After Tuesday June 17, when Connor Archer gave a $2,000 donation raised at the first annual Courageous Steps fundraiser, he came up with his first project to complete by June 23rd. He decided to re-paint the entrance door, repaint the railings on the ramp, weeding the gardens, re-fencing the Green House Garden, and much more. Connor started the first phase of the summer portion of the Green House Project on Tuesday by purchasing all the fence for the Green House Garden, and the mulch for Bob's Memorial Garden at the Green House Nursery School. Then continuing on Saturday June 21st, he began to paint the railings on the ramp that leads to the entrance of the school. The director of the school, Lynn Faerber, was overwhelmed with the effort at the Green House made possible by the Courageous Steps Project. Connor continued throughout the day, working on the ramp, as he also re-arranged an area by the railing which included a garden and a swing which really made a difference at how the entrance to the building looked, which also made the director really happy. The color of the ramp railings are green with the bodies of the railings white with some cool designs on them. The designs included flowers and ducks with a logo saying "The Green House ... A Place for Kids to Grow". But after the railings were done, he and his mom decided to do more. They painted the entrance door the same color Green. It was already a shade of Green, but Connor wanted the door to match the railings, and the entrance sign green. That part will be a surprise on Monday June 23rd, as the kids, staff, and parents come to look at the outstanding change that only took place in less than 2 days. 

Over the past 2 years, Connor Archer has transformed many locations of the Green House with exceptional gardens, rearranging different areas to serve the staff and kids needs, as well as cleaning up the whole area. 

The last few things that Connor will do with the landscaping portion of the project, will include building a mini-nature trail which will be in the back playground area. This will be separate from the garden. Connor will also finish doing some landscaping in the front of the school. Finally, Connor will be having all junk from the back of the school, travel up the road, to the Milford Transport Station where the junk will be disposed. 

All of this will be completed in the next 2 months, as Connor will be starting the next phase of the Green House Portion of the Courageous Steps Project. This phase will include a face-lift with the technology system including a staff computer, iPads for the children, and much more. This phase will continue throughout the next 2 years. 

Stay tuned to find out more about the technology portion of the project!!

As we are entering into the first summer with the Courageous Steps Project, we have a huge list of future projects that the Courageous Steps Project owner and founder, Connor Archer, wants to pursue. 

The Courageous Steps Project is continuing it's portion of the project over at the Green House Nursery School. We are about finished with the landscaping portion of the Green House Project, but will be moving towards the technology portion of the project, as we hope to apply for some grants that would help with that portion of the project. 

In August of 2014, founder Connor Archer will be speaking in front of teachers and staff of Regional School Unit #34 about how to teach a student with a disability, the best way possible. 

Connor Archer also will be speaking to a church group in Bangor, Maine. 

We also plan on hosting more fundraisers, as we will post those fundraisers on our website as soon as we start planning for them. 

On Tuesday June 17, 2014, the Courageous Steps Project owner, Connor Archer, donated $3,000 to local services that help young children with disabilities. This money was raised at the first annual Courageous Steps fundraiser at Old Town High School's Victory Field facility on Sunday May 18, 2014. Connor gave a check out to the Old Town Elementary School K-2 Special Education Department for $1,000. Dr. Jeanna Tuell, the principal, and Matthew Cyr, the assistant principal at OTES, were there to greet Connor when he brought the check to them. They were overwhelmed by the amount donated, and how it will help the program so much, and how amazing Connor is, and how he will not stop. 

The next donation went to the Green House Nursery School, where he spent the whole day talking to staff, interacting with the younger children, and making plans for the next phases at the Green House Nursery School. It was there last day of the school year, so they were holding there annual pizza party. During the pizza party, Connor stood in front of all parents, who were parents of those with a disability, who needed an inspiration. 

Lynn Faerber, the director was already crying, says Connor Archer, the owner of the Courageous Steps Project. "I smiled at Lynn while I was reading the letter. Then when I released the total, I kind of started to chuckle as I announced the total of $2,000". Connor then said that he wants the money to not involve any purchasing of landscaping materials or technology products as he has a reserve in the Courageous Steps Project for those purposes. 

At the end of the day, Connor went down to Lowes and purchased fencing and mulch to start his plan for the summer, as he is helping the Green House this summer. "I just needed to get a head start on this project. I couldn't wait any longer to start"! He worked from 5pm to about 7:30pm, inserting fencing into the ground, preparing an area for the new pool area, and also mulching the gardens as they needed some work. 

They now look good, and he plans on going over to the Green House this weekend to finish up the last touches for Monday, when their summer program starts. 

Read more about his plans by clicking here!!

Read more about the follow-up article written by the Bangor Daily News's Ernie Clark. 

Successful fundraiser leads to scholarship fund, future initiatives for Old Town Student with Autism

Welcome to the NEW Courageous Steps Project Website!! Please feel free to look around at our new website, as we have created a more user-friendly experience for people interested in the Courageous Steps Project. We are still making changes to our website. Don't be alarmed if you see some things in different places around our website!!