Event planner Kate Malloy wins Seacoast Skating with the Stars: Community news update

Event planner Kate Malloy wins Seacoast Skating with the Stars

PORTSMOUTH – Kate Malloy, owner of Purple Finch Events, was voted the winner of the Seacoast Skating with the Stars that occurred at Labrie Family Skate at Puddle Dock Pond at Strawbery Banke Museum on Feb. 5. The professional skating event, which is presented by Strawbery Banke in partnership with Ice Dance International, follows the format of “Dancing with the Stars.” The winner of the event is determined by combining the judge’s scores with audience votes.

Despite cold temperatures, over 550 in-person attendees, in addition to over 500 live stream viewers, cheered on six local contestants who were paired with IDI professional company skaters. Contestants included Peter Douris, Stephanie Hurd, Evan Mallett, Kate Malloy, Brigham Pendleton, and Martha Stone.

Kate Malloy, the owner of Purple Finch Events, a boutique event planning and management firm, was voted the winner in a close race where audience votes made up 40% of total scores. She skated to a short routine with pro skater Neill Shelton. “My love of ice skating was born from Dorothy Hamill’s performance of 'The Nutcracker on Ice,'" said Kate Malloy. “It was so thrilling to perform with Neill and the Ice Dance International cast for a live audience.”

“Seacoast Skating with the Stars embodies the spirit of Ice Dance International,” said Doug Webster, Ice Dance International executive and artistic director. “The event aligns with IDI’s mission, which is to bring people together and to build community through skating.”

“Strawbery Banke is proud to partner with Ice Dance International on this event and to host the company in residence at the museum during the winter months,” said Lawrence J. Yerdon, President and CEO. “Douglas Webster, who is also the artistic director of Labrie Family Skate at Puddle Dock Pond, continues to create opportunities to gather outdoors at the Museum and promote ice skating as a lifetime activity.”

Saturday’s event also featured IDI repertory performances, including “Revival,” choreographed by Webster. The professional skaters return to the ice at Labrie Family Skate at Puddle Dock Pond on Thursday, Feb. 17 at 6 p.m. for “Winter Dances,” an event showcasing a selection of IDI repertory. For more information and tickets, visit IceDanceInternational.org.

Support for Seacoast Skating with the Stars comes from the New England States Touring program of the New England Foundation for the Arts, made possible with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts Regional Touring Program and the six New England state arts agencies; and from a grant from the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Pope Memorial Humane Society receives donation for storage trailer

DOVER — Pope Memorial Humane Society-Cocheco Valley is nonprofit organization, founded in 1984 in Dover to serve the animal welfare needs of Strafford County and Southern Maine. PMHS provides a transitional safe and loving home to more than 1,000 animals each year.Care and medical treatment is provided to every animal with help from the generous support of our community.

PMHS-CV is pleased to announce that Columbia, a construction firm headquartered in North Reading, Mass., has donated $7,000 in support of the build out of the back of the shelter's building.

Columbia’s donation will be used to purchase a 40-foot storage trailer. This storage space is critical as the back of the shelter is built out to add isolation areas for both cats and dogs, a behavior training room and an Almost Home Room where dogs can be socialized that mimics what they will see in a real home. This build-out also includes a Pavilion for the dogs to be used for training classes and exercise. These facility improvements will provide admitting space and isolation areas to contain highly infectious diseases also.

If you would like to learn more about the Phase 2 buildout, contact Development Director Debbie Shelton at 603-749-5322 ext. 106 or email her at dshelton@popememorialcvshs.org.

Eliot seeks nominees for the Fabyan Drake Award

ELIOT, Maine — The time has come to nominate citizens of Eliot, for the American Legion Post 188 Good Citizen, Fabyan Drake Award. Submit written nominations to the American Legion Post 188, Fabyan Drake Award Committee, P.O. Box 188, Eliot, Maine, no later than Feb. 28.

The nominee must meet these requirements: Nominees must be a citizen, male or female, of the town of Eliot; The award is made to a living person; The award is made for a deed or deeds performed in the past year, or over a number of years; The deed or deeds performed must be outstanding, above and beyond that which would be expected of the average citizen; The deed or deeds must have benefited the town as a whole, not one individual. No person may receive a second award for the same or similar deed or deeds.

Service CU Impact Foundation accepting scholarship applications

PORTSMOUTH – The Service CU Impact Foundation, a 501(c)3 non-profit charity arm of Service Credit Union, will once again award up to $50,000 in scholarships to qualified individuals who are attending or planning to attend a two- or four-year college or university. The Impact Foundation will award up to five scholarships of $5,000 and up to 10 scholarships of $2,500.

A committee of judges will score all applications based on grades, letters of recommendation, extracurricular activities, leadership activities, community activism, and essay responses. This year, the Impact Foundation will offer the option of a video essay in place of a written essay.

To qualify, applicants must be members of Service Credit Union, or related to a member of Service Credit Union (parent or grandparent.) They must also be high school seniors or adult learners planning to attend a two or four year college or university accredited by the U.S. Department of Education, or currently enrolled in such an institution.

“As I begin my second semester at Georgia Tech, I want to express my gratitude for being selected as one of your scholarship recipients last year. My first semester was incredibly challenging and I’m grateful that I didn’t have to worry about my financial situation white studying,” said 2021 scholarship recipient Grayson Benton. “Your scholarship truly had a great impact on my success this first semester-I even made the Dean’s List!”

