Brewer Woman “Paddles Pretty” To Raise Money And Awareness For LifeFlight Of Maine

Molly Lincoln grew up swimming, paddleboarding, and playing in the water of Beech Hill Pond in Otis.

It's on this Hancock County lake, over 40 years ago, that her father had a major heart attack while driving his boat full of kids out to "Chunk O'Pork" rock to go swimming. Thankfully, he survived. But Lincoln remembers what an effort it was to get him out of the water, up to a neighboring camp, and ultimately loaded into a rudimentary ambulance to be transported to a hospital

If only an organization like LifeFlight of Maine had been around back then, it might not have been such a harrowing process to get her dad the help he needed.

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Lincoln, who co-owns Henry's Bridal Boutique and Formal Wear in Bangor, says, like most people, she knew that LifeFlight existed, but just assumed they were there to transfer really sick or injured patients from hospital to hospital. It wasn't until a good friend of hers, Denise, started going through rigorous training to become a nurse for the organization, that she learned they do so much more than just that.

"I was like, wait a minute, why is she doing training like that? That's like military training. She's doing crash landings and going out in the woods. Why is she doing training like all these rescue things? And she said, 'because they go out into the middle of these rural areas, if someone's in a snowmobile accident and they crash through the ice or they're stuck up on top of a mountain, they go out there.' And I was like 'wait a minute...tell me more!' "

"So I started to find out more about how they go out into these rural areas where people are not in a hospital, but need to be taken to a hospital, and they do the neonatal transfers, and they do highway rescues and airplane rescues. I was blown away to think about this happening. I'm an outdoors person...and I thought that could affect somebody I know."

For almost 3 decades, LifeFlight of Maine, a non-profit air ambulance service, has been in operation, helping Mainers get the critical care they need. It is the only operation of its kind currently serving the state.

"Our highly skilled medical teams bring ICU-level medical care — referred to in the industry as 'critical care' — directly to the patient, wherever they are. Maine is a big state, and many communities are rural, remote, and sparsely populated. As part of the 'chain of survival,' our crews play a vital role in connecting people to the care they need."

"Since we began in 1998, we have safely cared for and transported more than 40,000 patients from every community and hospital in the state."

Lincoln said that the more she found out about the organization, and the more she thought about her dad's prior situation, the more she felt called to do something. She wanted not only to help spread the word about the good work LifeFlight of Maine does every day, but also to raise some money for them. She came across a fundraising program that the organization runs called the Cross For LifeFlight Challenge, and thought that sounded like something she could help with. So she signed up. Pre-COVID, it was a one-day, in-person event. But when the pandemic hit, they let people set whatever goal they want to (teams or individuals), and they have one month to complete it.

For the past decade, the Cross For LifeFlight Challenge has raised over $2 million for LifeFlight of Maine.

"Since its inception, the Cross for LifeFlight has become one of LifeFlight of Maine's most important fundraisers of the year... participants in this event have raised more than $2 million to upgrade and standardize LifeFlight’s fleet of helicopters, purchase the specialized equipment needed on board, and to fund important clinical education and training programs across the state. Whether you love to challenge yourself or want to create a memorable experience with friends, family, or coworkers, the Cross for LifeFlight is open to everyone and every activity— hiking, cycling, swimming,
kayaking, running, and sailing! You have the flexibility to choose your favorite solo or team activity, and complete your Crossing, however, whenever, and wherever you
choose during August. "

Lincoln started her first "Cross" as it's called, 5 years ago, during Covid. She decided she would paddleboard, an activity she already loved, on Beech Hill Pond, a place she was very familiar with. The fundraising effort was slow going at first, only raising about $350. In her second year, she did under a thousand dollars. But she kept at it, year after year, until last year when she decided to up her game.

She was going to paddleboard a total of 40 miles, in honor of the anniversary of her dad's "heart-aversery," and she'd add a twist to make things interesting. If people sent donations, she would dress up in outfits they suggested. Being co-owner of Henry's, she had access to quite an array of options.

"I did okay the my first couple of years doing it, but not great. And I thought, 'How can I do something to get more attention, to raise more money, and so that people are more aware, like I became aware, of LifeFlight?' And so I just said that I was going to dress up if people donated. And I just couldn't believe the stuff that people were sending me!"

"The outfits aren't chosen by me. If you donate, you get to choose. So my first year doing it, the lady wanted me to just wear tie-dye, so I went through my closet. That one wasn't hard."

But then people got a little trickier with their requests.

She started posting pictures of her outfits on social media and tagging the Beech Hill Pond page, and it kind of took off from there.

"Then all of a sudden people caught on and said, 'Oh, you have dresses there [at Henry's Bridal Boutique], and so then it was 'Wear this color dress or something like that.' One person reached out, and her daughter suffered from seizures and epilepsy, and she asked if I could wear something purple. One person had a fly-fishing business and asked if I'd wear his company's shirt if he made a donation."

"The biggest one was the final donation, and it came from Kelly, who works with me, and she said she wanted me in a wedding gown, so I said 'Yup!' I knew it was coming...That one was a little tricky."

(Due to her parents' concerns about her safety, paddleboarding in a heavy wedding gown, Lincoln stayed within 25 feet of the camp, and her daughter-who is a certified life-guard to stay on the dock to watch that paddle.)

Lincoln says that while most people in the Beech Hill Pond area know now what she's up to, and almost expect it, every once in a while she'll encounter someone who's not quite sure what's going on.

"All of a sudden, the boat will stop, and they'll just kind of look. And I'll be waving and say, 'yup, I'm in a prom gown right now!' "

She's even been challenged to dress up like a ballerina while paddling.

Lincoln hopes to beat what she made last year and get up over $2,000.

Lincoln says her family is very supportive. She jokes that her dad is a little upset that she's taken over a closet a his house to store the costumes she uses for her paddles. Folks on the lake are even greeting her with airhorns, applause, and donations on the docks.

"It's such a great way to raise awareness...They have to keep going. This is a non-profit, and they have to keep going in this state."

If you'd like to donate to Molly's cause and make an outfit request, you can check out her donation page here.

Rather start your own challenge? You can find out how to put your own together by clicking here.