The Eleanor Clare Paye Memorial Playground: Build Day and Dedication

On October 13, members of the community came together in a Build Day to finish building the Eleanor Clare Paye Memorial Playground at Young School in Saco. It was a lot of hard work (and even more mulch), but the results were fantastic.

Then on October 15, the playground was officially dedicated in a short ceremony which culminated with the students of Young School getting to try out the new playground.

The Fund wants to thank not only John Sherman and the Saco Parks & Rec Playground Committee for voting to name the playground in Ellie's memory, but to all the volunteers, donors, other sponsors, KaBOOM!, Let's Play and the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group for making this a reality.

Below are a few pictures taken at the Build Day on October 13 and the dedication on October 15. You can read a news story about the dedication here and view the Saco Parks & Rec Playground Committee Facebook photo album of the Build Day here.

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From Build Day

From Dedication Day

Fundraisers For The Power of Elle This Summer

This summer saw no fewer than four fundraisers for the Fund, all of which were made possible by members of the community who cared enough about Elle and the Fund to go out of their way to raise money.

First was the photo fundraiser held by Nadra Edgerly Photography at the end of May. Giving up a lot of their time and effort, the weekend-long event raised almost $500 for the Fund. And provided some amazing photos for people along the way.

Next was a Lemonade and Bake Sale Fundraiser in late July. Put together by Lori Schraier and Tara St. Onge (and on one of the hottest days of the year), their event raised $750 for the Fund. Not only were they generous in all the work and effort they put into the event, but there were many other people who donated time, items, or something equally valuable. Here is a link to the event page on Facebook where you can find an entire list of who donated what to the fundraiser.

Last Thursday was the 2nd Annual Benefit for the Power of Elle held by Jennifer Skinsacos at Ken's Place in Scarborough. You can read about last year's event here. Once again, Elle's mother and aunt worked tirelessly with Jennifer to make this event a success. Thanks to their work and the generosity of not only the many people who donated but that of Dave Wilcox, the owner of Ken's Place, the Benefit raised over $750 for the Fund.

And this past Sunday was Tea for Two: A Dolly & Me Tea Party. This event was put together by Sandy Mekonis. Sandy's daughter, Laina, was Elle's best friend. This event was held at the North Dam Mill in Biddeford. I encourage you to read the event page on Facebook to get an idea of the effort and work Sandy put into this event. So many people and so many companies donated so much to make this happen. Here is a picture of the poster that greeted people so you can see the number of people and companies involved (you can click on it to make it larger).

Tea for Two raised $1,461 for the Fund. And made a lot of young ladies (and their mothers) very happy.

In all, this summer the Fund received almost $3500 from these four events. We cannot express our thankfulness and appreciation for all the work these caring people did. But that is a testament to who Elle was, and how many people she touched in her short time here. And because of these efforts, the Fund can continue to make a difference in the community.

2nd Annual Bright Light Scholarship Winners and the Eleanor Clare Paye "Heart of Dance" Recipient

This June marked the second year that the Fund worked with Steppin Out Dance Studio in Saco (the dance studio Elle attended for 3+ years) to award the the Bright Light Scholarships and the annual Eleanor Clare Paye "Heart of Dance" award during their annual summer recital in Portland, Maine. The winners of last year's awards can be found here.

The Fund helped to grant scholarships totaling $1300 to the following students:

• Sarah Choroszy
• Lauren Ledoux
• Jaimie Dube
• Kellie Gagnon
• Taylor Picard

This year's winner of the Eleanor Clare Paye "Heart of Dance" award was Dylan Penniman.

As always, the Fund was able to do this in conjunction with Steppin Out Dance Studio thanks to the generosity of people who have donated to the Fund. Through their giving, we continue to ensure that the love of life that Ellie possessed will be remembered.

The Eleanor Clare Paye Memorial Playground

Recently Saco was awarded a grant from two national non-profits (Kaboom! and Let's Play) to rebuild the playground at Young School, one of two elementary schools in town. The Parks Committee from the Parks and Recreation Department then being raising private funding as well for the project.

Elle loved playgrounds. She enjoyed both the one at Fairfield and at Young. So when this project came to the Fund's attention, we decided to make a generous donation to the project.

In response, the Parks Committee unanimously voted to name the new playground after Elle.

The playground, which is located in a city park on North Street, will officially be known as "The Eleanor Clare Paye Memorial Playground,” after the Saco Playground Committee received “a generous donation” from the Eleanor Clare Paye Charitable Fund, [John] Sherman said this week.

“This is a great way to honor a special little girl who bravely fought against cancer,” he added.

To say we are appreciative of this would be a massive understatement. It is a remarkable gesture. And we are extremely thankful to the Parks Committee for their decision to remember Elle in this manner.

We will continue to update you on the progress of The Eleanor Clare Paye Memorial Playground in the months ahead.

Great Pictures for a Great Cause

Nadra Photography in Scarborough, ME is holding May Flowers 2012 on May 19th and 20th. This is a chance for you to not only have some beautiful photos taken, but to help the Fund as well.

Here are the details:

For $100 you will receive a 30 minute portrait session, along with an 8x10 print of your favorite image (a $155 total value)! Sessions will be held on Saturday, May 19 and Sunday, May 20 at our Scarborough studio. Beautiful portraits for everyone: families, children, couples, individuals and pets. We will have fresh flower props and bubbles... you bring the smiles!

50% of all the proceeds from this weekend will be donated by Nadra Photography to the Fund.

This is an incredibly generous and kind gesture and we cannot express our thanks enough. So if you are going to be in or around Scarborough that weekend, we encourage you to take part.

Our Achievements in 2011

As 2012 begins, we are pleased with the donations the Fund was able to make in 2011. In less than six months we were able to:

• Hand out $1500 in scholarships to dance students at Steppin' Out Dance Studio in Saco, ME. This was the dance studio where Elle danced for almost four years. It was very dear to her and her family, and this relationship is one we hope to continue for many years to come.
• Donate over $300 to the Fairfield Elementary School in Saco, ME for the purchase of books for the school library. This is where Elle attended Kindergarten. The books will contain nameplates recognizing Elle and the Fund.
• Donate $1000 to the Maine Children's Cancer Program in Scarborough, ME. This is the program where Elle received her treatment. Her ability to live the life of a young girl with minimal restrictions while battling cancer was due in large part to the tireless efforts of the doctors and staff at MCCP. This is the first of what we hope will be regular donations from the Fund to MCCP.

These donations were possible due to the generosity of all of you. And it is because of you we will be able to do more in 2012.

If you would like to make a donation, you can find the information on how to do so here.