DEAR SUN SPOTS: I would appreciate information concerning the status of the SHAREcenter, including location, hours, phone number, email address and items accepted, etc. — No name, no town

ANSWER: The SHAREcenter is a nonprofit program originally formed to provide needed supplies to schools and educators. It has grown to support nonprofit organizations, municipal departments, day cares and home school students.

It collects donated supplies and furniture for member organizations to use. It offers everything from school supplies, office furniture, toiletry items and more, diverting tons of waste from Maine landfills each year.

Members pay a fee, which allows their staff unlimited access to the items.

Located at 1830 Lisbon St. in Lewiston, it is open Tuesday and Wednesday from 2 to 5 p.m. and takes donations then and the first two Saturdays of the month from 9 a.m. to noon. You do not have to be a member to donate.

The organization is partnering with another nonprofit, Apparel Impact, and has a bin for clothes and shoes on site on the Gould Street side of the building and hopes to open the G-RE-EN for ME Emporium soon with 100% of the sale proceeds benefiting SHAREcenter.

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On the organization’s Facebook page,  https://www.facebook.com/auburnsharecenter), a request for membership can be made through Messenger for schools, nonprofits and home-schoolers, etc. They do not offer individual memberships.

The page also states that members need to reserve a time on Sign Up Genius before coming in.

SHAREcenter is 100% self-funded and members pay a nominal annual fee. Call 333-6671 or email Director Lisa Rodrigues at lrodrigues@auburnschl.edu for what types of donations they need and any other questions.

DEAR SUN SPOTS: Lewiston-Auburn Senior College presents: Well Water and Healthful Aging in Maine: A Collaboration between University of New England and Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory.Dr. Jane Disney will talk about her multiyear effort to identify contaminants in home well water and provide critical education to homeowners and their families. Dr. Disney is an associate professor of environmental health at Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory. In addition, she directs the activities of the Community Environmental Health Laboratory.

Jane has recently joined with Dr. Tom Meuser, director of the UNE Center for Excellence in Aging and Health, to examine health impacts of arsenic and other contaminants on health in adults ages 55 and older in Maine. He also coordinates the UNE Legacy Scholars Program through which adults support applied research on aging, complete annual surveys on health, and join with students in shared learning and scholarship.

Participants will learn about their preliminary findings and receive an invitation to join in this research, which includes free home tap water testing.

The program will be offered via Zoom at 11 a.m. Friday, March 24. To receive a link email: laseniorcollege@gmail.com by noon on March 23 and one will be sent the next morning.

ANSWER: Having good water to drink is so important to our overall health and this program sounds beneficial and informative.

This column is for you, our readers. It is for your questions and comments. There are only two rules: You must write to the column and sign your name. We won’t use it if you ask us not to. Please include your phone number. Letters will not be returned or answered by mail, and telephone calls will not be accepted. Your letters will appear as quickly as space allows. Address them to Sun Spots, P.O. Box 4400, Lewiston, ME 04243-4400. Inquiries can also be emailed to sunspots@sunjournal.com.


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