MEA-Retired Helping Members

Serving Students Never Ends

Greening the gardens, providing school supplies and books, setting up classrooms and photocopying worksheets kept dozens of MEARetired members busy this fall. In the annual Day of Caring project, retirees from all over Maine joined their county MEA chapter members and tackled a unique project to help the educators at a school in their community.

Some MEA-Retired chapters also joined with future educators who belong to the MEA’s student chapter, known as S.E.A.M. (Student Education Association of Maine). Together, the retirees and the students formed unique bonds with the veteran educators sharing their experiences with those who are about to enter the profession while improving local schools and helping students and fellow educators. Other Day of Caring projects included improving playground equipment and donating money for musical instruments for local school children.

The Day of Caring is an ongoing tradition with MEA-Retired members who continue to serve students in public schools, even in retirement. “It is exciting to see how much MEA-Retired members do to help students. Membership with the MEA doesn’t end when you finish working for a school district. We continue to be involved through our retired membership with the MEA and I find the work to be so fulfilling, knowing I am still helping students,” said Jan Cerabona, MEA-Retired, Community Participation Chair.

York Country Retired EA, students from St. Joseph’s College, and Maureen Goering (Eliot Elementary School Principal) joined together to paint the gym and clean up the playground area of Eliot Elementary School on September 12, 2015 as part of the MEA-Retired’s Day of Caring.