We held Sweetser’s 75th annual meeting alongside our donor appreciation event. The Sweetser Soiree was held at The Landing at Pine Point and was an opportunity to elect board members and corporators, mingle with donors, watch our year-in-review video, and get a state-of-the-organization update.

Watch our year-in-review video below…

The following individuals were nominated and approved to join as new corporators: 

• Marise Anagnost
• John Downing
• Barbara Lamont
• Denise Labbe
• Michael Thorne

President & CEO Jayne Van Bramer (left) and Board Chair Jessica Demers (right) with new corporators Marise Anagnost, Michael Thorne, Denise Labbe & John Downing.

The following board members were reappointed:

• William Zafirson, who was also named as Treasurer.
• Margaret Shepp

Mike Del Tergo was named as Secretary and James Nylund is now Vice Chair.

Board Officers: Vice Chair James Nylund, Secretary William Zafirson, Chair Jessica Demers and Treasurer Mike Del Tergo

Three Sweetser Star awards were given to donors who have gone above and beyond:

• Sue Sturgis / Tyler Technologies
• Marise Anagnost / Sanford Elks
• Denise Labbe / Sanford Elks

President & CEO Jayne Van Bramer, Marise Anagnost / Sanford Elks, Senior Director of PR & Advancement Justin Chenette, Denise Labbe / Sanford Elks

For mental health professionals, participating in professional development is not just about staying current in their job or meeting certain requirements, it can also make them better at serving the needs of those they help. Sweetser’s Training Director, Jayne Pelletier, joined WMTW’s weekly segment to discuss the importance of mental health providers to do ongoing professional development.

Our 2024 Ruel Ricker Country Fair Day was a blast!

Thank you to all the Saco campus staff who worked so hard to organize this successful event and to all the team members, board members, and corporate partners who helped out! This annual event is one the highlights for the kids we serve on our Saco campus. There were three volunteers from UNUM and five from Saco & Biddeford Savings.

On September 18th, 118 Unum employees volunteered in Saco as part of the company’s annual Leadership Development Summit. The volunteers arrived in three coach buses and came from offices in Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia, Maine, and the United Kingdom! Their efforts totaled 354 hours of work. We appreciate being included in their summit and thank them for their hard work!

The future leaders tackled 23 projects in two locations—the Saco Campus and the Saco Administration building—including pruning, mulching, scraping, staining/painting, trimming hedges, and landscaping. See the results:

Watch the highlights video:

Special shout out to Sweetser Volunteer Manager Karen Dow, staff volunteers, and the Facilities team for their work to organize and deliver a successful event.

Our 32nd Annual Sold on Kids Auction at Brick South in Portland was a huge success! Together we raised the largest total in the history of our event, a record-breaking $330,000+ for Sweetser! 72% higher than last year’s amazing outcome.

Our special corporate partners and event sponsors fueled this success:

• Central Maine Power
• Gorham Savings Bank
• Systems Engineering
• CGI Business Solutions
• Holistic Health International
• Maine Community Bank
• Newscenter Maine
• Elks USA
• R.M. Davis
• Tyler Technologies
• Aroma Joe’s Coffee
• Bangor Savings Bank
• Casco Bay Insurance Agency
• Clark Insurance
• Haven’s
• HM Payson
• KeyBank
• Shaw Brothers Construction
• Shaw’s Star Market
• Gawron Turgeon Dillon Architects
• Geiger
• Martin’s Point Health Care
• InterMed
• Northeast Delta Dental
• Paquin & Carroll Insurance
• PM Construction Company
• Saco & Biddeford Savings
• Binnie Media
• Bear Structure Creative Building
• GoodNylund Wealth Management
• Lebel & Harriman
• Martin Associates
• Morgan Stanley
• McGarry Law Offices
• Personnel Data Systems, Inc.
• GEICO (local office)
• Team Letellier – Caldwell Banker Realty
• Landry/French Construction

We’ll also grateful to the countless volunteers who helped make this event a success.

According to the CDC, 1 in five people reported having been diagnosed with depression at some point in their life. Symptoms of depression and other mental health challenges can surface in specific ways in the workplace. Sweetser’s Chief HR Officer, Holly Hall, appeared on WMTW’s Mental Health Moment segment to discuss.

Sweetser’s Mental Health Awareness Training Coordinator Mason Cashman spoke to WMTW on their weekly Mental Health Moment segment about our free suicide prevention and intervention training called QPR, which stands for Question Persuade and Refer.

Thank you Pizza By Alex for serving up some hope for the youth in our community in need of mental health support! It was a very tasty fundraiser. Your commitment to our community is deeply appreciated as is your long-standing support for our nonprofit. Pictured here: Sweetser team members Justin & Michelle and Pizza by Alex management Craig and Chris.

HOME RUN! Our 1st Annual Hit It Out Of The Park For Sweetser softball tournament was a big success! We deeply appreciate the participating teams of Maine Molecular Quality Controls (MMQCI), Pond Cove Millwork, and Nikel Precision Group for raising over $8,000 for youth mental health. They were all competitive as friends, family, and colleagues watched on at Biddeford Rotary Park. Our friends at Barreled Souls Brewing Company held an after-party for the teams, and a portion of those proceeds went to our total as well. Thank you to all involved for making this possible! Can’t wait to do it again next year to fuel mental health support in our community.

Sweetser’s Senior Director of Public Relations & Advancement Justin Chenette appeared on WABI’s Ask ME segment to talk about efforts to eliminate mental health stigma and ensure access to treatment and recovery is possible for all.