In recognition of the outstanding success of the Community Center, its parent organization, the Boothbay Region Health and Wellness Foundation, has announced it will now be known as “The Community Center.” The name change was announced in a letter recently sent to Foundation members.

Signed by Shawn Lewin, interim president, the announcement also informed members of Patricia Seybold’s decision to leave the board of the Health and Wellness Foundation so she could focus her efforts on the Boothbay Region Health Center.  

“It made sense for me to step away to devote my energies to the other non-profit we created and spun out of the Wellness Foundation two years ago: the Boothbay Region Health Center, which is a separate legal entity devoted to transforming healthcare in our rural community,” Seybold told the Boothbay Register.  The Health and Wellness Foundation was created in 2012 from the effort to save St. Andrews Hospital.

In explaining the decision to “re-brand” the Health and Wellness Foundation as “The Community Center,” Seybold writes: “The Community Center has become the heart of the community and the ‘face’ of the Wellness Foundation. It also accounts for 80 percent of the Wellness Foundation's income and expenses. Our other programs are all run out of the Community Center.”

Jane B. Good, Center director, calls it “a soft place to land” and the more than 3,500 area residents who participate in its free programs and classes seem to agree. “Once the Community Center was established, it quickly became the driving force and primary activity of the Foundation.”

Since its doors opened in 2015, the Center has received awards from the Boothbay Harbor Region Chamber of Commerce for its contributions to the community. Margaret Perritt, who serves on both the Community Center and Foundation boards, is keenly aware of the Center’s role. “We make no distinction here,” she said recently. “Everyone is welcome regardless of their age and abilities.” 

Lewin’s letter to Foundation members explains that membership is not required at the Center and anyone who is a local resident or taxpayer is considered to already be a member. Donations are welcome and tax-deductible. Going forward, contributions should be made to “The Community Center.”