PORTLAND, ME – Spurwink has been awarded a $2,000 grant from International Paper’s Auburn, ME Mill and the International Paper Foundation (IPF). Funds will support the expansion of therapeutic gardening on Spurwink’s Lewiston day treatment campus.
Therapeutic gardening helps students develop social, practical, and vocational skills, and helps build community. Students with developmental disabilities and behavioral health challenges benefit from hands-on learning opportunities, particularly empowering activities with practical applications. The therapeutic garden will give students a hands-on and emotionally regulating experience of working in a garden. It also provides opportunities to plant and grow their own food and share it with the larger community.
“Having hands-on learning and engaging opportunities for our students is so important in the work that we do,” said Eric Meyer, President and CEO of Spurwink. “By engaging in therapeutic gardening, they’ll develop social, life, and job skills, and be able to share this with the community.”
The International Paper Foundation is one of the ways International Paper strives to reach its vision to be among the most successful, sustainable, and responsible companies in the world. Started in 1952, the foundation annually provides millions in grants to 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations to address critical needs in the communities where its employees live and work. Funding priority is given to programs related to its signature causes: education, hunger, health & wellness, disaster relief, and initiatives that improve the planet. For more information, visit ipgiving.com.
About Spurwink
Spurwink is a nationally accredited nonprofit organization that provides a broad range of mental health, education, and residential services for children, adolescents, adults, and families. Spurwink offers specialized programs throughout Maine with a commitment to caring relationships and treatment expertise, grounded in evidence-based, best and promising practices. For more information, visit www.spurwink.org, or call 207.871.1200.
Image attached: “General Manager of IPF’s Auburn, ME Mill, Tracy Burke, presents Kristen Farnham, VP of Development at Spurwink, with funds to support the expansion of therapeutic gardening.”
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Press Contact:
Gabrielle Gallucci, Director of Mission Impact | ggallucci@spurwink.org | 207.712.9863