PORTLAND, ME – One year after taking over management of the troubled Munjoy South apartments in Portland, Stanford Management has made significant improvements that have pleased both residents and staff at the 140 unit complex.

The Maine State Housing Authority awarded Stanford the management contract for Munjoy South a year ago along with other properties formerly managed by Liberty Management, Inc. The contracts added $30 million to Stanford’s portfolio of developments in four states, and made Stanford Management the largest woman-owned affordable housing management company in the nation.

“We’ve worked very hard in the last year to listen to the residents of Munjoy South and make needed improvements in their quality of life,” said Rosa Scarcelli, president of Stanford Management. “Stanford has no ownership interest in the property, but we manage it as if we do. Many of our residents are elderly or disabled, so even small changes can mean a lot.”

Residents seem pleased. Carolyn Weiss, a 38-year resident of Munjoy South, said, “I am very satisfied with the response of services and staff, and couldn’t be happier. Problems are responded to right away and I am very happy with Stanford Management since they have been here”

Freda Anderson, a 28 year resident, said, “After a recent injury the staff immediately made modifications to my apartment. I am very happy with the changes since Stanford Management. This is the first time since I have lived at this property that I have ever had an opportunity to actually talk to the management company. I think that the management company has just gotten better.”

Scarcelli credits her capable, on-site staff for the turnaround. “It’s important to have qualified and enthusiastic staff members and managers who are invested in making sure that the needs of the tenants are being met,” she said.

About Stanford Management: Stanford Management is a full service property management firm founded in 2001. Our $250 million portfolio consists of thousands of units of affordable housing in four states allowing us to offer housing opportunities for seniors, people with disabilities, veterans and families. Stanford Management is headquartered in Portland, Maine. It started as a family owned business with a goal to make a difference in the affordable housing sector and provide outstanding service to our residents, owners and reporting agencies. For more information see www.stanfordmanagement.com

Contact: Rosa Scarcelli, 207-772-3399

Sarah Ruef-Lindquist of Planning For Good

presents 5 Planned Giving Workshops

The first and very timely for many  Executive Directors,

this January 19 in Portland Maine

and January 26 in Augusta Maine
“Strategies for Planned Giving for the “small” Development Office”

attendees will learn:

• Maximizing potential with minimal capacity
• Engaging board and senior management for support and success
• Sustaining the effort for the long-term

Fees detailed at www.planningforgood.net

advance registration required,  no charge for Planning For Good clients

Complete details available at www.planningforgood.net

email @srueflindquist@gmail.com or call 975-5165

Portland, Maine – December 29^th To celebrate the one year anniversary of the Original Birth Certificates for Maine initiative The Maine Studios is proud to host the first Adoptee Film Festival on January 2^nd, 2010. The day will be filled with screenings of powerful documentary films that highlight the struggles and triumphs of Adoptees. Since the passage of LD 1084 over 700 adoptees applied for access to their Original Birth Certificates and some have chosen to meet their birth parents.

The films include “The Triumverate”, ‘Vital Records” and ‘For the Life of Me” by Jean Strauss, “Adoptee Rights:Philadelphia 2009” by Scott Hancock and “Roots: Unknown” by Zara Phillips.

Admission is by donation and light hors devours will be served at intermission. Festivities begin at Noon at The Maine Studios Facility on Presumpscot Street in Portland.

Snowdate is January 3^rd, 2010.

The Maine Studios is an eco-friendly Film Studio located in Portland; Maine’s largest city.  With over 43,000 square feet of production and office space, this facility is one of the largest film studios in the Northeast.  www.mainefilmstudios.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Sarah Ruef-Lindquist (207) 975-5165

HALLOWELL, Maine.

Sarah Ruef-Lindquist has been named President of the Board of the Maine Bar Foundation (MBF) for the year 2010.

Founded in 1983, MBF serves Maine’s communities and the legal professional through its administration of the Interest on Lawyer Trust Accounts (“IOLTA”) Program and other public-service law related activities. MBF funds Pine Tree Legal Services, the Volunteer Lawyers Project, Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project, Maine Equal Justice Partners, Legal Services for the Elderly, the Cumberland Legal Aid Clinic and has also provided funding to other non-profit organizations working to increase access to justice for those in poverty in Maine.

The Maine Bar Foundation has provided leadership and administrative support to one of the most successful fundraising initiatives amongst lawyers and the judiciary in the United States: Now in its 6^th year, the Campaign for Justice raises more funds from lawyers and the judiciary in Maine for legal services than all but one other state, raising over $400,000 in each of the years 2008 and in 2009 to support access to justice.

Ruef-Lindquist, a member of the Foundation Board since 2003, has served as Development Chair, Finance Chair, Investment Committee Chair and Treasurer. She also serves on the board of the Maine Philanthropy Center. She also serves on the Development Committee of Franklin Pierce Law Center, and has served on numerous boards of Maine and New Hampshire non-profits. She is a frequent writer and speaker on the topic of trust, estate and charitable planning, and is Senior Consultant and founder of Planning for Good, www.planningforgood.net providing gift planning support services to non-profits.

The Maine Bar Foundation’s offices are located at 40 Water Street, Hallowell. www.mbf.org

Bangor, ME—September 19-20–Columbia Street Baptist Church, 63 Columbia Street, will be host medical missionary Kristy Engel.

Kristy Engel tries to live by her saying, “Do what you can, with what you’ve got, in the moment you’re given” through her medical work in La Romana, Dominican Republic and the surrounding sugarcane villages.

Spending time as a mission volunteer in Haiti helped Kristy to realize that God was calling her into medical mission. After completing nursing school, she returned to Haiti and worked in pediatrics at Good Samaritan Hospital in Limbé for eighteen months. Now she works with the Good Samaritan Hospital in La Romana, Dominican Republic, ministering to Haitians who are among the poorest in the country. She travels daily to batey (work camp) villages and barrios providing medical attention where so many have been unwilling or unable to offer these services.

“I find incredible joy and fulfillment in working with children,” says Kristy Engel, who uses her skills in nursing and education in medical ministry in the Dominican Republic.

Malnutrition, parasites and poor economic conditions make it difficult to provide appropriate care to the children she works with, but with the help of many American volunteers, she is able to meet some of their needs. She helps to coordinate the medical and volunteer teams that visit the Good Samaritan Hospital as well as mentor individuals or university students who seek international experiences.

Her two dogs, Kobe and Sasha, are also part of her ministry by being her “patients” as she demonstrates appropriate oral hygiene by brushing their teeth and talking about
caring for our bodies. “When I work with my dog, Kobe, to teach children proper hygiene by brushing his teeth, bathing him and brushing his coat,” she says, “most of the kids know his name better than my own!”

Kristy believes few people enter the field of medical ministry because of perceived hardship and often-volatile work environments. “Unfortunately, this means that many people around the world will suffer and die due to lack of medical treatment,” she says. “I have found that God has given me a greater sense of His purpose through nursing on the mission field.”  Kristy completed her Master’s in Nursing and her Pediatric Nurse Practitioner program in 2009.

Kristy has been working in La Romana since 2000 and she speaks both Spanish and Haitian Creole fluently.

Kristy also leads many American work teams that minister to the needs in the Dominican Republic.

Kristy Engel’s Schedule:  Sept. 19 – 6:00 pm Potluck Supper with Kristy Speaking at 7:00 pm.  Sept. 20 – 9:00 am: Kristy will share with the children and youth. Sept. 20 – 10:15: Kristy will share in the morning worship service. Sept. 20 – 6:00 pm: Kristy will share in the evening worship service