Finding Purpose Through Service: How CMP’s Katie Manende Is Helping Others
As part of our Avangrid in the Community series, we’re shining the spotlight on employees who generously give their time and energy to passions that drive them.
For Katie Manende, volunteering isn’t just something she does in her spare time; it is a deeply personal way to give back, to connect, and to heal.
By day, Katie (pictured above, left) serves as Manager of Vegetation Management for Central Maine Power (CMP), ensuring reliable power for customers by overseeing the maintenance and safety of trees and vegetation near power lines. Outside of work, she is a driving force behind Stay; For Life, a Maine-based nonprofit dedicated to mental health awareness and suicide prevention. Through her volunteer work, she has helped the young organization grow from its grassroots beginnings into a community lifeline, offering resources, education, and hope to those who need it most.
Katie Manende
“I wear many hats,” Katie says. “I recently became a board member, but I’ve been volunteering with Stay for Life since 2023. I also chair the funding and development committee, help plan and staff events, manage the social media accounts and step in wherever I’m needed. We’re still a small organization, so everyone pitches in.”
Katie’s connection to Stay for Life began with someone she knew personally. The nonprofit’s executive director, Angela, founded the organization after the loss of her 18-year-old son to suicide in 2022. “I knew Angela from her work at a local veterinary practice,” Katie explains. “After her loss, I wanted to support her however I could. Then, in 2023, one of my best friends died by suicide. That’s when I dove in more deeply. Volunteering became a way to process my own grief and do something meaningful.”
That sense of meaning is what keeps her involved. Through tabling events, community outreach, and awareness campaigns, Katie often meets people who share their own stories. “Sometimes people just stop to grab a flyer,” she says. “But other times, they open up about losing someone or struggling themselves. Those moments really stick with you.”
One of her most memorable experiences came during an event where she distributed a special gray bracelet that Stay for Life board members reserve for deeply personal encounters. Stay For Life has black bracelets at all of their events that read “You Are Not Alone” and includes 988, the national suicide prevention hotline number. “We have another gray bracelet that’s given out with a different, more personal message. Those are given to people who have personally told us they’ve struggled with mental health issues or have attempted suicide. I’ve given three of those out and each time, the person’s face just changed. You could tell it meant something to be seen and understood. Those are the moments that remind me why I do this.”
Katie on the job in Maine in a transmission right of way.
Her volunteer hours also align with Avangrid’s Energized for Good program, which encourages employees to give back to causes that matter to them. CMP employees can earn company-matched donations for every hour they volunteer, and Katie often maxes out her annual volunteer hours. “It’s one of the things I really appreciate about working for CMP,” she says. “It shows that the company genuinely cares about the communities we serve, not just through words but through action.”
While Stay for Life holds a special place in her heart, it is not the only way Katie gives back. She is a longtime board member of the Maine TREE Foundation, serves on the Maine chapter of the Society of American Foresters, participates in the Dempsey Challenge each year to support cancer care, and even finds time for her local PTA.
When asked how she manages it all, Katie says: “It sounds like a lot, but it doesn’t feel that way. Volunteering fills my cup and it gives back as much as it takes.”
For those considering getting involved but unsure where to start, her advice is simple: do what you can. “People sometimes think volunteering means you have to go all in,” she says. “But any amount of time helps. Even small tasks make a difference. It’s not about the hours; it’s about the heart behind it.”
To Katie, volunteering is about community, connection, and compassion. She doesn’t see a negative to volunteering and advises “Whether it’s helping someone else, learning something new, or just feeling that sense of doing good, it’s always positive. It might look different for everyone, but it always makes a difference,” said Katie.
For Katie and the team at Stay for Life, that difference can mean everything. And for those who cross her path, whether at a community event or through a quiet conversation, her compassion is a reminder of the message she carries wherever she goes: You are not alone.
