See It: The Community being helped

Epilepsy Maine is a website I'm in the process of creating to help Maine residents with Epilepsy, or who have loved ones with Epilepsy gain the knowledge, support and resources they need to lead better lives. It will include:

1.) A listing of recommended doctors separated into sub-categories starting with Epitologists, Neurologists, Neurosurgeons etc...

2.) Support group times and dates and where they are being held. There are now support groups being held! Visit the website for times and dates, and topic information!

3.) Event information, whether that be for fund-raisers for the Epilepsy Foundation, or H.O.P.E. Presentations (Helping Other People With Epilepsy) or various other conferences that might be being held throughout the year.

4.) Seizure First Aid - Something very important for both people with, and without seizures to know, inside and out.

5.) Medical Alert Jewelry - A common complaint of many people (not just with Epilepsy, but with all people who have to wear Medical Alert Jewelry) is how horribly unattractive it is. I have a comprehensive list of attractive and useful medical alert jewelry that people won't want to "forget" to wear. Thus, less people will be unidentified as having a seizure disorder if rendered unable to communicate for themselves.

6.) Advocacy - The main goal of this website, aside from providing as many resources available to the residents of Maine who live with Epilepsy as possible, is to provide advocacy to a disorder filled with stigma. In Maine the resources available to a newly diagnosed person are slim, and a website such as this would provide a valuable wealth of information, and most importantly....let them know that they're not alone. Seizures are a scary thing, and even scarier when you think nobody around you understands what you're going through.

7.) Driving and Epilepsy - The law in Maine for driving when one has Epilepsy and one's responsibility to keep themselves and others safe. Another really important page of information.

8.) Legal Help - Links to legal resources and information.

9.) Health Information - Describing different types of Epilepsy, the Ketogenic diet, Epilepsy and Depression, etc....

See It: The Community being helped

Founded almost 3 years ago, Strategies for a Stronger Sanford is a local non-profit based in the old textile town of Sanford, Maine. We have been extremely productive and have kept focus on our main goal - to provide healthy life alternatives to Sanford's youth. Our many events consist of providing an after school program for children in grades 1-3, community dinners, and more recently a trip with more than twelve at-risk youth to see a Boston Celtics game.

However, our largest project has been to refurbish our towns under-utilized Carpentier Park. The park resides in a rough and low-income neighborhood of our town, but nevertheless is a hidden gem. We have worked extensively with our town officials, held numerous fundraisers, but our dream still seem far from reality. We hope to involve all citizens of the Sanford/Springvale area and leverage their talents to bring about a positive change.

See It: The Community being helped

When I went inside a furniture store in Fairfield, Maine, I found myself a great deal that had nothing to do with the price of a chair or a couch. The building was built in 1900, designed by Amos Gerald (name change from Fitzgerald). It was called 'The Gerald', a hotel considered the most majestic of it's time. It has hand carved wood banisters, stain glass windows, hand painted walls and crafted ceiling supports. The Renaissance style paintings smile at me from the ceiling and walls of the dining room, showing me this building was build with love and care. The brick walls were shaped in ways most bricklayers cannot even being to contemplate on how to construct. Today, they would buy the pieces from a factory that were already shaped and multiplied a million times. The balconies that gracefully protruded toward the street were gone now, but the cold, severed steel where they once were is still there. The awnings are gone, but the poles that supported them still remain. The spires were removed sometime after 1950, the roof garden dissolved after 1937. You can't help but fall in love with this building as you walk by it and admire the carved images on the side facing the street. I could tell this was someone's dream turned into reality. The hotel made it onto the 12th Annual List of Maine's Most Endangered Historic Properties. This does not promise the building will still be standing a few years down the road.

This is where I come in. I have created two videos of the hotel and have posted them on Youtube.com in hopes people would understand what happened to this building. I wanted people to understand that we did not evolve from the internet or cell phones, that we came from a culture that took pride in our work. There was a day where we could walk on the streets and tilt our hats in respect when greeting out friends and family. These videos were inspirational enough to have the local paper cover a story on it. Turns out the next morning my face was plastered on the front page of the paper. My videos have gotten over 400 hits each within hours of the paper being circulated(I had to repost one video because of an error). My plan is to make more videos of these historical properties, including the 470 train engine in Waterville, Maine. Eventually I will have videos from all over. I want people to understand where they originated from, and most of all, I fight to keep these masterpieces intact and hopefully restored. Nothing should be torn down or replaced just because it is old. Sometimes newer items are not built better. I will continue my adventure, and even though I am not a celebrity, I feel I can make a difference.

Please view my videos at:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=xOVrpo0qt2o

http://youtube.com/watch?v=0eomQExEqlA

http://morningsentinel.mainetoday.com/news/local/4368336.html