River Coalition

June 15, 2006
By Greta Sproul

What do you think of when you hear the word "coalition"?

For many of us, "coalition" is one of those words that we associate with a political or social group, like Jesse Jackson's "Rainbow Coalition" or Christopher Reeve's "Hope Network Coalition," but never really think about in terms of what it means or what the organization that it defines really does. But when it comes to the River Coalition, whose office is just above Gossamer Printing on Main Street in Old Town, there . Just ask River Coalition executive director Mike Crooker.

"It's really difficult to explain to people how a coalition works," he said, shaking his head in mock exasperation during an interview in the River Coalition's office on Main Street. "Basically, what we do is try to identify specific needs within the community and then match up those needs with the appropriate programs."

In fact, the River Coalition's mission statement echoes Crooker's words almost exactly, and then adds, with a poetic flourish, "As a river gains strength through its tributaries, so does the River Coalition gain in its unity."

The River Coalition has been gaining strength since the mid-nineties, when the various local organizations that make up its "tributaries" began discussing the possibility of forming one larger organization.

"These were groups made up of concerned citizens from Old Town, Orono, Greenbush, Indian Island, and other places that were all interested in supporting the vision of making our community a safe and healthy place to live, work, and play," Crooker said. "As groups, they had all been around well before the River Coalition was formed, but it was in 1995 that they began collaborating on writing a grant to form one larger organization. The actual incorporation of the organization was in 1998."

The grant allowed the newly formed coalition to hire an executive director, but it also required that the seventeen-member board represent twelve different sectors of the area it served, including "town and city government", "medical", "faith", and "youth." The representative of each sector acts as a "liaison" for the coalition, assessing specific needs within that particular area and then bringing that information to the central organization where those needs can be matched up with the appropriate program.

"Sometimes there is an identified need or problem that we don't have a specific program for," Crooker said. "In that case, we'll just keep delving into the community until we can find one."
Crooker makes no secret of the fact that much of the work done by the coalition is geared toward the area's youth.

"There are always risk factors in every group that can potentially create specific needs, such as teen pregnancy or underage drinking," he said. "But there are also protective factors that can mitigate the risks. We try to surround each group with as many positive community factors as possible. At the very least, we try to alleviate the risks."

Crooker's commitment to the work done by the coalition is an offshoot of his long-time interest in working with young people. Prior to signing on as the coalition's executive director, he was the town manager of Bradley for four years.

"Before I took this job, I had two requirements for what I wanted to do with my life," he said. "One, I wanted to stay in this area. Two, I wanted to do meaningful work with young people. So this job is really a perfect fit."

Like all organizations of its kind, the River Coaltion depends on outside funding. A $50,000 grant from a foundation set up by Stephen and Tabitha King has paid the fixed expenses for the last two years, but when that money runs out, the coalition will have to look elsewhere for help in paying its operating costs.

"Even if we could apply to the King foundation again, I don't know if we would," Crooker said. "We don't want to get dependent on one particular funding source. By the same token, there are only so many foundations out there."

The coalition is not only looking for financial support, but is happy to accept "in-kind" support as well.

"There's a whole untapped resource of people in the community," Crooker said. "We're always looking for people to help us. We have a lot of young people that are really active in our work, including two high school students who actually sit on our board and have the right to vote. There's the youth council, made up of about 15 to 20 students who identify problems and come up with solutions. Really good solutions, too, that we would never have thought of. These kids tell us that they're tired of being viewed as the "me" generation. They say that they do care about helping others in the community and they show that."

Reflecting that sentiment was a recent announcement by America's Promsie-the Alliance For Youth that Old Town is being included in its 2006 list of "100 Best Communities for Young People." Old Town not only won inclusion on the list, it beat out Bangor, which also applied for the honor. To Crooker, it merely underscores what he has always believed about this community.
"The mill closing, the school budget cuts, all those things are made out to be so negative," he said. "But none of that changes the fact that there are still amazing people in this community. And those people are still here. There are social groups like the Elks Club, the Boy Scouts, the Girl Scouts, mentoring programs that are still going to be there. This area has a lot to offer its young people, and the reverse is true as well."