The Courageous Steps Project was able to donate $500 to the Veazie Community School Special Education Department. 

This comes after a summer of pleasant fundraising. Archer raised nearly an extra $2,000 to be used for Courageous Steps endeavors. 

"This is an amazing gift Connor", said Cyr, who was surprised when receiving the donation, and the school supplies. Archer knew that this school would benefit greatly from the donation. "My hope is to give more to the community of Veazie next year" said Archer. 

Even though the busiest season of the year is coming to a close, the Courageous Steps Project still has lots of work to get done during the 2015 fall season. 

Much was accomplished during the 2nd summer of the Courageous Steps Project. The first annual Courageous Steps benefit dinner was held at the Old Town Governor's Restaurant. In just 4 hours, the project raised $550.40 to be used to finish the first phase of the Green House Nursery School Technology Expansion Project. 

We were also able to start the Green House Nursery School Technology Expansion Project, with money from the 2nd annual Courageous Steps Walk-Run event in the spring. That first phase included 2 iPads with carrying cases and protective cases, A bluetooth speaker system, and a $50 iTunes Gift Card. The iPads are also have a 3-Year Warranty. 

In July, we also started our 2nd annual Courageous Steps Back to School Drive. This year, we had donation bins at many locations throughout the community collecting supplies. We also had a drive on Thursday July 30th at the Old Town Governor's Restaurant outside of the building. The project collected $391 to be used to buy more supplies, and four boxes full of supplies. After spending some donations from businesses, along with the United Baptist Church, we were able to give boxes to 12 area schools. We've already had many stories shared with us from staff at the schools of kids picking out school supplies.

We also completed the Courageous Steps "One Word" Project, and are going to share it with RSU #34 staff on Thursday August 27th at their opening day. Archer will also be presenting at the RSU #26 staff day to their staff about his challenges, but also the impact teachers have on kids. 

The Courageous Steps Project has also donated $500 to the Veazie Community School Special Education Department. Principal Matthew Cyr knows that this money will be put to good use for the program, and will help so many special education students within the school. 

Along with all of the fundraisers we got done, Archer was able to put together a presentation for the Kiwanis Club on Tuesday July 28th, at the Black Bear Inn. 

He also was able to maintain the Green House Nursery School Sensory Gardens for the 4th summer in a row. Archer thinks this is the best summer so far for the gardens!

Our goal this fall, is to start selling the One Word project. We don't have an exact price out, but we will have that posted on our One Word page once we figure that out. We will also update the Green House Nursery School gardens with mums during Labor Day weekend possibly. 

Other things this fall will include creating a tier system for donations within the project, and will eventually start planning the 3rd annual Courageous Steps fundraiser held in 2016. That date will be determined in the fall at some point, and will be announced on our website! 

We may also have some raffles during the fall, so keep checking our website and our facebook page! 

Besides that, the project will be taking a break for a little bit, and working on cosmetic stuff, to better the project for next year. One of those cosmetic changes will be moving some funds to banks around our area, so we as a project, can better serve our community in a more efficient way. 

If you have any questions at any time, please contact Connor Archer at: connor.archer@thecourageousstepsproject.org. 

The Courageous Steps Project founder Connor Archer, has been working hard the past 8 months, to develop the Courageous Steps "One Word" video. This is part of the Courageous Steps "One Word" Project. 

In 2014, Archer presented to the RSU #34 staff on their opening day, about his challenges, and explaining how teachers play a role in every students life. 

I challenged each teacher to come up with a word that describes them as a person! Because of the overwhelming response, I was inspired to start a production called "One Word". This video not only gets the community involved, it also sends a powerful message that it takes a community to raise a child. 

In late September of this year, we will be selling DVD copies of "One Word" to anyone who wants one. We just ask that you email Connor Archer at: connor.archer@thecourageousstepsproject.org. We haven't determined the price of each DVD, but we will announce that on our One Word project page. 

All proceeds from the One Word DVDs sold, will go towards helping local programs that help young children with challenges. 

We will keep you updated with the status of One Word, and we should have it all ready by late September!

After 2 years, the Courageous Steps Project, was able to purchase 500 business cards, from a generous donation made by Dana Lacadie, who was at attendance during the Kiwanis presentation that founder Connor Archer gave on Tuesday July 28th at the Black Bear Inn. 

"This is another way that the project will continue to grow" says Archer, who has been finding time to get this done. "Having many methods of promoting Courageous Steps, will help the project raise more funds for programs that help young children with challenges".

The Courageous Steps Project, will use this next year to hopefully get more sponsors on board with the project, along with a new tier system, developed by Archer himself. "These are just more ways, that we can persuade businesses to join in on this cause". 

The Courageous Steps Project, after last year's okay first annual back to school drive, regained itself by hosting an exceptional 2nd annual drive, filling more than 12 boxes of back to school supplies for 12 schools in our area. 

I was able to have half a driveway full of school supplies, laid out in rows, as shown in the picture to your left. 