“When we began the scholarship program in 2021, we were amazed by the caliber of response to the program, and we are truly looking forward to seeing this year’s group of submissions. To continue our mission of improving our communities, we need to nurture young leaders, and supporting them with scholarships to support their education efforts is a vital part of that effort,” said David Araujo, President/Chair of the Service CU Impact Foundation, and President-CEO of Service Credit Union.

Applications will be accepted through March 31, with winners announced in May. To apply, or learn more, visit https://servicecuimpactfoundation.org/apply-for-a-scholarship/.

Fabulous Find Boutique donates $8,890 to Friends of Hyder Family Hospice House

KITTERY, Maine — With the support of The Fabulous Find, in Kittery Maine, the Hyder Family Hospice House continues to help local Seacoast patients and families who need inpatient hospice care. Hyder Family Hospice House is the Seacoast community’s local hospice house providing inpatient hospice services to those with life limiting illness and their families. They also support the dedicated staff who provide care and comfort to the patients and families during and after their end-of-life journey.

Marcye Philbrook, The Fabulous Find Board of Directors President, shares, “Many of our board members have had family members or friends that have benefitted from hospice care. We consider it to be a Godsend for those at the end of life and are happy to support it. We think hospice workers are saints!” Dawn Castles, Friends of Hyder Family Hospice House Board of Director Chair, said, “I remember when we didn’t have a local hospice house. It is through the support of our community and organizations like The Fabulous Find that enable us to fulfill our mission to support the valuable care for those with life-limiting illness as well as the long-standing vision to have inpatient hospice services available at the Hyder Family Hospice House.”

Fabulous Find is a boutique-style resale shop at 139 State Road (Route 1) in Kittery that identifies nonprofits to support with the boutique's income. All profits from the boutique are donated each month to local non-profits. Learn more about The Fabulous Find at their website: www.thefabulousfind.org. Visit friendsofhyderfamilyhospicehouse.org to learn more about the work and support of The Friends of Hyder Family Hospice House.

Newmarket Public Library receives NH State Library ARPA Grant

NEWMARKET — The Newmarket Public Library announced it has been awarded $10,469 in funding through the Institute for Museum and Library Services “Grants to States” program. The grant program is part of the American Rescue Act Plan of 2021 and is being facilitated by the N.H. State Library.

The Newmarket Public Library will use this grant award to implement an early literacy initiative with program partners Newmarket Recreation and Lamprey Health Care.

In the grant application, the Newmarket Public Library detailed that it would meet these needs by using grant funds to implement a Mother Goose on the Loose program for babies and toddlers. This will include the purchase of board books, flannel board stories, scarves, musical instruments, and puppets which will provide a variety of stimulation and enhancement during the programs. Library staff will curate early literacy kits that parents will be able to checkout to reinforce activities and learned behaviors at home.

Recognizing that not all of the youth who stand to benefit from these services are library users, the library plans to offer “pop-up” story times off-site at the Newmarket Recreation Department’s infant programs and pre-K playgroup and at the Lamprey Health Care’s pediatric waiting area. As an affiliate of the national early literacy program Reach Out and Read, Lamprey Health Care will be an important partner in helping the library meet the early literacy needs of Newmarket’s preschool population. Library staff will have the capacity to register parents for library cards so that they can check out early literacy materials with convenience from both off-site locations. The library will also create a series of StoryWalks that can be enjoyed both on the library grounds and at other area locations, thereby reinforcing active and joyful reading experiences throughout the community.

Equally important to the project’s success is creating a warm and welcoming space for learning that is imaginative and engaging for children. Developing play spaces in libraries is a growing trend and an important one in establishing the public library as a destination place within the community. Through this project the library will provide age-appropriate toys such as activity trees, blocks and shape-sorters, a new puppet theater where children will be able to create their own stories, and a play setup that simulates a home environment where children can role play familiar tasks.

“Public libraries serve a valuable role by modeling behaviors for caregivers on supporting pre-reading skills through training, support, and age-appropriate collections” said Library Director Kerry Cronin. “We are thrilled to work with program partners Newmarket Recreation and Lamprey Health Care to accomplish this important early literacy work and expand the library’s reach within the community.”

The Newmarket Public Library’s goal is to have the program up and running by early April.

Elks mark 154th anniversary

CHICAGO, Ill. – Local Elks Lodges throughout the United States, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and the Panama Canal will be celebrating 154 years of community service on Feb. 16, 2022.

The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks has made more than $12 billion in donations since we first started 154 years ago. Last year alone, the Elks donated approximately $375 million in cash, gifts and time to make our communities better places to live. The Elks are one of the premier patriotic and charitable organizations in the United States of America. Last year alone, the value of Elks’ contributions to the nation’s heroes provided more than $50 million to more than 300 Veterans Administration Medical Centers, clinics, and state care facilities. Annually, the Elks award college scholarships across the nation totaling more than $4.5 million.

The Elks Community Investment Program will award nearly $47 million toward enriching communities.

There are nearly 1,800 Elks Lodges across the country with a total membership of around 800,000. Elks members must be American citizens who are at least 21 years of age and must believe in God. To learn more and to join us in service, visit www.elks.org. For membership information visit Join.Elks.Org.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Event planner Kate Malloy wins Seacoast Skating with the Stars