RUMFORD — Hope Association will hold its 48th annual snowmobile Ride-In on Feb. 19 to raise money for lift-equipped vans and other equipment not covered through MaineCare.

Hope Association Executive Director Miki Skehan stands Friday in the organization’s building at 85 Lincoln Ave. in Rumford. On the job for five months, she leads a staff of 94 in serving 100 individuals with developmental disabilities. Submitted photo Submitted photo

Raffle tickets for cash prizes are available at the association building at 85 Lincoln Ave. in Rumford and at Ware-Butler Building Supply at 369 River Road in Mexico.

Executive Director Miki Skehan, who took the position in August 2022, leads a staff of 94 to provide services to 100 individuals with developmental disabilities. Participants meet at the organization’s building.

“We typically just take them out into the community,” Skehan said. “They meet here just as a gathering place, and just to get everybody together, but we really try to provide community activities.”

Oftentimes Hope Association participants go to local farms to enjoy the animals and some recently went snowshoeing at Black Mountain of Maine in Rumford. Other activities include building bird feeders and sewing blankets for a local animal shelter.

More than three years ago, participants volunteered at the association’s What Not Shop, a thrift shop in the association building, and at the its greenhouse, the Briar Patch, at 85 Highland Terrace in Mexico. However volunteering and working there was prohibited by the state, Skehan said.

However, participants are allowed to help distribute Meals on Wheels to people in the community and distribute Recovery magazine at the Larry LaBonte Recovery Center in Rumford. They also help at the Information Center booth in Rumford.

“We try to get involved in a lot of different activities in the community to help in any way that we can, that’s also giving them volunteer opportunities,” Skehan said. “We’re always open to additional ways that we can help more in the community and be a part of the community,” she said, including having more community volunteers.

But most of all, Hope Association is “looking to bring joy and excitement and opportunities to the people that we serve to provide them with the best quality of life and experiences that we can,” she said.

Skehan took on the mantle of leadership from Catherine Johnson, who was executive director for 28 years.

Skehan was previously director of Regional School Unit 10’s Western Foothills Kids Association in Rumford and Mexico for four years.

Of her new job, she said, “I work for a wonderful organization. I really couldn’t have landed a better position with a better team of people to work with.”

Hope Association participants, from left, Akieva, Jimmy and Nick, enjoy snowshoeing recently at Black Mountain of Maine in Rumford.  They are among 100 participants in the Rumford-based program that offers opportunities to volunteer and participate in community activities. Submitted photo

Hope Association participants, from left, Jimmy, Nick, Brandon and John, donate winter coats and gear recently to Meroby Elementary School in Mexico recently. They are among 100 participants in the Rumford-based program that offers opportunities to volunteer and participate in community activities.