Show Notes
In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with Betsey Andrews Parker, Chief Executive Officer of Community Action Partnership of Strafford County. This episode kicks off Season 5's special focus on nonprofits serving the Dover and Seacoast area.
Betsey explains that CAP, which traces its roots to President Lyndon B. Johnson's War on Poverty, operates as an umbrella organization providing a wide range of services including fuel assistance, weatherization, Head Start early childhood programs, food distribution to 24 soup kitchens and pantries, homeless shelters, senior housing, domestic violence and human trafficking programs, and home visiting services for newborns. She emphasizes that many working families qualify for assistance without realizing it, with programs serving households earning up to 200% of the federal poverty level. CAP operates on a $20 million annual budget, with 84% coming from federal sources that require matching funds. Betsey discusses her background in public health and bioterrorism preparedness, including work on pandemic planning that proved valuable during COVID-19. She stresses the importance of partnerships with municipalities, other nonprofits, and the community, noting that CAP's 120 employees work collaboratively to serve residents. Volunteers and donors can find opportunities at straffordcap.org, and the organization's main office is at 577 Central Avenue in Dover, with additional locations in Farmington and Rochester.
In This Week in Dover History, we look back at the inauguration of city officials on Jan. 6, 1925, when Mayor John P. Morrison took office amid crowded Council Chambers at City Hall. The segment contrasts Dover's partisan, bicameral government of the past with today's nonpartisan City Council-City Manager system, while noting that the tradition of January inaugurations continues to this day.
More from Dover Download
In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with Dian Maruca, executive director of the Dover Housing Authority, as part of the podcast's continuing look at local nonprofits and social service agencies. Maruca, who has led the authority since March 2026 after joining as deputy director in 2023, shares how a teenage landscaping job at the Newmarket Housing Authority grew into a career in subsidized housing. She says that hands-on experience shapes her respect for her maintenance and administrative staff.
In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with Director of Planning and Community Development Donna Benton about the FY28-33 Capital Improvements Program, presented to the City Council and Planning Board on Oct. 7.
In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with Director of Media Services Mike Gillis about September's board, committee and commission meetings.
In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with Margaret Joyce and Jed Allen of the Greater Dover Chamber of Commerce about the 42nd annual Apple Harvest Day. What began as a small craft fair on Orchard Street with about a dozen crafters has grown into a signature event often described as Dover's homecoming, with roughly 250 vendors, two food courts, a road race, an apple pie contest and entertainment on two stages. The festival runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with the 5K road race starting at 8:30 a.m.
In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with Kathy Beebe, executive director of Haven, as part of the podcast's continuing look at local nonprofits. Haven is the Seacoast's domestic violence and sexual assault prevention and support agency. It was formed through the merger of A Safe Place and Sexual Assault Support Services. Beebe explains that the new name was chosen deliberately to make clear its services are for anyone affected, including men, teens, adult survivors of childhood abuse, and family members.