LEWISTON — YWCA Central Maine Women’s Walking Group’s first meeting will be from 4 to 6:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 9, at the YWCA. 

The group will gather for a potluck before the walk to get to know each other and discuss programming possibilities. Participants are welcome, but not required, to bring food to share.

The group will leave from the YWCA after dinner and walk a ¼-mile loop on the Franklin Pasture trails behind Lewiston High School led by YWCA Community Outreach Specialist Taysir Jama. The trails are well-kept, safe, private, and provide beautiful views of the city.

The group is open to all women in the Lewiston-Auburn community. Participants will be able to receive a free pair of gently-used sneakers.

The Women’s Walking Group is a Positive Ethnic and Cultural Exchange program, an initiative working to build community among women at the YWCA and emphasize cross-cultural exchange.

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. The walking group and all PEACE programming will facilitate opportunities for women to meet neighbors and create relationships with community members who they may not have otherwise known.

The group is organized in collaboration with Healthy Androscoggin’s REACH, or Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health program. REACH staff work to support the YWCA by providing culturally appropriate and fully accessible programming, including providing assistance developing the route and creating trail signs for the walking group.

FMI: 207-795-4050, [email protected].