Fraud Watch- Spot Fake Charity Donation Scams

MSG Communications Resources Logo
Reprinted with permission from AARP’s Fraud Watch Network.

As the year winds down and the season of giving sets in, many people look to support causes they care about—but telling a legitimate charity from a fake one can be tough. While reputable organizations make their year-end push for donations, criminals also take advantage of this opportunity to line their own pockets.

Common signs of a charity scam include requests for payment via gift cards, wire transfers, or cryptocurrency, as well as high-pressure demands to donate immediately. Legitimate charities may also encourage timely giving, but they will welcome your support at any time.

To help ensure your donation reaches those who truly need it, do your research. Check organizations on sites such as give.org, CharityNavigator.org or CharityWatch.org to confirm legitimacy and find out how much of the funds are used to serve its stated mission versus overhead and fundraising.

Pay close attention to the charity’s name and web address, as criminals often mimic the names of familiar, trusted organizations to deceive donors. Also, be cautious of links in unsolicited emails, texts, or social media messages, which can lead to fake donation websites and expose your device to malware.

When you do donate, use a credit card. It’s easier to track your contribution, and if your card is misused, you have protection against loss. To avoid feeling pressured by unexpected solicitations, consider having a set list of charities you support. That way, you can give confidently and on your own terms.

More Topic Resources

Report scams to local law enforcement. For help from AARP, call 1-877-908-3360 or visit the AARP Fraud Watch Network at aarp.org/fraudwatchnetwork.

AARP Fraud Watch Network

Need a scam prevention speaker for your group? Click the link to fill out the AARP online form or email me@aarp.org.

The Clauses Visit Mill Stream

Santa and Mrs. Claus visited Mill Stream Grange on Sat., Dec. 13, for a community children’s party. While there, Santa presented kids’ books to Caroline Heck, Girl Scout, and Junior Granger for her Little Free Library project located at the Grange. 

Communication Shorts 12-20-2025

By Walter Boomsma,
MSG Communications Director
207 343-1842

Communication Shorts are brief (short) but important items posted for your information and use. Please send us your ideas and thoughts!

December Bulletin

The December Bulletin is available for download. Recent issues of the Bulletin can be found on the Program Books and Information Page in the communications section.

Website Subscribers Sought

See the last page of the December Bulletin! Be sure to share with members!

Don’t Shoot the Piano Player!

He’s playing as fast as he can! Recent illnesses in the Boomsma household have been taking a toll! We’ll probably continue working a reduced schedule for at least another week.

To ponder…

I will honor Christmas in my heart and try to keep it all year.

Charles Dickens 

An Idea for Your Grange

With all the recent media attention to Food Insecurity, it could make sense to add some food items to your Book Exchange Box. If it’s outside, be aware of freezing!

Subscribe!

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Online Directories Available 24-7

Thanks to those who help us keep these directories current by letting us know of changes!

  • The Directory of Granges features all Granges in the state with a contact person. Please make sure your listing is correct! Visitors to the site frequently consult these directories.
  • The ODD Directory features all state officers, directors, and deputies, along with their contact information. Updated November 15, 2025.

Communications Column – December 2025

By Walter Boomsma
207 343-1842
Communications Director

Simple Communication

And so I’m offering this simple phrase
To kids from one to ninety-two
Although it’s been said many times, many ways
Merry Christmas to you.

Sometimes, simple is best. The holiday season invites us to consider that possibility as an opportunity. Sending a holiday card, to some extent, helps us answer the question, “How many ways can you say…” The card company makes its best attempts. For a small additional fee, we can imprint our name and eliminate the need for a signature. Simple.

It’s easy to argue that we lose something in simplicity. I think automation takes a toll. I did some shopping the other day. I didn’t keep track of how many times I was told to “Have a nice day.” I wasn’t annoyed by it, but neither was I deeply moved by it. Occasionally, I was tempted to ask for clarification. “And how would you suggest I go about doing that?”

The best communication isn’t automatic. The best communication is thoughtful and heartfelt. And that can be simple. One cashier placed her hand with my change into mine, but didn’t release it. This caught my attention, and I instinctively made eye contact. With her hand in mine, she smiled and wished me a nice day. I think her eyes twinkled a bit. We connected. I knew she meant it. Simple.

Communication should be about connection. Don’t let the words get in the way.

