PHOTO: Avesta Housing presents its Mission Champion Award to Kennebunk Savings. L-R: Douglas Stockbridge, board member, Avesta Housing Board of Directors and vice chair, Kennebunk Savings Board of Directors; Rebecca Hatfield, Avesta Housing president and CEO; Bradford C. Paige, CEO, Kennebunk Savings; Liz Torrance, vice president and social responsibility manager, Kennebunk Savings; Dennis Byrd, senior executive vice president and COO, Kennebunk Savings; and Nate Howes, senior development officer, Avesta Housing.
Avesta Housing, the largest nonprofit affordable housing provider in northern New England, has presented its Mission Champion Award to Kennebunk Savings for its work to provide safe, quality, affordable homes for older adults in Kennebunk.
Avesta’s Mission Champion Award is presented annually to an individual or organization who has made significant contributions to the promotion and provision of affordable housing. Winners of the award embody Avesta’s belief that everyone deserves a safe, affordable place to call home. Avesta Housing President & CEO Rebecca Hatfield presented the award to Kennebunk Savings on May 29 at The Woodlands Club in Falmouth, Maine.
Motivated by the housing crisis, Kennebunk Savings donated 12 acres and more than half a million dollars to Avesta Housing in 2023. The donation will facilitate development of a new 70-unit affordable housing community for ages 55 and older in Kennebunk and support future phases of affordable housing in the area.
Kennebunk Savings’ contribution didn’t stop with the donation. Knowing the project faced a major hurdle — a town-wide ballot measure to approve zoning — bank leadership solicited support by hosting and participating in extensive community engagement and education. Thanks to these efforts, Kennebunk was the sole Maine community where an affordable housing ballot measure passed in the March 2024 election.
