Our Story

Island Connections began in 1997 as the result of an informal needs assessment performed by The Mount Desert Island Senior Task Force which consisted of multiple agencies and organizations interested in addressing the unmet needs of the underserved and senior population. A $25,000.00 Faith in Action seed grant was awarded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to establish the Interfaith Volunteer Caregivers project for seniors and people with disabilities (be it temporary or permanent), on Mount Desert Island. Volunteers were recruited from area faith congregations to provide basic needs such as transportation, grocery shopping and other services.

Today Island Connections is a very different organization. After almost 30 years of growth, change, and service in the community, transportation remains our top priority. At the start of the COVID pandemic, we limited our transportation services to essential trips for medical appointments and access to food, and launched our own grocery shopping program in which volunteers shop for our neighbors who are unable to go to the store themselves. Since then, the need for our services has skyrocketed. Our volunteers are providing hundreds more trips each year than they did before the pandemic, even with the continued restriction to medical appointments and rides that address food insecurity. In addition to the direct support our volunteers provide, Island Connections delivers meals for the Meals on Wheels program on Mount Desert Island and for MDI Open Table. With greater exposure to our services during the pandemic, we are becoming more recognized as a vital and critical service on MDI.

Island Connections' overall goal is to continue providing free transportation, delivering food to our neighbors, and being recognized in the community as an essential resource. We focus on addressing the many needs surrounding transportation and mobility for seniors and people with disabilities living on Mount Desert Island and the surrounding islands.

It is through the big hearts and generosity of our core group of volunteers that we are able to do this good and much needed work. We always need to recruit additional volunteer drivers to help us meet the needs of so many. Please consider becoming part of the Island Connections family!​