Who We Are & What We Do

Mission

The ICC supports and nurtures our island community by fostering health, wellness, enrichment and social interactions for all ages.

Vision

The ICC will enhance the well-being of our Islesboro community by having a positive impact across the island.

About The ICC

In the late 1990s, a group of interested island residents conducted a survey to validate their view that the island needed a year-round facility to serve a variety of community activities. This survey, and subsequent others, revealed enormous support for such a building to house health and fitness programs, youth activities, and the performing arts, along with space for group meetings, social events, private parties, and even a high speed and/or wireless internet site.

In 2001 the Islesboro Community Center, Inc., was founded; it is now a registered non-profit 501(c)(3) organization for the purposes of establishing a Community Center on Islesboro. We are not a Town funded organization.

A
Brief
History

An Old Friend Returns to the Heart of the Community

Islesboro’s original historic Community Hall was built in 1858 from shares purchased by townspeople at the cost of $3.00 each, payable in cash or labor. The leadership came from the local Sewing Circle: “a group of feisty Maine women even then.” This simple all-purpose grange hall type building served as the hub of the island’s social life for nearly 150 years. From Town Meetings to the Firemen’s Ball, to graduations to the very popular high school basketball games, to Ruth Draper monologues (when she summered on the island), the Community Hall was the very soul of Islesboro.

The Town of Islesboro sold the Community Hall in the late 1980’s to a private party. The Islesboro Community Center, Inc. was registered as a non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization in 2001 for the purposes of establishing a community center on Islesboro. In 2005 the Islesboro Community Center purchased the old Community Hall building back in order to create the space needed for a modern community center, while simultaneously saving and restoring a historic island site in the heart of the community.

A broad range of ICC activities was then established during the ICC planning process by a diverse group of island residents. Program goals for the use of this building include the following:

Re-establish the Community Hall as Islesboro’s primary gathering place.
Improve health and fitness of all islanders with cooking and fitness classes (an astonishing 70% of islanders carry a diagnosis of cardiovascular disease).
Support Islesboro’s children.
Provide great access to the performing and visual arts.
Sponsor stimulating presentations, debates, educational programs and the like.
Promote togetherness and personal growth.
Encourage intergenerational activities.
Serve other island-based organizations that are open to the public.
Enhance the all around quality of life for the entire Islesboro community, both year-round and seasonal.

Volunteers have worked tirelessly for many years to make the ICC a reality for the entire island to enjoy. The ICC thanks all Volunteers for their extraordinary vision and support in making a dream come true for our community.