Crowdfunding efforts underway for new sugar house, international nursing trip
The University of Maine Foundation’s crowdfunding platform is designed to empower students, faculty and staff to raise funds for specific projects, events and activities.
Through the power of small contributions from a large number of people, Fill the Steins connects the UMaine community to student and campus needs.
The most recent campaigns seek funds to build a new sugar house on campus, buy medical supplies for nursing students to bring to Costa Rica and fund study abroad trips.
The School of Forest Resources is raising funds to build a new sugar house. Each spring, students and university forest staff tap and collect sap from more than 400 maple trees in the university’s sugarbush, and boil it into maple syrup at the Thomas J. Corcoran Sugar House. Last year, more than 250 schoolchildren came to the sugar house to learn how maple syrup is made.
Funding will be used to replace the original sugar house, which was built in the 1908s, with a larger structure that will have a concrete floor and meet modern standards.
Donations will be used to purchase construction materials such as roofing, windows, doors and fasteners. All lumber for the project is being milled by students at the university forest saw mill.
In January 2019, 15 juniors and seniors from UMaine’s School of Nursing will travel to Costa Rica to provide medical services to underserved local residents. They will perform community assessments, provide care and supplies, and develop leadership skills.
The students are raising funds to bring supplies such as vitamins, aspirin, bandages and ointments.
The mission of UMaine’s Nursing International student group is to develop global awareness and gain personal growth as members journey into the nursing profession.
Another campaign will benefit the Global Perspectives for Humanities Explorations Fund, which aims to highlight the importance of modern language, cultural exploration and the global exchange of ideas.
Through the experience of living and studying in a different country and learning its culture, students have an opportunity to experience the world through a different lens, transcend ideological boundaries and discover innovative ways to approach the challenges they will face as a citizen of our communities, countries and the world.
The fund will support students regardless of their major or study abroad destination.
Fill the Steins has been an initiative of the University of Maine Foundation since October 2017. Unlike other crowdfunding sites that charge a fee, all donated funds are put toward each cause. More information about the platform and current campaigns is online.