Wed, 03/03/2021 - 12:45pm

Sarah McLean, Finding Our Voices board director, and Patrisha McLean, founder/president, with a $50,000 check to Finding Our Voices from the Sunshine Lady Foundation. Other board members of the grassroots non-profit organization breaking the silence of domestic abuse are Nicole Gogan and Jon Wilson. (Photo courtesy Peter Ralston)

Finding Our Voices, the Camden-based, grassroots non-profit organization marshaling survivor voices and faces to break the silence of domestic abuse, has been awarded a $50,000 grant from the Sunshine Lady Foundation.

Diane Grimsley, The Sunshine Lady Foundation president and board member since 1996, said in a news release: “This grant was approved knowing that the Sunshine Lady Foundation founder and funder, Doris Buffett, would have agreed wholeheartedly that Finding Our Voices will continue to play a vital role in raising awareness in Maine about the prevalence of domestic violence and the crushing burden of the stigma that goes with it. We know that Doris would have challenged the Maine charitable-giving community to join her in supporting Finding Our Voices.”

“We are thrilled,” said Patrisha McLean, founder and president of Finding Our Voices, along with board directors Jon Wilson of Brooklin, and Sarah McLean and Nicole Gogan of Knox County: “for both the validation of our bold and creative way of waking people up to the domestic abuse all around us, and for the good this money will do to help women and children all across Maine. We are inspired by Doris Buffett's legendary heart of gold and the Sunshine Lady Foundation's meticulous approach to giving, and very grateful to the foundation for this generosity.

The signature campaign of “Finding Our Voices” during the pandemic is huge downtown-business window banners featuring the faces and voices of 30 Maine domestic abuse survivors aged 18 to 81 sharing messages of “You are not alone” and “We got out, and so can you,” along with the domestic abuse hotline number. The 2’ x 4’ banners launched in Midcoast Maine in April 2020 with the advent of the pandemic and have been traveling the state, community by community, since then, with the help of lead business sponsor Camden National Bank. Oxford County and Biddeford were papered with banners last week by Patrisha and banner buddies Linda Leonard and Donna Porter.

For more information about Finding Our Voices, contact Patrisha McLean at hello@findourvoices.net or visit https://findingourvoices.net