LEWISTON — The YWCA announced that its grant proposal to the Maine Community Foundation’s Androscoggin County Fund was selected as a 2016 funding recipient.

The YWCA was awarded a generous grant of $8,147 to support its emerging program entitled, “Positive Ethnic and Cultural Exchange,” or the PEACE initiative.

PEACE will work to build community among women at the YWCA and emphasize cross-cultural exchange among women of diverse nationalities. The program will develop through the direction of New Mainer women participants.

To support this goal, the YWCA will hire a community outreach specialist, a new position that will be staffed by a woman from one of Lewiston’s recent immigrant refugee or asylee communities, to organize and lead the PEACE initiative.

PEACE programming will include: monthly potlucks, film screenings, and cultural events; a women’s walking group; and ongoing grassroots projects.

The first PEACE potluck events will begin in fall of 2016 with more developments to be announced soon.

The YWCA Women’s Walking Group, a program that will be led through the PEACE initiative, is set to begin in August. This program was inspired by input from participants in the YWCA’s Single Gender Swim, a swim class designed to meet the privacy needs of Muslim women.

Swimmers expressed interest in more vigorous exercise that would retain the community-building experience of visiting the YWCA pool. For many women who have recently immigrated to Maine, the amount of driving that is necessary to navigate our cities is very different from their home communities.

The Women’s Walking Group is organized in collaboration with Healthy Androscoggin’s REACH or Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health program. Healthy Androscoggin REACH staff work to support the YWCA in providing programming that is culturally appropriate and fully accessible.

The group has also received a generous donation of gently used shoes from Lamey Wellehan in order to ensure that all of our walkers have adequate footwear for the adventure.

The Women’s Walking Group will leave from the YWCA and walk the Franklin Pasture trails around Lewiston High School. The trails are safe, well-kept and private, and provide beautiful views of our city.

The Women’s Walking Group and all PEACE programming will be open to participants of all backgrounds and will facilitate opportunities for women to meet neighbors whom they may not have otherwise known.

FMI: [email protected], 207-795-4050.