As a (much) younger man, Joe was an avid bicyclist. That's why he likes to support local cycling organizations whenever he can. Today he's supporting the Community Bicycle Center's AppleCycle. The CBC exists to provide youth enrichment opportunities for personal growth through bicycling-related activities. As a result of engagement with Community Bicycle Center’s programming and staff, youth develop beliefs, attitudes, skills, and actions to be successful in relationships, educational pursuits, future employment, health, and civic engagement.

AppleCycle is an annual orchard hopping bike tour featuring seven beautiful apple orchards nestled along Greater York County’s most scenic rural roads. 100% of the proceeds support the Community Bicycle Center’s free afterschool programs for kids. This year's event will be held on Saturday, October 13th.

Learn more about the CBC here, and the AppleCycle here.

                     Photography by Corey Templeton. See more of Corey's photos here and here.

Joe has a soft spot in his heart for local organizations that advocate for the disabled among us. The Iris Network is one such organization. Formed in 1905, the Iris Network is a Portland institution whose mission is to help people who are visually impaired or blind attain independence and community integration. This organization recognizes the diverse aspirations and abilities of people who are visually impaired or blind, and provides services based on respect for each individual's right to self-direction through informed choices. This Saturday, October 13th, is the Iris Network's annual White Cane Walk for Independence, an an event organized to promote a better understanding of Maine's White Cane Law and to increase public awareness of safe independent travel for people who use white canes or guide dogs. By participating in the Walk, you help raise money for The Iris Network's programs. Find more about this important local organization here, and more about the event here. Joe appreciates the work done by the good people at the Iris Network and hopes that the White Cane is a success!

                        Photography by Corey Templeton. See more of Corey's photos here and here.

Readers of this blog are by now familiar with Joe's appreciation of Portland's strong "buy local" ethic. He's promoted the Portland Buy Local organization several times, and is currently spreading the word about their 2018 Indie Biz Awards. This fun event is a celebration of Portland's vibrant independent businesses and community organizations.  This year's event is being held tonight, Thursday October 4th, at 6pm at the Portland House of Music. Get ready for a huge celebration of all things local!

Find more about the event here, and remember, Joe always says buy local!

                      Photography by Corey Templeton. See more of Corey's photos here and here.

Of the many requests Joe gets from non-profits who want to be featured on the Time & Temperature sign, he has a soft spot in his heart for local organizations that work with Maine's disabled population. That's exactly what tonight's message is: Spurwink is a local organization that provides behavioral health and education services for children, adults and families. Spurwink's vision is that all children, adults and families affected by behavioral health challenges and developmental disabilities can live healthy, engaged lives in their communities. After beginning in 1960 with one house in Portland, today Spurwink has 37 active homes serving children, and another 18 homes serving its adult program.

The good folks at Spurwink have two exciting events coming up: On October 3rd, they will be celebrating the opening of their expanded educational and recreational facility in Chelsea. Join them from 11:30am-1:30pm at 31 Spurwink Drive in Chelsea, ME.

On October 12th, Spurwink will celebrate and honor special people who have shown a commitment to its mission - going the distance for those in need - at the 32nd annual Humanitarian Awards. Spurwink is excited to be celebrating the Humanitarian Awards this year at Thompson's Point in Portland. Joe hopes the event is a great success and gives his thanks to the good folks at Spurwink for the essential work they do!

Learn more about Spurwink here and more about these special events here.

                      Photography by Corey Templeton. See more of Corey's photos here and here.

With seven offices around Maine, the folks at Joe's firm know all about commuting. Fortunately there's a local organization devoted to making Mainers' commutes easier and more affordable. GO MAINE, a collaboration between the Maine Turnpike Authority and MaineDOT, is a statewide commuter program that matches up carpoolers, sets up vanpools, and rewards commuters for doing any kind of green commute like walking, biking, taking the bus, or telecommuting. For members, GO MAINE also offers an Emergency Ride Home benefit. And by the way, all of these services are FREE.

GO MAINE is currently running its Way 2 GO Maine program, a Business vs Business Commuter Challenge. Log your daily travel to work or school for October 2018 that's via carpool, bus, train, bicycle, walking or telecommuting. Then post on social media, check out how your workplace is doing on the leaderboard and beat out your competition across Maine! It’s a great team-building, healthy, carbon footprint-reducing, money saving event for your workplace. And GO MAINE does most of the work! Again, this year, there will be fun prizes for those participating. Plus weekly prizes this time around!

Learn more about GO MAINE here, more about Way 2 GO here. 

Joe says happy commuting, Portland!

                      Photography by Corey Templeton. See more of Corey's photos here and here.

Joe prefers a brisk walk to a 26.2-mile run, but nonetheless he appreciates the effort that goes into running a marathon. This Sunday September 30th, thousands of runners will be running the 2018 Gorham Savings Bank Maine Marathon, starting and finishing at Baxter Boulevard, between Forest Ave and Preble Street.

Every year, event organizers designate a local charity as the main beneficiary of race proceeds, and entrants are invited to make additional donations to that charity. There are three main beneficiaries of 2018's race: Greater Portland Health, an affordable health center that offers care for low-income Mainers; Ronald McDonald House Charities of Maine, which provides a special place for families in need of support to call home; and The Locker Project, which manages food pantries around southern Maine.

Find more about the race and these wonderful nonprofits here. Joe wishes good luck to all the runners (especially Allyson, an attorney at his firm) and maybe he'll see you at the finish line!

Photography by Corey Templeton. See more of Corey's photos here and here.

Ever since Joe's days as a young DJ (true story), he's had a soft spot in his heart for student-run radio stations; fortunately, Portland is home to such a station. WMPG, 90.9/104.1, empowers University of Southern Maine students and community members to create diverse, innovative, high quality media, foster the exchange of ideas, and celebrate the many cultures of USM and surrounding communities for broadcast to the world.

As we all know, it takes charitable donations from Portlanders like you to make such an operation possible. WMPG's Spring Begathon is taking place September 27th through October 3rd, so be sure to donate here. The WMPG volunteers and managers will be asking their listener-supporters for donations totaling $50,000 to meet the station's operations budget. For WMPG volunteers and listeners, the week of Begathon is a 7-day celebration of the unique opportunities that community radio offers. "Regular people, with and without previous media experience, come to WMPG to learn how to make radio that is important to them," explains WMPG Program Director Lisa Bunker. "We teach them the skills and responsibilities of how to do it, and then the music that is played and the topics that are discussed are completely up to them." Find more about WMPG at its official website. Joe hopes you chip in to WMPG and help support this important asset to the Portland community!

Photography by Corey Templeton. See more of Corey's photos here and here.

Today Joe wants to share with Portland a wonderful project designed to spread awareness of an important subject that's often difficult to talk about: mental health. Started by a brave young woman who lost two friends to mental illness in the last year, the Yellow Tulip Project is meant to let people know that "Hope Happens" and to help smash the stigma around mental illness. While this can be a difficult subject to address, Joe urges everyone to be open and frank about discussing a problem that can deeply affect lives and entire communities. He would also like to thank Julia for showing the courage to spearhead this effort and sharing her love and warmth with the city of Portland.

Find more about the Yellow Tulip Project here, and if you're in the Bridgton area on October 10th, check out Yellow Tulip's event at 3pm at the Community Center. Learn more about Yellow Tulip events here.

                           Photography by Corey Templeton. See more of Corey's photos here and here.