HOME Volunteers Newsletter, Winter 2026

Newsletter Index

• Presidential Ponderings
• Annual Meeting Recap
• Around the State
  • Aroostook County
  • Cumberland County
  • Somerset County
  • Franklin County
  • Hancock County
  • Penobscot County
  • York County
• Agricultural Trades Show, January 2026
• 75th Anniversary Wrap-Up
• Janet’s Jammies
• Enrollment Forms and Dues are Due!
• Can Tab-ulations
• Annual Report for 2025
• 2026 HOME Volunteers Board Members
• Mark Your Calendars
• Featured Recipes from Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program
• Sugar season is almost here!

Presidential Ponderings

A New Year Brings a New Name

2026 is upon us, and we have a new name! We will now be known as HOME, or the Home Outreach of Maine Extension Volunteers. HOME is where the heart is! Happy New Year to all!

The Annual Meeting at Orland was absolutely great. The venue was very impressive and we were well taken care of. The Hancock ladies did a very good job setting up and running the event. Everyone seemed to be having a great time. Congratulations ladies – well done! With the 75th Anniversary being recognized across the state, there was a lot of activity last year with booths at fairs and events. Hope you got a chance to join your friends and have fun.

Annual Meeting Recap

The Annual Meeting of the Maine Extension Homemakers Council, hosted by the Hancock County Extension Homemakers in Orland, Maine, at the historic Alamoosook Lakeside Inn was held May 12 and 13. At the meeting, elections for Treasurer and Secretary were held. Amy Palmer (Franklin County) will continue as Secretary, and Debbie Consalvo (Hancock County) was elected to replace outgoing Treasurer Ellen Kavin (Aroostook County). Debbie was installed at the November 3, 2025, Board Meeting in Bangor. Thank you to outgoing Treasurer Ellen Kavin, and Congratulations, Debbie. 

A representative from The Ronald McDonald House, Coins for Caring 2024 recipient, was presented a check for $842.65. Train-the-Trainer sessions were “The Do’s and Don’t’s of Medications” and “Sour Dough Bread.”  The Geographical Area of Study was Prince Edward Island. Connect with your members who attended the training for copies of the training materials, if any were shared. 

Around the State

Aroostook County

Aroostook County held its Fall Meeting on October 11 with a scarecrow theme. Members staffed tables at the Top of Maine Trade Show in Madawaska in April and the Maine Potato Blossom Festival in Fort Fairfield in July to promote Homemakers and recruit new members.  Most recently, there was a holiday luncheon at Governor’s restaurant in Presque Isle.

Cumberland County

Cumberland County participated in the Cupcakes for Cancer fundraiser, held their annual lunch box sale, with proceeds going to the local food pantry, and filled shelter bags. They recently met for a holiday lunch at a local restaurant and held a White Elephant auction, with proceeds benefiting the Windham food pantry.

Somerset County

Somerset Homemakers held their annual meeting on April 28 at the Victor Grange Hall in Fairfield. Guest speaker Charlie Armstrong spoke about growing cranberries in Maine. There was a raffle with many, many items and a nice showing of cultural arts that members voted on for their favorite.  Cultural Arts winners sent their winning entries to the State Meeting in Orland for display.  The Clinton Day group sold doughboys at the Clinton Fair. These days, they are busy planning the 2026 meeting for you!

Franklin County

Franklin County held their annual county meeting in May in Wilton, with the Wilton Day group hosting.  A Hawaiian-themed brunch was enjoyed by all, and the Merry Plinksters entertained everyone with their fine ukulele playing. 

Their annual Rotary Christmas Tree netted $600. A new club has formed in Temple, Maine and will be known as the Temple Streamers, named for the stream that runs through the town. 

Hancock County

Hancock County hosted the state Annual Meeting in Orland on May 12 and 13 at the Alamoosook Lodge. 

The members enjoyed an outing to Blue Hill where they toured Bagaduce Music, a comprehensive music lending library, as well as a local shop, Ebb and Flow, specializing in selling a large variety of donated fabrics, assorted yarns, patterns, notions, sewing machines, all destined for the landfill, and instead donated for resale. Of course, they also went out to eat!  In October, they made scrubbies.

They recently met at member Pam Dupont’s home for a holiday lunch and gift exchange featuring filled mugs.

