Every June, Pine Tree Society Direct Support Professional, Deb Cote, and her family paddle the Kennebec River with one purpose in mind: to raise money for Maine people with disabilities to experience Pine Tree Camp.
But one reason isn’t enough for the Cote family. They take the Bath Savings Paddle for Pine Tree Camp a step further and make paddling fun and accessible for people from Pine Tree Society’s Community Support Program. The Cote’s love being outdoors and bringing people out on the water is something they look forward to every year.
Deb is a certified Special Olympics trainer and, in addition to the health benefits of being outdoors and active, her favorite aspect of the paddle is inspiring people to explore their community, learn about each other and make new friends.
“We all love the camaraderie of our paddle team and look forward to it every single year,” said Deb. “We work together to raise money and everyone loves the t-shirts and knowing we’re helping people come to Pine Tree Camp. It’s such a good feeling.”
The night before, the entire team gets together for a pizza party and telling stories around the campfire at Pine Tree Camp. That’s how their team name came about.
“We love having pizza together and everyone feels at home at camp,” Deb continued. “Many of the people in our Community Support Program have a lot of history of coming to camp and they like sharing memories and being with each other the night before the paddle. They’re all very proud of camp.”
To donate to the Pine Tree Paddlers for Pizza online, please contribute to Deb Cote at this link.
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Paddle for Pine Tree Camp Weekend
Friday, May 31 — Hammond Lumber Company Cornhole for a Cause — The Woodshed, Manchester. Join us for a fun evening of competitive cornhole and special guests
Saturday, June 1 and Sunday, June 2 — Bath Savings Paddle for Pine Tree Camp. Paddle the Kennebec in Solon or the Androscoggin in Brunswick.
This is one of our biggest fundraisers of the year and 100% of proceeds support Pine Tree Camp’s tuition fund. No camper is ever turned away due to their ability to pay.
Learn more and register at this link.
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