The Morrison Center of Scarborough, Maine is a private, non-profit organization that specializes in providing comprehensive services for children and adults by creating a positive learning environment to encourage individual growth and potential. The Morrison Center, formerly the Cerebral Palsy Center of Portland, moved to its current location in 2009, and named the new location after Betty Morrison, a long-time, dedicated employee for 35 years. The Morrison Center serves about 100 handicapped individuals ranging in ages from pre-school through adult, and offers day programs to their students.

The day programs include integrated pre-school and childcare, special purpose private school kindergarten-12th grade in-home early intervention services, center-based physical, occupational and speech therapies, community integration, and four unique community support programs including their retail greenhouses.

Kevin Kearns is the Director of the Seedling Program which includes three direct support professionals that work with the students. The Seedling Program is a 12 month program, keeping the students and instructors busy all year long. In the Winter months, the main focus is tropical plants and Orchids. Both greenhouses are completely filled with many varieties of these plants that are sold both to the retail public from their Scarborough greenhouses and at the Portland Flower Show. In the Spring and Summer, the focus is on geraniums and hanging baskets, and in the Fall, growing Poinsettias. Many of the Poinsettias are sold to local businesses.

The Seedling Program works with outside organizations including the Maine Landscape & Nursery Association and some of the local colleges such as Bowdoin and University of Southern Maine. One of the goals of the Morrison Center program is to integrate with the local community as much as possible with good working relationships.

The Morrison Center has two 30 x 60 Rimol Matterhorn greenhouses, and both Rimol Matterhorn Greenhouses were constructed in 2009 while the new Morrison Center was being constructed. The greenhouses are connected to the main building, and each greenhouse has its own state-of-art growing environment. In both of the greenhouses, all of the plants are individually bar-coded for each student so that they get paid each time their plant is sold. Then every two weeks, students receive a check for the sales that have been credited to their account. In addition to the greenhouses, there are plantings around the campus, as well as a “seed to kitchen” program which generates food for the campus kitchen.

The Morrison Center has been serving people with disabilities for over 50 years, and enhances their students with community integration. They are building a brighter future for people they serve.

For more information visit www.morrisoncenter-maine.org