LEWISTON — Green Dot Lewiston-Auburn announces the official launch will take place the week of March 5 to 8. During the launch week, Green Dot L-A, a group of local volunteers, will share their mission to reduce the occurrence of harassment and violence in the community through bystander intervention education.

The group will present its work to connect organizations and businesses with trainings that are tailored to the needs of the Lewiston-Auburn community. The launch will include presentations to the Lewiston-Auburn Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce at noon Tuesday, March 6, and to the Lewiston and Auburn city councils.

The presentation to the chamber is a part of the Power Lunch seminar series and is open to all members, but registration is required. Members can register at online at lametrochamber.com.

The presentations will discuss the Green Dot approach to violence prevention and how to bring bystander intervention trainings into the Lewiston-Auburn community.

The launch week will conclude with a walk down Lisbon Street with visits to local establishments on Thursday, March 8. The walk will begin at noon in Dufresne Park.

During the week, the group will also unveil the Green Dot L-A quilt. Beginning Monday, March 5, the quilt will be displayed at Bangor Savings Bank. The quilt is a large scale work of art that features fabric, stitching, handwritten text, buttons and beads.

The piece was created by Eileen Fair, Wendy Mitchell, Patty Weidler, Linda Matzen, Kitsie Claxton, June Zellers and Betsy Dorr. The quilters created the piece to use art to inspire and connect community members to the goals of the Green Dot movement. The quilters have created quilts for several local organizations, including Safe Voices, New Beginnings and the Center for Wisdoms Women.

Green Dot L-A works to reduce the occurrence of harassment, assault, domestic and partner violence and other forms of power-based personal violence. In August of 2017, the YWCA Central Maine and the Community of Kindness brought Green Dot Inc., an internationally respected leader in bystander intervention training, to Lewiston-Auburn for a four-day instructor training that was customized to the needs of the community.

The training took place at the Lewiston Public Library, and 46 community members participated in order to become certified Green Dot instructors. These instructors have been preparing presentations and workshops on bystander intervention throughout the last six months.

As of the launch, instructors will be available to bring their skills to businesses or organizations. For more information on the launch week or to bring Green Dot to the community, contact the YWCA Central Maine at 207-795-4050.

Green Dot L-A, a group of local volunteers, will hold launch events during the week of March 5 to 8. Their mission is to reduce harassment and violence in the community.

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