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2023 Humanitarian Awards

Name: 2023 Humanitarian Awards
Start: 2023-05-04T17:30:00-08:00
End: 2023-05-04T20:30:00-08:00
Location: Ocean Gateway

May 4, 2023 @ 5:30 pm - 8:30 pm

Thank you for making this year’s Humanitarian event a success!

To view photos from the event, you can view them on our Facebook page through this link.

Paddle Raise

Raffle

Spurwink is a mosaic of people who are committed to building resilience and providing compassion to others on a journey to better health. This year’s theme —Sea Glass— reflects a beautiful metaphor for the path that Spurwink walks alongside the people we serve. Sea glass transforms from shards of glass into beautiful, softened shapes that capture light and the imagination, as it makes it own path through uncertain ocean waters. Spurwink helps to navigate life’s uncertainties, and as a Host Committee member, you help over 8,000 children, adults, and families facing behavioral health challenges in Maine on their own journeys to better health. We look forward to celebrating with you at a new location, Ocean Gateway, and highlighting how our community builds resilience and comes together to support each other.

Thank You to our 2023 Host Committees

WE ARE DELIGHTED TO ANNOUNCE OUR 2023 HUMANITARIAN OF THE YEAR HONOREE

Humanitarian Award: Mufalo Chitam, Executive Director Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition

Advocate, leader, and community builder Mufalo Chitam is making Maine a stronger place for all by transforming Portland’s once informal network of immigrant support into a robust fabric of resettlement systems to integrate immigrants into Maine culture. As Executive Director of the Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition (MIRC) Mufalo has built one of the most successful immigrant rights organizations in Maine. Mufalo is civic minded, understanding, generous, and thoughtful, and is gifted with a tremendous ability to relate across all ethnic communities no matter how different their experiences or needs may be. Through her work with MIRC, Mufalo represents over 93 member organizations including immigrant constituency and advocacy groups as well as direct service and grassroots community organizations including Spurwink’s ShifaME program, working to elevate the voices of new Mainers as they find their way and cultivate a more diverse and inclusive Maine for future generations of immigrant children to come.

Throughout her career, Mufalo has worked in various capacities to support people to live a fulfilling and dignified life, including positions at Child Fund International, University of Southern Maine, United Way of Greater Portland, and many others, and has served on various boards in Maine including currently advocating on the United States Commission on Civil Rights Maine Advisory Committee.

Mufalo earned her Bachelor of Arts with a double major in Public Administration & Library Science from the University of Zambia and boasts over 25 years of professional experience in fields such as health, education, and social services. She was born and raised in Lusaka, with nine siblings, and immigrated to the U.S. from Zambia in 2000. She lives in Old Orchard Beach with her husband Frank, a System Analyst at Greater Portland Health, and a daughter, Grace who works as an Events & Communication Coordinator at Hult International Business School in MA.

Corporate Care Award: KeyBank

KeyBank’s investments in the community are guided by its National Community Benefits Plan established in 2017, which has already delivered more than $29 billion in lending and investments across Key’s national footprint supporting affordable housing and community development projects, home and small business lending in low- and-moderate income communities, and philanthropic efforts targeted toward education, workforce development, and safe, vital neighborhoods. In 2022, KeyBank provided more than $1 million in local sponsorships and charitable giving across the state of Maine to help address food disparity, workforce development, housing to the homeless, social justice and racial equity, and financial support to the underserved. Key’s employees support giving through the United Way and other personal charitable donations, and donate their time and talents through nonprofit board service and community volunteerism, including participation in the bank’s annual Neighbors Make The Difference Day.

About KeyBank/KeyCorp

KeyCorp’s roots trace back nearly 200 years to Albany, New York. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Key is one of the nation’s largest bank-based financial services companies, with assets of approximately $189.8 billion as of December 31, 2022. Key provides deposit, lending, cash management, and investment services to individuals and businesses in 15 states under the name KeyBank National Association through a network of approximately 1,000 branches and approximately 1,300 ATMs. Key also provides a broad range of sophisticated corporate and investment banking products, such as merger and acquisition advice, public and private debt and equity, syndications and derivatives to middle market companies in selected industries throughout the United States under the KeyBanc Capital Markets trade name. For more information, visit https://www.key.com/. KeyBank is Member FDIC.

For more information or to sign up, contact:

Kristen Farnham, Vice President of Legal Affairs and Advancement | kfarnham@spurwink.org | 207.871.1211 x2186
Emily Silevinac, Director of Development | esilevinac@spurwink.org | 207.871.1211 x2106