ELLSWORTH — The Maine Community Foundation’s Community Building Grant Program recently awarded $25,000 in grants to five Androscoggin County nonprofits, including the Androscoggin Land Trust in Auburn to lead a collaborative effort to plan riverfront recreation and trail development in Lewiston-Auburn, complete a public process for establishing land and water trail priorities, present joint community/after-school outings, and signage planning.

Other grant awards went to:

Somali Bantu Youth Association of Maine, Lewiston, to provide job skills training for immigrant and refugees in the Lewiston/Auburn area.

Tree Street Youth, Lewiston, to support the Street Leader Program that trains a diverse cohorts of responsible high school-aged youth from the community to mentor, support and be role models to their peers and younger community members.

Trinity Jubilee Center, to create an East African Entrees project in the soup kitchen, providing an opportunity for hundreds of low-income downtown Lewiston residents to experience the tastes of Somalia and Djibouti and increase their connections to these cultures and their new neighbors.

United Way of the Tri-Valley Area, Farmington, to further engage volunteers in energy conservation initiatives, which include the Community Energy Challenge interior storm window project and the new Home Energy Party concept.

A volunteer committee of Androscoggin County residents and business leaders reviews grants and makes recommendations for funding. The next deadline for applying to the Androscoggin County Fund is Feb. 15, 2013. Application and guidelines are available at www.mainecf.org.

The Androscoggin County Committee funds projects that seek to build community connections; broaden and diversify leadership and community involvement; help communities to encourage civic involvement; increase trust across lines of difference; and encourage people to do more with others rather than just for others.