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| 2016 Windham High graduate Hannah McFarland has created the Compassion Cloud Collective, a new nonprofit which will host an 'Oscars Watch Party' at 6 p.m. Sunday, March 27 as a fundraiser for the Cinderella Project of Maine which provides prom dresses and attire for high school students across the state of Maine. COURTESY PHOTO |
Prom season for Windham
High School students is nearing and with it comes all the excitement and
memorable times to be savored for a lifetime but for some area families hit
hard by the pandemic and struggling to make ends meet, the costs associated
with attending a prom can limit some budgets.
But now a nonprofit organization, The Cinderella Project of Maine, is teaming with Smitty’s Cinema to make going to the prom a bit less stressful through a special fundraiser this weekend in Windham. The event is an “Oscars Viewing Party” starting at 6 p.m. Sunday at Smitty’s in Windham that will include pop-up shops, a raffle, a drawing, menu service and all the festivities from the 94th Academy Awards presentation in Hollywood on the big screen.
No admission will be charged to attend but participants are
asked to bring a donation item to benefit the Cinderella Project of Maine,
a nonprofit organization located in Belfast.
Hannah McFarland has organized the
event, the very first for her newly formed nonprofit called The Compassion
Cloud Collective. She said she chose to help the Cinderella Project of Maine
because of the impact its work has on the community.
“They collect new and gently used
prom attire for teens in Maine in an effort to make sure everyone gets an
opportunity to have a memorable prom without the added stress of cost.”
McFarland first became involved with the
Cinderella Project of Maine in 2017 when she worked
for Smitty’s Cinema as assistant director of marketing and sales.
“That was when I learned what they were all about and the impact they make and Smitty’s has given me permission to continue on the Oscar’s event tradition,” she said.
Now serving as the lead
activities coordinator and administrative assistant for Modern Woodmen of
America’s Regional Director Scott McDonald, McFarland aims to help Windham High
School students attend prom by providing them free and fabulous prom gowns
while at the same time promoting positive self-esteem and community
volunteerism among the teens.
“In 2016, I started with Modern
Woodmen as an activities coordinator and fell in love with the job. Since then,
philanthropy, compassion and giving back to my community has been one of my
biggest missions,” McFarland said. “Now in 2022 I have worked alongside nearly
every nonprofit in the state of Maine. I would not have the love, drive and
resources for philanthropy work without the example set by Modern Woodmen of
America and their generous outpouring into our community in so many impactful
ways.”
According to McFarland, her new The Compassion Cloud Collective is a multi-mission, nonprofit organization owned and operated by female business owners who seek to find the silver lining in all of life's storms by using the strengths of each of their partners.
“Each one of our seven partners has
their own mission that they stand for, but all of them as a collective are
fighting together to raise awareness on mental health in today's world,” she
said. “For this event we chose Windham, although The CCC seeks to cover
all of Maine. I am a 2016 Windham High School graduate and worked at Smitty’s
Cinema in Windham for seven years. Anyone who knows me, knows that Smitty’s had
more of my time than my actual home and that Smitty’s was my home for several
years. It was important to me for the first event of my own nonprofit be in the
town that watched me grow into the person I am today. The good, bad, awkward
and happy days Windham has been a part of for me.”
Planning for the “Oscars Viewing Party” began at the start of
this year and McFarland said that the event grew and developed from there.
“I could not have made
this event happen without Modern Woodmen’s generous donations of prom attire,
the support of Smitty’s Cinema in my event accommodations and the collaboration
of my wonderful partners of The CCC.”
Beyond hosting the fundraising event Sunday on behalf of the Cinderella
Project of Maine and spreading the word to make the greatest impact upon public
donations for the effort, McFarland said that Modern Woodmen is donating $1,000
worth of prom attire to make sure that teens across Maine have the best prom
ever this year.
She said those donations will be recognized and displayed along
with the others that come for the event on Sunday.
“We are also holding a raffle of assorted goods from each vendor,
tickets are a minimum of a $1 donation and the donations will go toward the
efforts of The CCC both present and future such as Oscar’s event costs and
future events are planned.”
Vendor booths
for the event Sunday include
Windham’s Modern Woodmen of America, The Compassion Cloud Collective, K Sweets, Ritual
Maine, Stone Donut Design, Moon Lady Plants, Macs by Seyya, and Cosmic
Complexions.
“Our hope is to bring awareness to the endeavors of the Cinderella Project of Maine because in the midst of an ongoing pandemic, they need our support more than ever and our Maine teens deserve it,” McFarland said. “Along with that we really just want a chance to introduce who we are at The CCC to the community of Windham and to have a blast while making an impact where it is needed. We believe at The CCC that working together as a collective group can make bigger waves and deeper impacts than we can ever imagine as individuals.” <
