food at Tuesday’s food drive in front of the Mission Possible Teen Center.
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