FACT: The two most popular categories of posts are Grange Activities and Grange News.

Mary Jo loves the Grange!

I love being a member of Norway Grange #45. I love volunteering for activities with members that involve not only our local communities, our surrounding communities as well. Partnering and collaborating with other Granges , learning and listening to ideas . Going to State Convention is a joy and beautiful experience; I am speaking from my perspective. I have been a member since 2017, that is when I arrived, and I am so happy I did. I am 75, it has given me a new perspective on retirement or semi-retirement. It has given me a purpose and a new beginning.

Mary Jo DiBenedetto, Norway Grange #45

What about you?

Do you love the Grange? Can you explain what’s great about being a member? It only takes a minute to click the button and tell the world!

I love the Grange!

Maine Ag Trades Show Lineup

Reprinted with permission from an enewsletter published by Maine Senator Stacey Guerin.

The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry (DACF) has announced the full slate of educational sessions and meetings for the 85th Maine Agricultural Trades Show, taking place January 13–15, 2026, at the Augusta Civic Center.

The three-day event brings together farmers, foresters, food producers, agri-business owners, students and partners from across the state and region for hands-on training, policy discussions, business development workshops, industry meetings and networking events focused on building a strong, resilient future for Maine agriculture.

More than 80 sessions are scheduled and offered in partnership with more than a dozen organizations. Conference highlights include programming on business development, grants, certification, production practices, workforce and health, markets, food systems, policy and much more. There is no admission fee to attend the show. Please check the conference listings for any pre-registration and course fee requirements. Full session schedules and registration information are available at:  https://www.maine.gov/dacf/agtradesshow.

Fraternal Caring…

Submitted by Master Sherry

Once again, our fraternal family has lost another good member. Brother Darrell Huff, a former Executive Member of the Maine State Grange, passed away Sunday afternoon. The memorial service will be on Dec 29 at his church; details to come. 
 
Please keep Betty and their family in your prayers.
 Betty Huff
281 Gorham Rd
Scarborough, ME 04074

An obituary for Darrell is available here. The memorial service is on Monday, December 29th, at the Scarborough Free Baptist Church, 55 Massey Road, at 10 am.

Additionally, Nate Pennell, EC member is improving after his heart attack. Please keep him in your prayers also. 
Nate Pennell
PO Box 505
Machias, ME 04654-0505

Fraud Watch- Airline Call Center Scams

MSG Communications Resources Logo
Reprinted with permission from AARP’s Fraud Watch Network.

With the holiday travel season fast approaching, scammers are poised to capitalize on travelers needing help with last-minute flight changes and cancellations. Don’t let  fake customer service  derail your trip – or drain your wallet. Here’s a few things you should know to stay ahead of airline call center scams.

Just because an airline customer service helpline number appears at the top of internet search results doesn’t mean it’s legitimate. Fraudulent numbers often surface in search results, and scammers constantly find new ways to make their numbers appear first. To avoid this risk, download your airline’s official app. In addition to providing the airline’s verified 800 number, the app delivers real-time flight notifications and other important updates.

Be on the lookout for red flags, such as aggressive tactics pushing you to buy a ticket immediately because “the price will go up.” And if your flight is canceled, you usually do not need to pay to be rebooked. Any “agent” requesting a credit card to do so is likely after your money, not your flight.

More Topic Resources

Report scams to local law enforcement. For help from AARP, call 1-877-908-3360 or visit the AARP Fraud Watch Network at aarp.org/fraudwatchnetwork.

AARP Fraud Watch Network

Need a scam prevention speaker for your group? Click the link to fill out the AARP online form or email me@aarp.org.

View from the Farm – December, 2025

Webmaster’s note: The format of this column includes all of the Quill’s Endians participating at various times and in various ways! Phil writes this month’s column.

Why Three Acres?

I’ve been listening to some interviews with notable farmers and local food activists. The podcasts, put on by The Real Organic project, showcase the contrarian nature of people that belong to and love a place.

There is inherent in soil care a touch of philosophy, an outcropping of the results seen and unseen. The results are immediate and take lifetimes, so agrarians must, as Wendell Berry writes, count the humus as gain.

