The Courageous Steps Project held it’s 5th annual walk-run on Sunday May 20th at Old Town High School’s Victory Field. Despite a weather delay, we had a great turnout with several activities for all of our participants. 263+ participants either participated during the day of, or donated before the event. 

The final totals are still coming in for our 5th annual event and will be released in the coming weeks, but the total will exceed $9,000. 

A big thank you goes out to the walk-run committee for putting together this event for our supporters. 

A date has been determined, but will not be released until later this summer. 

We are one week away until The Courageous Steps Project’s hosts its' 5th Annual Walk-Run in honor of Dylan McInnis at Old Town High School’s Victory Field from 12:30pm-2:30pm on Sunday May 20th! 

Here is what you need to know for next Sunday’s event:

Activities before the walk-run event will include an outdoor dodgeball challenge, free massages by Healy Chiropractic, a bounce house & inflatable games available for kids, a tattoo station, and much more! 

Water will also be provided at the finish line area. There will be a bin to recycle all of your returnables as well. 

The walk portion will take place at 12:30pm, with the run portion following the walk at approximately 1:15pm. 

Registration rates on the day of will be $8 for children, $14 for adults, $30 for families (4-6 people), and $100 per team. If you have less than 10 people, the team is still $100. If you have for example 11-15 people, it would be $110-$150. It is an additional $10 per additional person added onto the team after 10 people.

If you have any questions, please contact us at: info@thecourageousstepsproject.org. 

Pre-Registration rates expire at 11:59pm on Saturday May 19th. Event Registration rates will begin on our online portal at 12:00am on Sunday May 20th. You can also sign-up on the day of at Victory Field starting at 11am. 

The Courageous Steps Project had a great turnout for it’s 2nd annual Unified Basketball Fun-Day held once again at Orono High School on Friday March 9th & Saturday March 10th. 

Teams from Maine high schools of Bangor, Brewer, Ellsworth, Hermon, Mattanawcook Academy/Penobscot Valley, Mt. View (Thorndike), Mt. Desert Island, Old Town, and Orono all participated in this year’s event. 

We have several photos on our Facebook page, and will be adding those on our website. 

Founder & Executive Director Connor Archer thanks all volunteers for giving their time to make this event possible for all the teams. 

The Courageous Steps Project’s Step Forward initiative, recently launched in December of 2017, has already had a tremendous impact on one school in the Bangor area. 

The middle school students at the Dr. Lewis Libby School are currently listening to founder & executive director Connor Archer through his Step Forward Discussion series that he is doing with schools. Connor is continuing to work with the students throughout the month of March. 

In April, a community panel discussion event will be taking place in the area. This event will be FREE for the public (especially for families that have a child diagnosed with a challenge, along with educators).  

If you have questions, please email us at: info@thecourageousstepsproject.org. 

Join us for our first ever Masquerade for Awareness on Saturday March 24th at the Morgan Hill Event Center in Hermon from 7pm-11pm. 

This event aims to raise awareness and funds for local children and adults living with autism and other developmental disabilities. This special charity event will allow us to do more for our area schools, programs, and events.

Do you have any questions regarding the event? Please feel free to contact Jess Francis, Courageous Steps Board Treasurer, at jess.francis@penobscotfcu.com You can also contact us to make a donation.

This is a 18 and over event, and you must be 18 years of age to purchase your tickets. This is also a formal event. We encourage you to dress in formal gowns, tuxes, suits, cocktail dresses, shirt and tie, etc. Don't forget the masks ;)

This is sure to be an unforgettable event for a wonderful cause. Stay tuned to Facebook for more information and make sure to purchase your tickets by Tuesday March 13th ONLINE, as space is limited! 

Link: https://www.thecourageousstepsproject.org/store/c3/2018_Courageous_Steps_Masquerade_for_Awareness.html​

An event raffle will also take place with 6-7 big raffle packages consisting of golf, jewelry, home goods, and gift cards. Each package will be valued at $50-$75+. 
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Join us this coming Friday night March 9th & Saturday March 10th at our 2nd annual Unified Basketball Fun-Day at Orono High School’s Gymnasium. 

This event, is graciously presented by Milligan’s Landing & Embroidery. Other sponsors also have made this event possible through generous contributions. 

Friday night’s games will begin at 4:00pm, and Saturday’s games will begin at 10:00am. Teams will be coming from all over the Eastern Maine region including Old Town, Mt. View of Thorndike, Nokomis of Newport, and more. A total of 10 teams will be taking part in this year’s event. 

