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Lubec Community Outreach Center

The LCOC is a 501(c)3 nonprofit founded in October, 2012. Our mission is to remove barriers and improve the lives of people who live, learn, work and play in Lubec, Maine.

Contact Information

  • Phone: (207) 733-5262
  • E-mail: info@lcocmaine.org
  • Address:
    44 South Street
    PO Box 41
    Lubec, Maine 04652

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Copyright Lubec Community Outreach Center

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Diane Thureson

Diane has just started her working journey with LCOC and provides administrative support to the Executive Director and the LCOC. She has spent her career in the non-profit sector as a Preschool Teacher and Director of a nature-based preschool program and is a self-taught naturalist. Diane is passionate about supporting non-profit work and the communities they serve.

Since moving to Lubec, Diane began hearing about the Lubec Community Outreach Center and became very interested in being a part of it someday. She jumped at the chance to be a support to an organization that offers so much to the community and she is learning something new every day!

She and her husband have been in Washington County since 2021 when they began building their own log home (still in progress!) and they moved to Lubec in 2023. When she isn’t at the LCOC, she enjoys hiking, fishing, kayaking and motorcycling with her husband.

The LCOC has one of the most important words in my vocabulary,  “community”. I want to be part of helping to strengthen our community and all its citizens including our youth to strive and have a place, a venue, a center, that anyone can go to at any age to feel welcomed, to learn, and to aspire to be the best they can be

I love our Downeast community and want to help create a world where everyone has access to food, quality education, financial mobility, and a sense of belonging. LCOC provides vital services, empowers community members, and has created a gathering space where all are welcome.

LCOC supports the kids, the teens, the elders, the neighbors, the parents, and the learners as well as those who thrive on sharing what they know with their community. The programming and services breadth is amazing; it’s a rare person in this area who doesn’t have a reason to go to the LCOC these days. I especially appreciate that the LCOC is such an active space *all year ’round.* It really speaks to how the Center is responsive to the needs of local residents.

We moved to Lubec in 2011 and, when searching for a way to give back to the community, I found LCOC to be the best fit. LCOC’s mission and community projects (spanning from providing a much-needed food pantry and thrift store to helping senior citizens and assisting in the education of our youth) simply won me over.

LCOC is the best place to be in Washington county if you want to make a difference.

I have been bought in since Day One because of the slack they were picking up in the community. There were no local options. Integral programs for families such as Summer Recreation, Day Care and After School Programming had been unfunded and left many families having to choose between working and staying home with their children, and I was one of them. Personally, I was able to overcome the challenge but many were not. I felt compelled to help these families, somehow.  It wasn’t long that this little non-profit funded primarily by private donors emerged and provided much needed hope for many. I started my journey to “help” by getting on the school board, primarily to support LCOC. After one term, I decided I was more passionate about the organization itself, thought I could help make more of a difference there, and then asked to be on the Board in 2015.


The mission was always to do more than children’s programs and that has happened every single year. Fast forward to 2024 we have a warm, inviting and thriving building and organization that provides SO much to the Lubec Community and beyond. I couldn’t be more proud to be a part of this organization.

I volunteer at the Lubec Community Outreach Center because I see firsthand the positive impact it has on our small town. Through the food pantry and children’s programs, the center addresses critical needs and supports local families, creating a stronger, more connected community. Being part of this meaningful work allows me to give back and make a difference in the place I call home.

I like to support my community.  There is no other organization like LCOC in Lubec or Washington County in my opinion. I see the value in all LCOC does, from the littles to the elders, what better way to give back than to support an organization that touches so many.  I want to be part of The Good!

Vanessa Young

Vanessa is a powerful force in whatever she puts her mind to and uses that positive attitude and tireless energy to encourage others to be their best. This makes her a perfect fit for the LCOC 21st Century Community Learning Center program; and the kids couldn’t be happier to have her sailing the ship!

She has lived in Maine her entire life and currently resides in Whitneyville with her boyfriend and two dogs. Vanessa is a proud mother and memaw, who loves to spend time hiking or just hanging out with her son and grandson.   Fun Facts about Vanessa- she played semi-professional Roller Derby, owned a Bakery and currently owns Playful Pines Adventures.

Patsy Kelley

Patsy Kelley is the mastermind, organizer and overseer of the LCOC Thrift Shop. Keeping donations flowing, stocking shelves with new treasures and knowing what her regular customers are looking for makes our Thrift Shop one of the hotspots for the discerning Lubec shopper.

Patsy joined the LCOC team as a grant funded position with the Association for Training and Development. Knowing that the grant funding was just the starting point for this position, the LCOC Board and Director knew they needed to keep her on as staff. And we are so glad we did.

CS Cain

If you take a deep look into the daily operations at the LCOC, you will find some really organized programs and spaces; at the heart of keeping us organized is CS Cain, our Operations Coordinator.

We suspect a big piece of her “can-do” and “get it done” persona can be attributed to being the 5th of 7 children of a career Army Officer. This has been further confirmed by all our interactions with CS’ siblings, each of whom arrives at our door with a smile, and a willingness to help (even when on vacation).

CS had a decades long career in IT. She and her husband Jim purchased property here in Lubec in 2018, and moved here permanently in 2020.

The plan was for CS to enjoy retirement but in the summer of  2022 she began volunteering at the LCOC. In 2023, we made it official and hired her as permanent staff.

CS is always ready to lend a hand in all programs, but her heart is deeply rooted in the work supporting our neighbors with the LCOC Food Program.

Jennifer Bristol

Jennifer likes to tell people she serves as Chief Cook and Bottle Washer for the LCOC. From grant writing, to teaching, to administration to cooking up senior breakfasts, Jennifer can be found up and down the halls of the LCOC almost every day. While she hails from Rhode Island, Maine has been a retreat and rescue for her throughout a 30-year career in nonprofit management. Jennifer has held senior positions in healthcare, historic preservation, conservation and nonprofit leadership training.

“I came to this work at the LCOC because I saw need and opportunity in equal measure. My goal is to meet the need but always strive to increase the opportunity- for resources and for new ways to come together as a community wherever and whenever we can.”

Jennifer is the proud mother of two daughters; and doting dog mom to Riley Roo and Sir Ned.