The Orono Communities for Children, a Community of Promise, was initiated more than three years ago with the creation of the Orono Leadership Council, consisting of over 16 community members, school representatives and youth. During the initial year the Council sponsored Community Forums, in which people of all ages were able to voice their concerns about services and activities available to young people as well the positive activities going on within the small community.

As the forums uncovered areas of deficiency, services and programs were developed to meet the needs. This included the creation of an after school hangout for middle school students (2:00 – 5:30 PM). The original hangout was a vacant classroom, which students rejected because it was located in a school. As a result, the town converted a vacant building to municipal space and the Parks and Recreation Department took over the building, converting the full sized basement into a Middle School Center, complete with games, fooseball, bumper pool, air hockey, couches and a large screen television. Over the past two years the Center has attracted 12-20 middle school students per day. The group of youth attending the Center is now attempting to create a Skate Park in Orono.

The Orono Communities for Children would not have been able to provide this service to the community without the support of the C4C VISTA Program. The Orono VISTA has also recently completed a "Family and Child Resource Manual" which highlights health and human services that are available in the Greater Bangor, Orono-Old Town area.

To meet the America’s Promise objectives, 200 youth were provided with a caring adult, 75 with a safe place after school, 75 with a healthy start and future, and 10 with an opportunity to give back to the community. The community hosted a Summit in the fall of 1999.

The next project is the creation and funding for the development of a Kid’s Resource Map that lists places youth can go and feel welcomed in the Orono-Old Town area. Places to be included on this map will be movie theaters, public libraries, ice cream shops, teen centers and music stores, to name just a few.