LEWISTON — Two years ago, Sarah Barton chose Lewiston as her destination for her AmeriCorps service.

Just out of college in Minnesota, she had no connection to Maine. She did not know anyone, or even much about Maine’s second-largest city. She had only spent time in Denmark, on a farm.

But after one year volunteering at the Center for Wisdom’s Women on Blake Street — the standard AmeriCorps service period — she decided, rather easily, to stay another year.

“It was kind of a shot in the dark,” she said about choosing Lewiston, “But I’m so, so happy with the way it worked out, because I’ve learned a ton here and this community has just meant the world to me.”

After two years in Lewiston, Barton has become immersed in the downtown community, and according to her peers, has left a irreplaceable mark on the organizations she has worked with.

For a 24-year-old now heading into the job market for the first time, it is a welcome reputation. During her penultimate day at the center on Thursday, Barton said she’s planning to stay in Maine.

Klara Tammany, executive director of the center, which runs a drop-in day shelter for women recovering from trafficking, substance use and other trauma, said Barton has been “instrumental” in the fundraising and grant-writing efforts toward renovating the former St. Patrick’s Convent.

That project, named Sophia’s House, will create a residential recovery community for women. The fundraising efforts resulted in $1.6 million. When Barton first got to the center, she said Sophia’s House was still a “dream,” but the building is now set to open by the end of the year.

Barton is enrolled in the AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America), a national service program designed to alleviate poverty.

Tammany said Barton is the “epitome of what a VISTA can be,” rooting herself in the community both at the women’s center and in neighborhood efforts, “and she became well loved and trusted by everyone whose path she crossed.”

“Our capacity is so much greater and we are better off as individuals and as an organization thanks to her care-filled presence with us,” she said.

Others at the center were heaping praise on Barton, who on top of leading the Steering Committee for Sophia’s House, has also organized the center’s “Herban Works” program, which, with help from women at the center, creates handmade herbal products.

Photos were posted on the center’s Facebook page last week showing a farewell celebration for Barton. Among the goodbye wishes for Barton was one from Tammy Neely.

“You have shown me how to show compassion to those women who are struggling through being kind and listening with genuine concern. You will be missed, and you will help others with your kindness,” she said.

When Barton first arrived, the Center for Wisdom’s Women was her first real experience for a nonprofit, especially one working to support people struggling with various trauma. It was eye-opening, but it also showed her Lewiston’s undercurrent of hope.

“It’s been amazing to see and be apart of,” she said. “This place does really feel special in the way that the community comes together and supports each other. If you have an idea, there’s the commitment and support to get it done.”

Partway through her first year in Lewiston, Barton also got involved with the Healthy Neighborhoods Planning Council, which was in the throes of creating its Choice Neighborhood transformation plan, part of a federal grant.

She worked to represent the Center for Wisdom’s Women on the Planning Council, but said it quickly turned into a larger role. She somehow found the time.

“It’s funny in Lewiston,” she said. “You start just by showing up, but you get to know things and get involved. I kind of got pulled in, there’s a lot of amazing energy and momentum around the project and it’s contagious.”

Barton got so involved that she became the interim coordinator of the effort, a role that will also end this week.

During her community engagement work for the transformation plan, Barton bridged both her current roles. She sat down with incarcerated women from Lewiston, adding their voices to the process. It led to parts of the plan that call for education programs and workforce training.

Barton said she’s not sure what the future holds, but that she’s hoping to stay in the nonprofit realm.

“Wherever Sarah lands, she will make a difference for the better and someday I think I’ll hear about her and say, ‘I knew her when she was just out of college as a VISTA and she changed us and helped us grow, even then,'” Tammany said.

Know someone with a deep well of unlimited public spirit? Someone who gives of their time to make their community a better place? Then nominate them for Kudos. Send their name and the place where they do their good deeds to reporter Andrew Rice at arice@sunjournal.com and we’ll do the rest.

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