Dear Friend of the Pelican Intervention Fund,                                                                                                                 November 1, 2018

This month as we celebrate Thanksgiving and the  Pelican Intervention Fund’ s Third Anniversary we have much for which we are grateful.  In the past three years, with continued support and generosity of many individuals, businesses and organizations we have:

• Raised over $200,000
• Funded 35 local men and women for recovery
• Achieved recognition as the 2018 Non -Profit Organization of the Year by the Newburyport Chamber of Commerce
• Received the Asset Builders Award 
• Accepted the Unsung Heroines of Massachusetts Award from the Massachusetts House of Representatives

For 2019, through the efforts of Representative James Kelcourse, PIF secured a $15,000 earmark in the FY19 Massachusetts state budget to combat the disease of addiction.  These highlights affirm the need for the work we do as well as the generosity and care of the communities we serve. We have been blessed by your tremendous response to requests to support local men and women with financial need on their journey from addiction to recovery. Your donations have funded 35 placements in long term 12 Step based residential treatment. You have provided the opportunity for these individuals seeking sobriety to reclaim their lives by deep healing over time through working the 12 step program. The best way to thank you is to hear how your generosity and care for those struggling with the disease of addiction can impact a life. The words of one grateful recipient funded in 2016 articulates this well.

Published in Newburyport Daily News

By Jack Shea, Oct 2, 2018

NEWBURYPORT — This fall, a Pelican Intervention Fund quilt will make its way through Greater Newburyport as a symbol of hope for people struggling with addiction.

The Pelican Intervention Fund, established through the Essex County Community Foundation in 2015 by Kim Keene, her husband, Steve, and Elizabeth McCarthy, helps to fund 12-step, extended-stay addiction recovery programs for Greater Newburyport residents.

The quilt, created by Old South Presbyterian Church parishioner Sue Emanuelson, features a large depiction of the Pelican Intervention Fund’s logo of a soaring pelican, surrounded by an eclectic border of soft colors and tranquil textures.

The quilt will debut in Market Square at the Fall Harvest Festival on Sunday and Monday, and will spend the following weeks making stops at local libraries, senior centers and churches. At each location, the public can purchase raffle tickets to win the quilt, with proceeds going to the Pelican Intervention Fund.

Published in The Newburyport Current

By Carol Feingold / Correspondent

May 14, 2018

Opioid addiction is not just something you hear about on the news. According to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, between the years 2000 and 2015 there were 1,435 opioid-related deaths here in Essex County. Back in the year 2000 there were 46 deaths, but in 2014 that number spiked to 213 and one year later, in 2015, the number rose even higher to 236 deaths.

The opioid crisis is touching local lives and in 2015, Newburyport residents Kim Keene and her husband Steven and Elizabeth McCarthy decided to do something about it. They established the Pelican Intervention Fund (PIF), which recently won the Greater Newburyport Chamber of Commerce & Industry “Nonprofit Business of the Year” award.

Published in Newburyport Daily News

May 3, 2018

SALISBURY  – The Greater Newburyport Chamber of Commerce & Industry presented several business and individual awards Thursday during the organization’s 52nd annual meeting and awards ceremony at Blue Ocean Event Center. 

All of us at the Pelican Intervention  Fund want to send our congratulations to Mitch, one of our alumni, for winning first place at the 2018 RPS New Hampshire and Vermont Powerlifting State Championships on April 7^th.

Not only did Mitch win first prize, he broke the record for both New Hampshire and Vermont.
Achieving such success requires sacrifice, dedication, focus, hard work over time, challenging one’s self and hope in what is possible.

We are proud of Mitch’s success and thank him for his support of the Pelican intervention Fund and his help to others on the journey to recovery.

Thank you Mitch for affirming by your life that recovery is possible.  You give others hope and encourage us to continue working to secure funds for men and women ready to begin their journey to recovery.

Published in Newburyport Daily News

April 26, 2018

NEWBURYPORT — A group of local residents struggling with addiction will share stories of their path to recovery Sunday as part of an event hosted by the Pelican Intervention Fund.

Although it will be the Pelican Intervention Fund’s fourth annual testimonial event, this will also be the first Celebration of Hope Fundraiser — a title that Pelican Intervention Fund co-founder Kim Keene said accurately reflects the event’s goal of shining a hopeful light on the opioid crisis and showing that recovery is possible.

Published in Newburyport Daily News

Mar 14, 2018

NEWBURYPORT — Newburyport Youth Services and The Beacon Coalition will honor the winners of the 10th annual Asset Builder Awards on March 21 at 7 p.m. in City Hall Auditorium.

It is annual opportunity to recognize community members who through their work, encourage, empower and support youths in one of the eight categories of the 40 Assets, according to a press release.

The Asset Builder Award winners are Pelican Intervention Fund founders Steven and Kim Keene, and Elizabeth McCarthy; eighth-graders Finn Sullivan, Jack Fehlner, Grant Mossesian, Trevor Maines and Evan Aldrich; Edward Speck of Theater in the Open; and Nock Middle School teacher Mike Pirollo.

Published in Newburyport Daily News

Jan 30, 2018

NEWBURYPORT – Newburyport Five Cents Savings Charitable Foundation recently donated $15,000 to support the Pelican Intervention Fund, which assists with treatment for individuals suffering from drug addiction.

Foundation president Janice C. Morse called The Pelican Intervention Fund “a vital organization to our community which supports individuals and their families on their journeys from addiction to recovery.”