Admission is FREE for seniors, $3.00 for students, $5.00 for adults, $8.00 for families. There is no weekend pass, so you’ll have to pay for the games that next day. Cash and checks will be only accepted for admissions. 

Concessions will be provided by the Orono High School Boosters Club. Please use cash ONLY!

Raffle and Product Sales (t-shirts & wristbands) will take cash, check, or credit/debit cards. 

If anyone has any questions, please email us at: info@thecourageousstepsproject.org. 

The Courageous Steps Project held it’s 2nd annual dinner on Wednesday January 10th at the United Baptist Church. 

This year, we were proud to award this year’s Katahdin Award to Beal College, this year’s Black Bear Award to Governor’s Restaurant, and this year’s CEO Volunteer of the Year award to Jay Martin, the board chair of The Courageous Steps Project. 

A big thank you goes to our board members, committee members, volunteers, and supporters for helping make the night special. Your support and efforts are why our organization is still growing! 

Thank you also to Dairy Queen Franks Bakery, Hannaford, and Labree’s Bakery for donating deserts for the event. Thank you also to the Roost in Orono for catering the event. 

Good Evening,

The Courageous Steps Project is excited to announce the beginning of a merger with some of our initiatives. Starting on January 1st, 2018, the Courageous Steps Project’s Scholarship Fund will fall under the umbrella of a new initiative called STEP FORWARD, an initiative aimed at supporting children and young adults with developmental challenges by giving these individuals opportunities through community engagement events and other mentorship opportunities. More importantly, we hope to instill a ‘Can-Do-Attitude’ in all children and young adults with developmental challenges.
This seamless transition has already begun, and will be completed on January 1st. Community Engagement events will be taking place throughout 2018.

Our first major step to growing this initiative, is establishing an advisory board that oversees the initiative. More importantly, this group will have input on growing the STEP FORWARD initiative. If you aren’t serving on a current committee with our organization, we hope that you consider joining this advisory board. If you are interested, please contact me at: connor.archer@thecourageousstepsproject.org.

Thank you for your consideration in helping our organization grow this initiative that will have long-term impacts on many children and young adults with developmental challenges in the Eastern Maine region, and other regions of Maine!

With Appreciation,
Connor Archer, Founder & CEO.

Are you looking to support The Courageous Steps Project this holiday season? 

We have several ways that you can do that!

Join us on Saturday December 2nd at Old Town Elementary School for their Holiday Bazaar. We will have a booth at the event selling Yankee Candle products, bookmarks, chocolate, and other products. All proceeds from the event will benefit Courageous Steps endeavors. 

If you can’t make it to that event, you are encouraged to make a donation. A simple $10-$20 donation goes a long ways. If you are a business, we encourage you to sponsor the organization with a simple donation of $100.00. Your support in one of these areas goes a long ways to supporting our endeavors. 

If you have any questions, please email us at: info@thecourageousstepsproject.org!

We are proud to introduce an event that is coming up for G.E.A.R Parent Network (A program of Crisis & Counseling Centers based out of Augusta. 

Location: Pathways, 21 Main Street, Bangor, ME 04401

Wednesday, Dec 6, 2017, from 9-11 a.m. & 6-8 p.m.
“Take Action Against Bullying” Presented by Nancy Gray, Regional Parent Support Coordinator Bullying has become such a widespread problem it is now being recognized as a major mental health concern for children and youth, having been found to leave long-term emotional scars and psychological effects similar to anxiety disorders and post-traumatic stress. This workshop will help you identify the warning signs of both the victim and the bully. Prevention and effective coping skills will be explored.
Facilitated by parents for parents. Are you worried about your child’s emotional well-being? Through parent-to- parent sharing of experiences and knowledge, G.E.A.R. empowers parents of children with behavioral health needs to build on their family’s strengths and to advocate for their family’s needs. Free services available to parents and caregivers include information and support by phone; monthly support groups; education, health, and legal training; and social opportunities. We are parents helping each other. We offer unconditional support: no blame, no shame, and no judgment! We want you to know that you are not ALONE!
To register, please contact:
Nancy Gray, Regional Parent Support Coordinator Penobscot, Piscataquis & So Aroostook; 1.800.264.9224 or 215.6254 Email: ngray@crisisandcounseling.org or www.gearparentnetwork.org 

If you have other questions about other external opportunities, please contact us at: info@thecourageousstepsproject.org.