It was a week or so after Thanksgiving, at the Green Alliance headquarters in Kittery, when Sarah Brown had her light bulb moment. Well, a string of Christmas light bulbs, really.

Brown, the Director of the self described “green business union”, was going through her long list of emails when one in particular caught her attention.

Titled simply “Inquiry”, the dispatch was from Mary Doyle, Public Relations Director for the York County Shelter Programs (YCSP). As Brown read through Doyle’s story of the YCSP – which operates emergency homeless shelters, a food pantry and free meals kitchen, substance abuse and mental health treatment services, legal assistance, educational and vocational training, and transitional housing – she was immediately taken aback. Indeed, she had no idea that Doyle’s organization was so far reaching and multi-faceted.

“I was blown away,” said Brown, who grew up in Portsmouth and had long been aware of YCSP’s general mission but not the scope of what they were achieving. “Right away I was amazed at the sheer amount of real people they were helping.”

But it was when Brown discovered that Doyle had been referred by Michael Landgarten – owner of Bob’s Clamhut and Robert’s Maine Grill and a Business Partner in Brown’s Green Alliance – that the Christmas lights really went off. Indeed, Brown had entertained the idea of bringing on a non-profit on a full membership dues scholarship since her own organization’s 2008 inception.

After reading Doyle’s impassioned email, Brown realized she’d found the perfect candidate. And the fact that it was coming upon the Christmas season made it all the more serendipitous.

“Most people don’t know, but at one point the Green Alliance itself was thinking about going the non-profit route,” recalled Brown, who worked as a journalist in Russia for five years before returning to her native Seacoast to pursue a career in environmental activism. “And ever since then we’ve entertained this dream of servicing non-profits and businesses alike.”

In fact the Green Alliance does have a non-profit dues category – official 501C3s can join the organization for half of the partnering business dues. “But this still leaves some organizations out – even though we give a 50% discount some can’t even afford that; there are non-profits that I believe none of us would like to see move even one dollar of their precious resources away from the real-life individual recipients that they are helping,” explained Brown as to why they needed to have a 100% scholarship rate for the most worthy organizations. “When I was done with Mary’s email, I felt like the time was right and we’d found the perfect candidate.”

Fresh off the heels of a well-attended two year anniversary party and in the midst of a significant growth period which saw 20 businesses join since May, Brown was also motivated – above all else, perhaps – by the desire to give back to a Seacoast community that had given her recession-borne organization so much.

“All we’ve ever known is the recession, and it’s been tough for everyone,” Brown reflects. “That we’ve been able to grow and reach more people seemingly every day is a testament to how honed in people are about bolstering their local economy in a sustainable way, so we felt it was only right to extend a helping hand to a community organization that’s been on the front lines of an economy that’s still really hurting and is doing so with an eye on sustainable practices.”

The next day, Brown met personally with Doyle in the GA office. After an hour or so of describing to Doyle the benefits of being a Partnering Business in the GA – something she’s done more than 100 times before – Brown gave her the good news: YCSP would be the first ever to join the organization for free.

“I was so thrilled when we found out, you have no idea,” recalled Doyle, who volunteered for the YCSP for years before joining the staff in 2006. “We’re really excited to make this partnership a strong one and hopefully inform more people out where we are (the Alfred, Saco, Biddeford region) about the GA and the good work they’re doing.”

By joining, the YCSP became the first recipient of the GA’s newly-launched Sustainable Commerce Scholarship. Brown says the goal of the new program will be to raise money from existing Business Partners and community members in order to support local non-profits on the scholarship.
“It’s another way for us to give back, and we hope to be able to do it on a fairly regular basis,” says Brown. “We know there are a lot of incredible organizations out there who would be wonderful additions to our organization, so hopefully this provides a way to make that happen.”

Initially launched in 1980 as the York County Alcoholism Shelter, the YCSP has since grown to include a five-building, 74 bed main campus in Alfred, which houses both families and individuals and features a bakery, barn-set gymnasium, classroom and dining commons. Additionally, the main campus provides services ranging from family counseling to substance abuse programs and vocational training, helping hundreds of people every year in their often arduous transitions from homelessness to self sufficiency.

Additionally, the group owns over 30 transitional housing units throughout the York County region, as well as an additional 5 homes rendered green – EnergyStar appliances, solar panels and efficient insulation being just a few of the features – before being offered to qualifying families and individuals.

Spurred by the growing green movement, in 2007 Doyle and a few of her colleagues, including Director Don Gean, got together to form an Energy Committee. On top of outfitting five resident-owned houses with eco-friendly features, the YCSP Energy Committee has in the last three years instituted an impressive list of green initiatives, including: comprehensive composting and recycling programs; energy audits for a few of their organization’s buildings; solar, and radiant floor heating at the main campus’s Vinton Hall; CFL lighting throughout the main campus; as well as sourcing free range products from a local farm.

The YCSP will, like the GA’s 85 other Business Partners, be subject to a comprehensive and transparent Sustainability Evaluation. Broken down into 37 scored questions, the Evaluation takes into account everything from a business or organization’s products, modes of transportation, energy use, waste, and – last but not least – community involvement.

Needless to say, YPCSA should have a lot of that ground squarely covered.

“From the beginning, we’ve wanted to impart the idea that, just as important as how you’re using energy or whether you’re recycling or offering green products, is what you’re doing for the community,” says Brown seriously, before quipping: “with everything that the YCSP is doing, we might have a new highest score in sustainability performance.”

"Despite ongoing financial challenges YCSP is really striving to implement green practices in all aspects of their operations. Says Doyle, “being able to join the Green Alliance is meaningful, in that we can focus on using their resources to help us continue to take those green steps forward, and share that experience with our residents, volunteers, and community as a whole.”