About the Starfish Fund
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The Starfish Fund was founded based on the life experience of Bill Cumming who, over the last 30+ years, as means allowed, has given time, shelter, opportunity and money in service of others. Now a part of The Boothby Institute, the trustees of that organization share in its vision.
Donors to non-profit organizations often feel that they are “helping” the people to whom funds are given and do not experience a sense of contribution to their own lives. While there is no question that these funds contribute to the ability of Starfish participants to get a leg-up in their lives, we ask that donors look carefully to see and experience the value they are receiving from that contribution. Our goal is for us to know that every starving child, every life wasted in or after prison is the life of a person, related to us. How their lives turn out directly contributes to the quality of our lives.
Ultimately, it is our goal that the initial recipients of funds will become the strongest of its contributors. We are deeply grateful for contributions from every source.
The greatest value of this training is the constant repetition of the fact that the power to improve our lives resides within all of us. – Colin Barnicle, referring to his program evaluation.
The Starfish Fund is served by several “Advisory Voices” – individuals who have graciously agreed to provide expertise in their discipline and act as a sounding board for new ideas and any challenges The Starfish Fund may encounter. At present, those individuals include:
Quin Frazer, Partner, Gardner, Carton & Douglas
Richard Malley, Headmaster Emeritus Wilbraham & Monson Academy
Michael Neill, author and coach
Matt Schuller, MS, RHIA, Project Manager
Senator Ethan Strimling, Executive Director, Portland West
Senator, State of Maine and Kelly Williams, Co-Founder of Tiers To You.
Contact Us:
The Starfish Fund
P.O. Box 304
Litchfield, ME 04350
207-582-2405
info[at]thestarfishfund.com
| “Loving Kindness, grace and dignity can be given and received at any time. When a person knows they are loved and powerful enough to make choices that allow them to take charge of their lives they feel live in a new way.
Albert Boothby, my high school history teacher and mentor, taught me the joy of serving. He told me to expect to be contributed to beyond my wildest dreams. The Starfish Fund is a way for us to share what we have experienced and bring together as many resources as we can create so that every child knows this well. I wonder why the early participants in The Starfish Fund are as, if not more, interested in investing in others as they are in bringing their own dream to fruition? Is it just possible that well people want to contribute, naturally, because it feels so good to be of use?” – Bill Cumming |