The Women's Institute of Maine

WIM is for me a little dream whose time has come. The past couple years have been somewhat grim for women in our state, with the folding of our state's only women's magazine, funding drying up for Maine Cooperative Extension's Beauty Inside Out program and Eleanor Days Retreat, and the dissolution of USM's Center for Continuing Education Enrichment program and along with it the venerable Women in Management Conference.

As the economy tightens, we have a tendency to pull back spending time and money on nurturing ourselves and our dreams. Many wonderful workshops and conferences go empty or cease to go on. We stop investing in ourselves. Yet in lean times, it seems we should do just the opposite. What investment is more worthy than our very selves? Material things pale in comparison to simple joys like time spent in nature, time spent expressing our creativity, losing ourselves in our most heartfelt dreams. An investment in ourselves often assures us the largest and most certain dividends.

This may be a time of economic constriction, but let's not let it be a time of constriction of the human spirit. I hope WIM will contribute to the rekindling of the flame which burns within, offering new and exciting opportunties for women to come together to learn, grow and share. In these times, we are guided to build light and lean, and so we've built WIM intentionally with very low overhead, and all volunteer. We build only what we can sustain long term, and we do it together by whatever moves and attracts us most deeply as individuals. No guilt, no top-down directives, no piling on of volunteer responsibilities. We are simply a collective of women leading ourselves from within our own hearts who recognize the amazing multiplying effect of sharing and combining our gifts.

I hope WIM will be a place you choose to come to incubate your dreams, to find helpmates, mentors, and kindred spirits and to share your many gifts with the world. I invite you to connect with us and help us to expand the circle! I am truly grateful for your good company and wish for your fondest dreams to come to fruition.