We still have 1 bin at the Old Town Recreation Center that we are picking up tomorrow morning, so if you want to drop off supplies, the bin will be available until tomorrow morning. 

The following schools will receive boxes full of school supplies: Alton Elementary School, Asa Adams Elementary School, Helen S. Dunn School, Indian Island School, Leonard Middle School, Old Town Elementary School, Old Town High School, Orono Middle School, Orono High School, Veazie Community School, and the Viola Rand School. 

We are glad to be able to serve 12 schools that truly deserve the supplies in our area. 

The Courageous Steps Project is proud to announce, that Coles Land Transportation Museum has partnered with the project, to help more young children with challenges in our area. 

It all started today, as the project helped the Coles Land Transportation Museum setup, and direct cars, at their World War II ceremony. This is the 70th anniversary of the unofficial ending of World War II, when Japan surrendered. 

With the Coles Land Transportation Museum on board, we know that the Courageous Steps Project will grow, and we also will grow the Coles Land Transportation Museum. It is because of great organizations, that Courageous Steps continues to grow every step of the way. 

The Courageous Steps Project's 2nd annual back to school drive is coming to a close, after a month of collecting supplies, and receiving generous donations to buy more supplies. 

We have boxes full of pencil boxes, crayons, notebooks, pencils, glue sticks, backpacks, lunch boxes, and more. 

We received many generous donations from the following businesses: Owen J. Folsom Inc, Target, Walmart, Hannaford, and the United Baptist Church. Because of your impact, we are able to give to 10 schools in our area this year. The following schools that will receive supplies are: Old Town Elementary School, Alton Elementary School, Viola Rand School, Leonard Middle School, Old Town High School, Asa Adams Elementary School, Orono Middle School, Orono High School, Lewis Libby School, and the Veazie Community School. 

We hope every child that can't afford supplies, receives the necessary supplies to go back to school with the help of others around our community. 

We will be posting more pictures of our supply sorting process throughout the next couple of days, so we encourage you to check back on our website, under the galleries section, to view pictures of us sorting supplies. 

If you still want to donate supplies, we do have two bins still available. The Mahan's Redemption Center bin will be available until tomorrow morning at 10am. The Old Town Recreation Center bin will be available until Monday or Tuesday next week. 

Tomorrow is the last day of dropping off back to school supplies at these following locations: Old Town & Orono Bangor Savings Bank branches, Old Town Hannaford, Aqua Hair Salon, Green House Nursery School, Old Town Orono YMCA, and Mahan's Redemption Center. 

The Old Town Recreation Center bin will be available until Monday August 17th, so if you need the weekend to get supplies, please drop off supplies at that location on Monday. 

We will be delivering the supplies to ten schools in our local area: Old Town Elementary School, Leonard Middle School, Old Town High School, Viola Rand Elementary School, Alton Elementary School, Asa Adams Elementary School, Orono Middle School, Orono High School, Lewis Libby School, and the Veazie Community School. 

Thank you all for your support in making the 2nd annual Courageous Steps Back to School Drive a success. 

The Courageous Steps Project has raised nearly $12,000 in two years of it's project berth. Over $3,700 was raised the first year, mainly from the first annual Courageous Steps fundraiser. 

The second fundraiser brought in over $6,000, and donations were still coming in throughout the summer of 2015. Over $2,000 was generated over the summer months from businesses who sponsored the project, and donations from people around the community. 

With a back to school drive left, and the finishing touches on the One Word Project, we aren't quite done with the 2015 year. We may also be giving more money away to another organization in our local area. 

The 2016 year brings lots of exciting adventures. One of them being the non-profit stage. The project is investigating ways about transitioning into a non-profit organization. "We are hoping to make this transition as calm as possible" said founder Connor Archer. "I believe that this will let the project achieve more than it has been able to do before. It will be a challenge at first, but we know that the process will be well worth it in the long run, allowing us to reach out to more local communities."

We will be planning our 2016 walk-run event starting later this fall, hoping to get even more sponsors on-board for this year's fundraiser, and this year's project, so we can support as many programs as possible. We are not accepting sponsorships for the 2016 year, until January 1st, 2016. If you would then like to sponsor the project, and this year's fundraiser, please email Connor Archer at: connor.archer@thecourageousstepsproject.org. 

"It takes a community to raise a child." That's a logo that Archer emphasizes with his members of the community about the importance of giving back to programs that help young children with challenges. The United Baptist Church, is another one of those programs. 

The United Baptist Church in Old Town, donated $400 in pennies and change from this year's penny fundraiser that they did during their Vocation Bible School this past week. 

Church members presented the check to Archer on Sunday August 9th, at their closing ceremonies of their week-long Vocation Bible School. 

"It's an honor and privilege, for the United Baptist Church to have raised this money", said Archer in his little speech given to the church on Sunday. 

Archer has raised almost $12,000 in two years of the Courageous Steps Project. His goal is to hopefully take donations throughout the year, so he can give many scholarships next spring, and to help many more programs that are in need of support to help the programs, that help young children with challenges.