Donations surge to save Friendship Cottage
Adult day care service reaches almost $500k in community support
Friendship Cottage participants and staff celebrate the news of a surge in donations that they hope will let them purchase their building and stay in operation. From left: Barbara Nichols, Program Coordinator Anne Ossanna, Community Educator Jessica Flaherty, Susan Gundersen and John Gundersen. Photo by Steele Hays.
Feb. 17, 2026
By Steele Hays
Susan Gundersen brings her husband John to Blue Hill’s Friendship Cottage five days a week to socialize with others, enjoy musical entertainment, crafts and activities, drink coffee and have lunch. John, a retired carpenter, is virtually blind now and having Friendship Cottage as a resource brings great peace of mind, Susan said.
That’s why the recent news that Friendship Cottage was at risk of losing its home on Green’s Hill on Ellsworth Road was so devastating to her.
The group that operates Friendship Cottage – Community Action for Aroostook, Washington and Hancock Counties – sent letters in January to potential donors saying they needed to raise $700,000 by March 1 in order to stay in operation at the current location.
“I’m very concerned,” Gundersen said in an interview at the cottage. “I don’t know what I’m going to do. When I think about it I start to cry.”
Just minutes later, Susan and John and other adult day care participants at the cottage got welcome news when Anne Ossanna, the organization’s program coordinator, announced that a surge of donations in the last few days has brought the total raised to $482,000, which she said makes her “very confident” that the building can be purchased from the current owners and allow Friendship Cottage to continue its operations. Ossana said that if the organization was able to raise at least $500,000 by March 1 it would be a strong indicator that the remainder could be raised and the building saved.
On Feb. 17 alone, donors contributed $73,000, Ossanna said. “Donors are coming in every day,” she added.
Ossanna expressed deep gratitude for the outpouring of support.
“This community is so generous. This is a classic example of how we need each other and we’re here to support each other,” she said.
The need to sell the building was triggered when the former operator of Friendship Cottage, Downeast Community Partners (DCP), was forced to shut down late last year. The state’s Department of Health & Human Services said DCP had not documented the services it claimed to have delivered and that DCP owed the state more than $4 million. DCP transferred its adult day care license to Community Action so that Friendship Cottage’s operations could continue.
Friendship Cottage has operated at its location since 2008 and currently serves nine adults five days a week, with financial support from Medicaid and the Office of Aging and Disability Services. Two of their current participants require a level of care similar to a nursing home. The cottage could serve a maximum of 11 people. Participants must qualify for service based on income and medical conditions or pay out of pocket.
Ossana said that services like those offered by Friendship Cottage are in high demand and there are fewer suppliers now that Hancock County no longer has any nursing homes.
In addition to providing meals, activities and fellowship, Friendship Cottage’s staff ensures that medications are taken at proper times and doses. There’s an accessible shower and laundry room, and the staff provides transportation assistance.
Anyone interested in donating can contact Anne Ossanna at (207) 374-5612 or email her at anne.ossanna@acap-me.org.
