New Balance Foundation awards $1.7M in grants to 14 Maine nonprofits

Onions and potatoes are in cardboard boxes at Good Shepherd Food Bank.

FILE PHOTO / COURTESY of GOOD SHEPHERD FOOD BANK Good Shepherd Food Bank, Maine’s largest hunger-relief organization, was awarded a New Balance Foundation grant for its Youth and Family Initiative.

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By Laurie Schreiber

Youth development programs, expanded access to healthy food and recreation and stronger education and career readiness initiatives were the focus of grants awarded to 14 nonprofits across Maine this week.

The grants come from the Boston–based New Balance Foundation, the charitable arm of New Balance Athletics.

New Balance has at total of 800 Maine employees between manufacturing sites in Skowhegan and Norway and stores in Skowhegan, Oxford and Kittery.

“Maine has long been an important part of our footprint, and we’re proud to invest in organizations and initiatives that will play a critical role in shaping the lives of young people across the state thanks to the services and opportunities these grantees provide,” said Anne Davis, the foundation’s managing trustee.

Youth leadership

Recipients include the iTHRIVE program at Agassiz Village Summer Camp in the Androscoggin County town of Poland. Introduced in 2024, iTHRIVE equips teens with life skills, encouraging them to step into leadership roles as counselors and staff and providing opportunities like a multi-state hiking adventure, a peer-mentor program, college visits, internships and a "Dream Project" where they support younger campers' aspirations, followed by workshops on career readiness, financial literacy, mentorship and leadership development. Agassiz is a Framingham, Mass.-based nonprofit youth development organization with programs for children from underserved communities.

Auburn-based Good Shepherd Food Bank’s Youth and Family Initiative received a grant to continue its work with public schools, early childhood centers and college campuses to provide easy, consistent access to nutritious food for students and their families.

Health and recreation

Other recipients were:

Healthy Oxford Hills: Growing Healthy Kids Program
JMG in Somerset and Oxford counties
Maine School Administrative District 54: Healthy Kid Pack
Maine Children's Home in Waterville: winter essentials and holiday program
100 Mile Club: expansion of its school-based running/walking program
Norway Parks & Recreation Department: program support and expansion
Somerset Public Health: add more children and food security and health food programs
Tree Street Youth, MAPLE Teen Leadership Program
Travis Mills Foundation: Miles for Mills 5K Walk/Run and 10K Run
UMaine Cooperative Extension: North Star Youth Mentoring Program
UMaine Cooperative Extension: 4-H Camps and Learning Center
Western Foothills Land Trust: Construction of school building at Roberts Farm

Skowhegan donations

In addition to foundation investments, New Balance contributed via its corporate charitable giving programs to support community athletic resources and workforce development in Maine.

Corporate support includes:

A $200,000 donation to the town of Skowhegan for the Skowhegan Community Center athletic fields redevelopment.
A $250,000 donation to the Skowhegan Area Early Childhood Education Center.