Chewonki Waypoint Program Manager Tim Wylie leads students during an outing last winter. Courtesy of Jamie Dorr
Waypoint, a mentoring program for Bath-based students, will have a new home at the Midcoast Youth Center in Bath starting Sept. 1.
The confidence-building enterprise, which currently operates out of the Chewonki Foundation in Wiscasset, serves grades 7-12 and has 70 students enrolled from Regional School Unit 1 — which serves the towns of Arrowsic, Bath, Phippsburg and Woolwich.
Waypoint is part of the Aspirations Incubator initiative that launched its pilot program in 2017 with the assistance of the Rural Futures Fund to increase secondary education opportunities for children in rural Maine communities. Chewonki hosted the program for the past six years during its pilot phase and has handed the reins over to the Midcoast Youth Center, which has provided kids with recreation, education and health support in the Bath community since 2016.
Other Aspiration Incubator sites are in Bangor, Unity, Old Town and Cherryfield.
As Midcoast Youth Center staff and volunteers look for a permanent way to sustain the program, the Rural Futures Fund has agreed to finance Waypoint through the 2024 school year, according to a press release.
“We are very grateful for the support and leadership of Rural Futures Fund and its Executive Director Don Carpenter, who have proven over the past six years that Waypoint and the Aspirations Incubator works,” said Jamie Dorr, executive director and founder of Midcoast Youth Center. “The mission of this program aligns perfectly with our mission of fostering connection and a sense of belonging among youth to ensure every young person knows that they matter.”
Chewonki Waypoint Program Manager Tim Wylie will stay on at Midcoast Youth Center to lead the program, which includes visits to Chewonki for outdoor experiences.
“We are thrilled to continue the collaboration between Midcoast Youth Center, Chewonki and RSU 1 for the future,” Wylie stated in a press release.
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