MATE’S 2025 Holiday Appeal

“Reaching the Last House on the Last Road”

Deliver Help, Hope, and Connection

Across Central Western Maine, too many families are bracing for winter in unsafe or unstable housing. This year alone, requests for MATE’s home repair service increased 45% over our previous record high.

Your support this holiday season ensures more of our neighbors can stay warm, safe, and together.

Your Gift Makes a Real Difference

$50: provides basic materials (hardware, lumber, nails)
$100: repairs unsafe steps and flooring
$250: funds energy-efficient windows and doors
$500: hires a skilled Site Supervisor to assist youth groups and teach valuable construction skills and values
$1,000: constructs a full ADA ramp for an aging neighbor
$2,500 & Above: makes large-scale projects possible, including roof replacements or multi-room safety repairs

“It’s a surreal feeling to know that my house and my kids will be warm this winter.”

-MATE Homeowner Partner

Every gift repairs homes, restores dignity, and transforms lives!

Donate Now

Why Your Gift Matters

Thanks to the generosity of donors and grantors and the dedication of our volunteers, we have:

Increased annual homes repaired by 49% in 4 years
Expanded annual population served by 53% in 4 years
Welcomed 16 workgroups from 10 states in 2025, totaling 351 volunteers, our largest amount since COVID
Fostered the next generation of leaders, with 37% of volunteers under the age of 18 in 2025
Provided transitional housing to a family of five at the McCleary House in 2025

Despite this progress, many families remain on our waiting list, hoping their home can be repaired next season. Your gift helps us reach them sooner by providing a crucial source of funding that enables us to increase our capacity to aid a growing number of our neighbors experiencing housing insecurity.

Across rural Maine, a growing number of individuals and families are living with unsafe floors, leaking roofs, failing windows, and mobility barriers, conditions that create deep uncertainty and mounting stress as the basic human need for safe housing slips out of reach. For neighbors facing these hardships, MATE is a lifeline, a beacon of hope and steadfast support in a region where few safety nets exist.

MATE Delivers Help, Hope, and Connection
Through Our Two Core Programs:

1) MATE Housing Repair

Our home repair program brings hope and stability to neighbors with nowhere else to turn, repairing roofs, rebuilding floors, adding ADA ramps, and creating warm, safe homes where children can thrive.

EVOLVING PROGRAM

To meet the exponential increase in demand for our home repair service, we have invested significantly in professionalizing our home repair program, expanding our staffing model to boost efficiency and assist more of our neighbors facing housing insecurity.

In 2025, we boosted efficiency and readiness by purchasing a hydraulic dump trailer, which has streamlined site prep and debris removal, along with an air-tight storage container to order specialty long lead-time items like windows and doors in advance, ensuring materials are ready when volunteers arrive. Thanks to generous grantors, we also secured funding to purchase a second work vehicle, enabling us to oversee more sites and expand our impact.

2) MATE Transitional Housing

For families in crisis, our transitional housing program offers a lifeline: a place to heal, rebuild, and regain independence.

SUPPORTING FAMILIES THROUGH A PIVOTAL PERIOD

This year, we hosted a family of five in the McCleary House, offering them a stable and supportive environment during a critical transition. Their time with us empowered them to regain security, build resilience, and take meaningful steps toward a sustainable future, laying the foundation for long-term stability and growth.

Looking Ahead…

Continue to strengthen our home repair program by expanding long-term staff to support more volunteers, host a growing number of youth groups, and extend the home repair season, delivering essential repairs to more families facing housing insecurity, and to provide transitional housing for families experiencing situational homelessness.

This holiday season, please consider making a
tax-deductible donation to help us reach more families and individuals who have nowhere else to turn.

Help Us Reach Our Goal!

There are many ways to give and support our efforts to help families remain in safe and warm homes:

DONATE ONLINE:
MAIL A CHECK: PO Box 206. Farmington, ME. 04938
HONOR OR MEMORIAL GIFTS: to honor a loved one
JOIN THE MATE BUILDER’S TEAM:
- Become a sustaining donor to maximize your impact
SHARE THE CAMPAIGN: https://givebutter.com/mate25
- Spread the word in your community and share our appeal on social media or send the link to friends and family. Your voice helps reach new supporters and multiplies our impact!

Your generosity allows us to continue loving our neighbors through volunteer home repairs and transitional housing, transforming the lives of a growing number of families and individuals each year, fostering lives of hope, security, and dignity across Central Western Maine.