Employing 22 young people with an $88k grant!

The LearningWorks Weatherization Corps is coming to a town near you.

Starting on July 13th, we will be leading the charge to weatherize homes in Maine. Thanks to an $88,000 grant from Goodwill Industries of Northern New England, LearningWorks will hire and train 22 low income 18 to 24 year olds to perform energy audits and weatherize as many as 25 units of housing in York, Cumberland, Knox, Waldo, Sagadahoc, and Lincoln counties.

The program is designed to work with young people who have dropped out of school, have been homeless and are trying to work their way out of poverty. Tom Kane, director of Weatherization Corps said it best: "We are trying to provide work for people who have had a barrier to employment...we want this to be life-changing; something which is really good for the youth and also provide weatherization services which people need."

Portland West is now LearningWorks

A note from Executive Director Ethan Strimling

We were founded in 1967 as a neighborhood activist organization dedicated to protecting the west end from gentrification. Then in the 1980's we began to evolve into an organization that didn't just advocate, but started putting anti-poverty programs in place. We started with affordable housing, then added community development programs, and finally built in educational services for at-risk youth and low income families who lived in the west end. All the while we continued our advocacy and activism.

Today, however, we are a full blown service agency providing the best learning opportunities across southern Maine for at-risk youth, the immigrant community, and low-income families. To that end, it became clear that a new name was needed. A name that would describe what we do, our philosophy, and would not limit people's geographic thinking of who we serve. That is why we decided to change our name to LearningWorks.

Because, learning does work when you provide the works of learning to those in need.

- Ethan

Volunteer of the Month!

Meet Otto Muller!

Otto comes to LearningWorks as a Professor of Music at Goddard College. Otto has been volunteering in the Alternatives to Detention Program and has actively engaged the young men in our program with his passion for music. Otto has taught basic composition skills such as reading and writing music notation. He has also assisted the youth in creating their own music, and in making beats for their own spoken word and rap performances. Otto is known for creating music by hitting the bottoms of recycling bins, and other times, a closing drawer becomes a beat! The youth have endearingly nicknamed Otto, "Audio."

Otto shows deep respect and compassion for the youth and uses his sense of humor to be effective in making connections. Otto states that he came to LearningWorks to volunteer in order to use his artistic skills for some good purpose. It is clear that he has created a purpose here, and has made an impact on some of our young men. Thank you, Otto!

Our belief is that learning is the best way out of poverty.

We are committed to providing the best learning opportunities in Maine. And, here’s what we’ve accomplished in the last three years:

Youth Building Alternatives (YBA), our alternative high school is nationally accredited. YBA placed over 100 at-risk youth in colleges or jobs and assisted another 120 with GED attainment or educational advancement.

Our holistic approach to adjudicated youth is unparalleled. By teaching cognitive skills and anger management, we have diverted over 300 youth from jail resulting in fewer than 8% committing another crime

Our after-school learning center is serving twice the students it served last year and in the process helped 200 kids catch up on their studies.

Our adult literacy is recognized statewide. We have helped over 50 immigrants improve a grade level or pass their citizenship test and provided over 600 aduts with individual tutors and access to our computer lab.

Our social work and mental health expertise is deeper than ever with more case management and individualized plans.

Upcoming Events

For more information call: 207-775-0105

Monday, July 6th
5:00–6:00 pm, Monthly Community Dinner.

In the Learning Center. All Welcome and Free! Gather with other community members to share food