Media

My Place Teen Center is in the news. Read more to see what people are saying about our vision, our work, and our impact on the community.

Culinary Program a Way to Connect Kids to Caring, Supportive Adults

Oct 30, 2019

Youth Today, an independent, internationally-distributed digital media publication covering the youth service field, talks with MPTC’s CEO Donna Dwyer about how an innovative chef-led restaurant training program is helping My Place Teen Center reach out to Westbrook area youth.

New Teen Center to Open in Biddeford

Oct 10, 2019

WMTW talks to MPTC’s Donna Dwyer about a partnership with Southern Maine Affordable Housing to create a permanent safe haven for teens in Biddeford starting in the fall of 2020.

New Teen Center Will Open in Former Biddeford Church

Oct 8, 2019

Portland Press Herald reports on My Place Teen Center’s plans to convert the former St. Andre’s Church into a safe haven for teens and pre-teens. The Biddeford teen center will be a partnership between My Place Teen Center and Southern Maine Affordable Housing.

Westbrook Youth Programs Among 26 Nationwide Awarded New York Life Grants

August 7, 2019

New York Life Foundation has awarded a $100,000 grant to two Westbrook-based nonprofits, My Place Teen Center and Intercultural Community Center. The grant is one of 26 made to youth development organizations nationwide by the foundation.

Local food pantry works with My Place Teen Center teens to help the hungry

June 6, 2019

Teenagers from the My Place Teen Center joined organizers from the Stroudwater Food Pantry to pack grocery bags full of non-perishable food to help feed communities in Washington County. More

Afterschool Alliance, Met Life Choose MPTC for $100K “Aim High” Grant

June, 2019

New York Life Foundation, in collaboration with Afterschool Alliance, have awarded grants totaling $1.35M to out-of-school time programs serving disadvantaged middle school youth through Aim High. My Place Teen Center was one of only eight groups to be awarded the highest level of award – $100,000 payable over two years.

Restaurant Course Stirs Up Confidence

May 29, 2019

News Center takes an inside look at My Place Teen Center’s restaurant training enrichment course led by chef Christian Kryger, a former head chef at local restaurants including Portland’s Fore Street and Bar Lola. More

MPTC fundraising targets expansion to Biddeford

May 9, 2019

Two decades after starting a program to provide a safe after-school space for area youth, My Place Teen Center’s new fundraising campaign earmarks funds to open a second location in York County. More

MPTC Launches $6.5M Capital Campaign for Expansion in Biddeford

May 2, 2019

MaineBiz covers MPTC’s plans to raise $6.5 million to open a second teen center in July 2020 in the former St. Andre’s Church at 75 Bacon Street in Biddeford. The organization has already raised $2.7 million toward its capital campaign goal. More

Living Life with Lynda

Living Life Show Hosts Donna Dwyer

Apr 23, 2019

The Living Life with Lynda Show takes an in-depth look at non-profit organizations that make a difference in our communities. This week’s show focuses on My Place Teen Center’s powerful impact on area youth with a conversation between the show’s host Lynda Adams and MPTC’s Donna Dwyer. More

Maine Points Hosts My Place Teen Center

April 13, 2019

WGAN News radio features My Place Teen Center in their “Maine Points” podcast with Danny Martignetti. More

Richardson Magazine Names Donna Dwyer “Someone You Should Know”

April, 2019

Donna Dwyer is in the spotlight for April’s edition of Richardson Magazine as “Someone You Should Know.” More

Snack Drive Reaches Food-Insecure Teens

February 11, 2019

News Center looks at how My Place Teen Center provides daily meals for area youth and invites the community to take part in a snack drive. More

Bernstein Shur Clients Choose MPTC

February 8, 2019

Each year for the past 100 years, Bernstein Shur has chosen a beneficiary for its charitable giving. This year, they let their clients vote to select which one of five deserving organizations would receive $10,000. News Center Maine looks at why their choice was My Place Teen Center. More

Maine Women Magazine Profile: MPTC CEO, Donna Dwyer

January 29, 2019

Patricia McCarthy looks at the work of three Maine women who have dug hard to support projects they believe in, including My Place Teen Center’s Donna Dwyer

Positively Maine Focuses on Westbrook’s Teen Center

January 20, 2019

My Place Teen Center’s Donna Dwyer talks with WGAN’s Positively Maine about how the Teen Center provides a nurturing and safe haven for youth in Westbrook and surrounding communities.