An interview with the late Michael Phillips, an orchardist and author from New Hampshire, reminded me again that the language of farming needs to change. His use of the term “radical diversity” in nurturing his orchard is foreign to the current agricultural monoculture model which drives the vast majority of the production in our country. His three-acre orchard contains 120 varieties of apples. The under story of his orchard received as much care as the fruit producing (income producing) over story. 

When asked why three acres, his answer was about stewardship, not markets, income, or demand. He could properly take care of three acres of trees…so, three. I wonder if he would have liked more orchard, but his place and his stewardship limited him.

He relied on natural food stores and an apple CSA to sell his apples, eschewing the wholesale market that drives overproduction and the destruction of our farmlands and farmers. He shared his lifetime of knowledge in his books and in workshops, hoping, no doubt, to inspire the care in more folks. We need those folks as we move forward in addressing the myriad of issues surrounding our current agricultural circumstances.

The most vital part of agricultural reform is you. Nourishing, delicious, local food only exists when people make the concerted effort to patronize the local producers with business, encouragement, and an evangelical fervor. We need creative eaters with pantries and refrigerators that are filled with neighbors’ produce. We need systems that bypass consumer culture and benefit eaters and farmers rather than commodity traders and poison vendors. Farmers need you in their overall picture as we tend our places because it is an honor, as well as a responsibility to feed you, and… feed you well.

Heather and Phil Retberg and their three children run Quill’s End Farm, a 105-acre property in Penobscot that they bought in 2004. They use rotational grazing on their fifteen open acres and are renovating thirty more acres from woods to pasture to increase grazing for their pigs, grass-fed cattle, lambs, laying hens, and goats. Quill’s Endians are members of Halcyon Grange and publish a newsletter for their farm’s buying club of farmers in her area and generously permit us to share some of their columns with Grangers. Visit the Quill’s End Farm Facebook Page for more information.

Exploring Traditions – December, 2025

Meandering Around the Grange Way of Life

By Walter Boomsma, Guest Columnist

May I Incite you? (Part two)

This month’s column is a bit of an “op-ed.” My October column challenged the use of the word “Incite” in the installing officer’s charge to the Steward during officer installation.

I also confessed to being a wordsmith. Lynn Van Note of Parkman Grange sent this reply.

While meandering through the recent State Grange Bulletin, I happened upon your “Exploring Traditions” column.

I think the word “incite” was used deliberately:

During the 1800s, the word was used with the same general meaning it has today. For example, in the 1828 edition of the American Dictionary of the English Language by Noah Webster, “incite” is defined as:

  • “To move the mind to action by persuasion or motives presented; to stir up; to rouse; to spur on”.
  • “To move to action by impulse or influence.“
  • “To animate; to encourage. “

A notable example of its use in that era is in the context of the “Slave Bible” from the 1800s, which omitted passages that might “incite rebellion” or inspire liberation among enslaved people. This demonstrates that the word carried the connotation of encouraging significant, sometimes negative or rebellious, action, which is consistent with modern usage. 

Although the word has tended to go negative more recently, I think it had a more rousing, encouraging aspect — to incite the mind to the point of action, whether good or bad.(But, of course, Thomas Paine’s writings certainly did “incite” those damn colonists to rebellion.)

In replying, I noted that we really didn’t disagree, but the discussion does raise an interesting question. When we talk about “updating” the language of the Ritual, what guidelines do we follow? For example, in defense of Lynn’s point, changing the word “incite” might significantly change the meaning (and appropriateness) of the Ritual itself. How say you? Do we want the steward inciting people? Sometimes the question is more important than the answer. Questions mean we’re thinking, not just parroting the words we’ve been given.

We can surely agree, the Ritual gives us much to think about. I don’t know the word count for the installation of officers, but we’re discussing just one word of it. It’s tempting to adopt that perspective and flip a coin, but do we really want to subscribe to Ritual that’s based on the flip of a coin?

I hope it’s obvious this is a friendly, civil discussion. And I can’t resist noting it’s proof that people really do read the Bulletin!

Any degree or ritual quotations are from the forty-seventh edition of the 2023 Subordinate Grange Manual or the most recent edition of the Pomona Grange Manual. The views and opinions expressed in “Exploring Traditions” are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official doctrine and policy of the Grange. Information about the book “Exploring Traditions—Celebrating the Grange Way of Life” can be found at http://abbotvillagepress.com, on Mr. Boomsma’s Amazon Author Page, or by contacting the author.