Penobscot County

Penobscot County meets monthly and has been busy collecting items for a variety of organizations. They have collected shirts and sweatpants, food, pet food and pet items as well as personal hygiene items. Some members attended the Antique’s Road Show in Boothbay in June. 

York County

York County’s Modern Day Homemakers were asked to be guest speakers at the York County Extension Association’s Annual Meeting and treated guests to three different demonstrations. Their in-person events have included a plant swap, a fabric, yarn and pattern swap, winter sowing and resource sharing. Their Facebook page is popular with 498 followers! They are going to be offering food preservation workshops with funds from the York County Executive Association.

Agricultural Trades Show, January 2026

The annual Agriculture Trades Show was held in Augusta on January 13, 14 and 15.  Members from across the state helped staff the booth where we sold raffle tickets for a chance to win a beautiful farm-themed quilt made by Lorie Swift from the Madison group in Somerset. Many other clubs also contributed items to the raffle. We raised over $400. 

75th Anniversary Wrap-Up

After a busy year of promoting the work of the Maine Extension Homemakers Council, we have concluded our 75th anniversary. Many thanks to all who staffed a booth and talked to the public at events large and small.  We have collected a list of individuals who would either like to join a club, or who would be interested in starting a new club in their area. What a great summer it was, getting out and meeting so many people! We have a wonderful cookbook that will be for sale for $10.00. There are over 150 recipes in the cookbook, representing most of our enrolled homemakers from across the state.  Copies will be available starting in mid-January.

Janet’s Jammies

Janet’s Jammies were packaged at the February Advisory Board Meeting. Volunteers prepared 288 pairs of pajamas at the February 2 meeting in Bangor and members delivered them to United Way agencies across the state for distribution to needy kiddos. This is the final year this program will be a statewide project.  However, if you would still like to sew for this worthy cause, please let Lisa know and she will connect you and your club directly to Janet’s Jammie’s.

Enrollment Forms and Dues are Due!

If not already submitted, enrollment forms for 2026 should be submitted immediately. Required forms include your membership roster, 2026 Planning Calendar, and non-discrimination statement. Dues should be sent to the State Treasurer and a check made out to MEHC should be sent to Debbie Consalvo, PO Box 28, East Orland, ME 04431. Other paperwork should be sent to Angela Martin, Estabrooke Hall, Room 400, Orono, ME 04469.

Can Tab-ulations

Lois King reports that in 2025 the clubs collected roughly 70 pounds of can tabs. Great work!! Keep it up!  As a reminder, all can tabs go to the Ronald McDonald House to help them continue providing services that support families in their time of need.

Annual Report for 2025

County Presidents and Secretaries should have received copies of the Annual Report. Please make enough copies to give to each club within your county. This is the report that reviews all the things your club has done over the past year. The first two pages are all about the educational programs your club held over the past year, and are broken down into categories.  The next page of the report captures the things your club did that benefited your community, including items donated, money donated, and time spent in support of donations (like the hours it took to make a pair of pajama bottoms). The final page of the report has two sections to capture the county projects the entire county worked on, and then the state projects your club participated in (such as can tab collections, Coins for Caring, and Janet’s Jammies). The best method of capturing your volunteer hours and donations is to review your secretarial minutes. Often, the minutes contain nuggets of information that are useful in telling the statistical story of the community impact your club has had over the past 12 months. There is also a “cheat sheet” with prices assigned to commonly donated items. This allows for consistency across the state for similar items that have been donated.

Mark Your Calendars

• March 31: 2025 Annual Reports are due to Lisa Fishman.
• May 4-5: H.O.M.E Annual Meeting hosted by Somerset County, Waterville, ME.
• June 1: Home Outreach of Maine Extension Volunteers Advisory Board Meeting, Bangor.
• November 2: Home Outreach of Maine Extension Volunteers Advisory Board Meeting, Bangor. Snow date is November 3.
• November 30: 2027 Annual Enrollment forms and dues are due.

Featured Recipes from Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program

You can find these and many more recipes on the University of Maine Cooperative Extension website.

Sugar season is almost here!

Photos: All photos are property of University of Maine Cooperative Extension, unless otherwise noted.

© University of Maine Cooperative Extension, 2026

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