Funding helps the elderly and disabled remain in their homes as long as possible.

LEWISTON – Lincoln Ladd, trustee of his parents’ charitable fund, made a personal visit to the Catholic Charities Maine SEARCH program recently.

He presented a check for $13,000 to Phoebe Lowell, program director, and praised the volunteers who give thousands of hours of service to elderly people struggling to remain independent.

“The Helen and George Ladd Charitable Corp. is a faithful and generous supporter of the SEARCH program,” said Lowell. “We are grateful for their faith in SEARCH and will continue to do what it takes to assist elderly and disabled people who want more than anything to remain in their own homes.”

SEARCH stands for Seek Elderly Alone, Renew Courage and Hope. Its mission is to enable frail, vulnerable elderly and those with disabilities to remain independent and in their own homes for as long as possible.

The program began in 1975 and is supported by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland, the United Way of Androscoggin County, the Helen and George Ladd Charitable Corp., the JTG Foundation, the L and A Fund, the city of Lewiston Community Development Block Grant Program, the city of Auburn, Liberty Mutual and the Auburn/Lewiston Rotary Breakfast Club.

Financial donations from individuals, businesses and civic groups are encouraged and may be sent to SEARCH, 15 Westminster Street, Lewiston, ME 04240.

SEARCH is looking for interested persons of all ages and religious denominations who would like to be a friendly telephone caller, visitor or part-time helper for an elderly person in Androscoggin County. For more information about becoming a short-term or longer-term SEARCH volunteer or to refer someone as a client, please call the program office at 784-0157.

For more than 37 years, Catholic Charities Maine has been recognized for its diverse mix of specialized community-based programs designed to help reunite and preserve families, provide care to children and elders, welcome the refugee, support victims of isolation and loneliness, counsel those battling addiction or mental illness, deliver dental services and nutrition programs to children, and instruct the blind and visually impaired. More than 20,000 people annually are served by Catholic Charities in the state’s 16 counties, from Biddeford to Caribou.


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