PORTLAND — The Portland-based Lerner Foundation today announced a five-year, $2 million commitment to youth development programs focused on raising the aspirations of middle school students in rural Maine.

"The Lerner Foundation wants to help more young people reach for education and training beyond high school, whether that's a two-year or four-year college, military service or professional licensing," said Erin Cinelli, executive director of the Foundation, in a news release.

"Our research tells us that the middle school years are critically important to future success, and that is where we believe we can have the greatest impact."

Don Carpenter of Trekkers to Lead Effort

For several years the Lerner Foundation has supported Trekkers, a unique outdoor-based mentoring program that works with 200 students from six communities of Regional School Unit 13, including St. George, South Thomaston, Thomaston, Rockland, Owls Head and Cushing.

Thirty students from seventh- through 12th-grades in each of the six towns participate in Trekkers' expeditionary learning programs every year. These students learn valuable life skills as they explore the world beyond their own communities through outdoor experiences and educational expeditions to major cities and colleges and universities.

Don Carpenter, who recently concluded a 17-year career as the founder and executive director of Trekkers, will join the Lerner Foundation as its senior program officer in February and will be responsible for strategy, partnership development, outreach and evaluation in support of the Foundation's grant making in this area.

"I believe in the adage that sometimes you have to turn a young person onto life before you can get them turned onto learning," said Carpenter, who holds a Master of Science degree in environmental education and has more than 26 years of experience in youth development work. "We want to provide students a platform from which to discover and express the gifts that lie within each of them, and we believe that this important work needs to start in middle school."

"For all kinds of reasons, too many of Maine's young people are discouraged from reaching as high for themselves as their talents could take them, and we have found that to be particularly true in many rural areas where programs like Trekkers don't exist," said Eliot Cutler, president of the Lerner Foundation and chair of its board of directors. "Don and the Trekkers program have had a significant, positive impact on the lives of many students in mid-coast Maine, and we want to find a way for the Trekkers' approach to have statewide effect."

Cinelli said that most future Lerner Foundation grants will focus on building direct partnerships with organizations and institutions that are committed to raising the life aspirations of middle school students in rural Maine communities.

In addition to the work managed by Carpenter, other organizations throughout the state with a focus on nurturing aspirations among middle school students will be eligible to compete for smaller grant awards in an annual bidding process. Letters of inquiry for those interested in participating in bidding this year will be due Friday, Feb. 19.

More information is available on the foundation's website: lernerfoundation.com.