Local Chef Offers Teens Restaurant Training Skills at MPTC

November 29, 2018

My Place Teen Center served more than 9,000 hot meals last year. Now the center is using that service to teach teens the ins and outs of food preparation and restaurant management under the guidance of chef Jesse Blaisdell. More

My Place Teen Center Celebrates 20 Years

May 3, 2018

Twenty years ago, with a $120,000 donation from the Cornelia Warren Association, My Place Teen Center opened in a space on the first floor of the Dana Warp Mill. Keep Me Current takes a closer look at the center’s accomplishments and plans for the future. More

Westbrook Teen Ashton Brown Runs Beach to Beacon for My Place Teen Center

August 3, 2016

News Center follows Ashton Brown as he trains to run this year’s Beach to Beacon 10K race. He plans to run to “give back” to the teen center, in his words, “for everything they’ve done.” This year’s race sponsors have also named MPTC as the beneficiary of the fundraising event, donating $30K to the center. More

Joan Benoit Samuelson Visits MPTC

July 12, 2016

MWTW follows olympic gold medalist and Maine native Joan Benoit Samuelson as she tours My Place Teen Center (MPTC). MPTC is the beneficiary of this year’s Beach to Beacon, a popular fundraising race founded by Samuelson with a mission to shine a light on kids. More

‘Songwriters in the Round’ Event Planned to Benefit Teen Center

April 6, 2016

Area musicians, David Good, Dan Merril, Don Campbell, and Steve Romanoff, will share the stage in a special in the round performance to benefit the My Place Teen Center in Westbrook. More

Beach to Beacon Names My Place Teen Center as 2016 Beneficiary

February 10, 2016

The TD Charitable Foundation announced today that My Place Teen Center, a free, year-round, after-school youth development program for kids at-risk in Greater Portland, has been selected as the beneficiary of the 2016 TD Beach to Beacon 10K Road Race. More

MPTC Volunteer Deb Shangraw Wins “6 Who Care” Award for Advocacy

October 15, 2015

News Center profiles My Place Teen Center volunteer Deb Shangraw as one of 2015’s WCHS “6 Who Care” award winners. More

Changing lives: Donna Dwyer rebuilds dilapidated teen center, teen lives

March 23, 2015

When Donna Dwyer approached the at-risk teen center located in a former Westbrook church for a job interview, the building was so run down she says she almost turned around and never returned.

My Place Teen Center Named 2014 Agency of Distinction

November 3, 2014

My Place Teen Center has been announced winner of WCSH’s 2014 “6 Who Care” Agency of Distinction Award for its work serving disabled, homeless, food insecure, cognitively delayed, low-income, immigrants and refugee teens and youth.

After 15 Years, Westbrook Teen Center Renamed

May 16, 2013

What was the Mission Possible Teen Center will now be called My Place Teen Center. More

RECENT

Press Releases

August/2019
New York Life Foundation Awards $100,000 Grant to My Place Teen Center and Intercultural Community Center in Westbrook to Support Out-of-School-Time Programs to Help Middle School Students Transition to 9th Grade View

July/2019
Wells Fargo “Pays It Forward” with Another $10,000 Grant to My Place Teen Center View

June/2019
My Place Teen Center Receives $14,000 from 100+ Women Who Care View

May/2019
My Place Teen Center to Announce $6.5M Capital Campaign to Expand Youth Development Programs With a Second Location in Biddeford View