Avangrid Foundation Grant Helps Maine’s Adult Learners
The Avangrid Foundation, in partnership with CMP, is helping put Maine residents on a path to success.
The Foundation has awarded a $50,000 grant to MaineSpark, an initiative powered by a diverse coalition of organizations including the Maine Development Fund, to further its work connecting adult learners (24+ years old) with the education, information, coaching and resources they need to secure meaningful, long term employment, and boost their careers.
The funds will be used to train and raise awareness of MaineSpark’s Navigator Network, a group of 375 professionals who provide coordinated support for adult learners as part of MaineSpark’s Adult Promise program. The Adult Promise support network is important during this time of economic turmoil and job loss related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The Avangrid Foundation is deeply committed to serving lifelong learning needs of people in the communities that we serve. This seminal investment at such a critical time is one way we can support individual Mainers as well as whole communities in transition,” said Foundation Director Nicole Licata Grant. “Mainers are uniquely resilient, self-reliant and innovative, but while these are uncertain times, we believe that Adult Promise offers working-age Mainers critical resources to achieve economic stability and long-term success.”
Navigators advise adult learners on going back to school, earning degrees and other credentials, changing careers, finding financial aid and connecting them with resources ranging from childcare to transportation to make these pursuits possible. Adult learners can connect with a Navigator directly from MaineSpark’s statewide online hub and access a wide variety of information on other programs and resources.
“We are grateful to the Avangrid Foundation and Central Maine Power for their support of Maine Adult Promise and the Navigator Network,” said Rosa Redonnett, Chief Student Affairs Officer, University of Maine System. “As a rural state, the connections within and among Maine’s communities are critical to the progress of its citizens, and the Navigator network forms the backbone of those connections as we work together to enable all Maine citizens the ability to gain advanced credentials and degrees. This grant enables us to enhance that network and provide important professional development that can further help support adult learners in Maine.”
MaineSpark is a 10-year commitment by a coalition of organizations – schools and universities, nonprofits and foundations, government agencies and businesses – with a common goal: by 2025, 60% of Mainers will hold credentials of value (degrees and training) that position Maine and its families for success.
MaineSpark is a significant and impactful new joint collaboration between the Foundation and Central Maine Power. The initiative reinforces our collective commitment to uplifting Mainers and creating a better future for the places we live and work. In many ways, education is where it all starts.
