Many people know Star Island for a week or so every summer. And that’s exactly what we work year-round to accomplish: to make sure that the time you have on island is the absolute best. The year-round aspect of our operation is something we’re inviting you to look back at with us in this post. A lot of changes happened in 2013, so journey with us through this review of a great year:
Online registration started in February — the first time we’ve ever had online registration!
Another successful Annual Meeting — this time with a mid-day fair focusing on all of our various committees
A season long painting raffle!
People shared stories of love, love, and love in our winter newsletter
We introduced room and board discounts to help attract new families and former staff to summer conferences. (We’ll let you know about 2014 discounts soon)
Star Island appeared on the back page of the UU World and in Christian Century magazine
Robert’s Maine Grill in Kittery, ME hosted two Community Suppers to benefit Star Island.
The Shelter Rock Large Grant Fund gave $100,000 to Star to install a new pump and extend the sprinkler system.
An awesome group of volunteers (one of many that make Star so great) renovated the Art Barn
Star Island went to the UUA GA for the first time in several years thanks to the help of a few great volunteers.
The shower rooms were completely demolished and rebuilt. The new shower rooms included energy efficient heating/air conditioning systems, too!
There was a lot of work done on Star Island in terms of facility upgrades: the new shower rooms, and a rebuilt front porch to name just two of our many undertakings.
We came together as an entire island to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech.
Pelicans maintained several island gardens which resulted in over 700 lbs of produce.
A new trailhead map was installed on the pier to help day guests as they first arrive on island.
Vaughn Cottage historians created a video explaining Star’s past use of carrier pigeons.
The 4th Annual Gosport Regatta took place in September with great hurrahs!
Summer volunteers clocked in for over 10,000 hours.
Starry Night brought together a number of our friends from around the area and reminded us of the importance of a strong Star Island community on the mainland.
We updated our newsletter design and layout! Typography nerds unite!
To celebrate Veterans, we held a raffle awarding a free stay on Star for a veteran and his or her family in 2014.
In our first #GivingTuesday we saw a number of donations and messages from people about why they chose to give to Star Island.
We started a new series on our website called Shoaler Voices which will present posts from different people each week. Our first post focused on a playlist inspired by Star Island.
And, here in the office, we are looking for an equally busy 2014 with more projects and exciting news.
As we prepare to launch online registration in January, take a look at next summer’s calendar.
