From Peter Adams, Board Chair

As a long-time resident of Maine and an avid boater, I deeply appreciate our beautiful coastline, its wild islands, and MITA's crucial role in providing protection and access to its sites along the 350-mile water trail.

I write to you at a critical time for all of us. The financial tsunami emanating from Wall Street has crashed upon shores all across the globe -- and Maine's islands are no exception. The islands themselves may be wonderfully unaware of the collapse in the world's markets, but MITA as an organization is certainly vulnerable to the downturn in the economy and the pinch we are all feeling financially these days.

We understand that many of you are facing your own tough choices about how to manage the family budget. Like everyone in these uncertain times, we will strive hard to do more with less.

Yet we hope that those of you who do have the means will be as generous as you possibly can be in your giving this year. Remember that a gift to MITA goes an extraordinarily long way thanks to the number and passion of volunteers involved.

The Trail thrives today because of the spirit of community that has buoyed us for over 20 years. Thank you for your generosity and support of the Trail.

How You Can Help
Here are seven steps you can take to help the islands and MITA through this uncertain financial period:

1. Donate to the Annual Fund
2. Give a gift membership
3. Renew your own membership for 2009
4. Donate a boat
5. Talk to your employer about matching gifts