Since 1999, the Maine 207 Foundation has supported peer-to-peer tutoring programs to provide assistance to students needing extra academic help. We’ve awarded over $40,000 in scholarships to graduating peer tutors who plan to continue their educations after high school. A highlight of the 2019-2020 year was adding Maine South to the scholarship program. This spring we distributed $4,000 to four accomplished, well-deserving seniors: Olivia Bitcoin from Maine West, Omar Farrag from Maine South, and Angela Righi and Riya Patel from Maine East. 
 
The peer-to-peer aspect of the tutoring program is highly regarded by teachers; as one stated, “Very frequently, ... tutors have taken the exact same course(s) that the tutoree needs help with and can consequently offer guidance from their own personal experience, offering studying tips, etc.”
 
Student tutors apply for the Foundation scholarships during the spring of their senior year. The application process requires a teacher recommendation and a personal statement about their tutoring experiences, their activities at school and within the community, and their post high school goals. 
 
Providing long-lasting benefits
Students appreciate the benefit of having served as tutors as they move to the next chapter of their lives. As one student noted, “Not only has tutoring allowed me to discover how much I love to help other people learn, but it also made me a better student and learner.”  The skills honed as tutors in the areas of leadership, communication, and responsibility will serve these students well throughout their lives. 
 
If you are interested in supporting scholarships through the Foundation, please consider making a directed donation through our website -- donate today.​

Golden Apple Award-winning Maine East biology teacher Judy Tyler has taken her Gifted Lyceum students on service trips as far away as New Orleans to participate in hurricane reconstruction, and as close by as downtown Chicago, where her students provided meals for The Night Ministry. Her students have been instructed in dry-walling and simple carpentry-and have grown from the opportunity to learn about the needs of those they served. 

The Maine 207 Foundation has been a major underwriter for each of Ms. Tyler’s trips since 2006, and supported her change of plans when her service trip to Detroit was cancelled this summer due to COVID-19. Not to be deterred, the Lyceum students accomplished a successful food drive for the Maine Township Food Pantry and packed 150 meals for The Night Ministry. Please take a look at the Lyceum group in Action.