LEWISTON — Six community organizations have been awarded grant funding from the Harward Center for Community Partnerships at Bates College to create, expand or advance public service programs that improve the lives of local residents.

Grants awarded for 2016-17 include:

Museum L-A: $2,000 to assist with the research and preservation of vintage silkscreens that were used to manufacture linens in local mills.

College for ME-Androscoggin: $1,823 to support the creation of a new countywide “Decision Day” event that will help local students plan their education beyond high school.

Raise-Op Housing Cooperative: $1,823 to support the creation of materials and programs that will help tenants better understand the goals, expectations and responsibilities of living in a housing cooperative.

Lewiston Public Library: $1,300 to help fund the library’s “ArtVan” mobile art program, which provides creative projects and art opportunities for children.

YWCA of Central Maine: $1,110 to support the organization’s annual “Stand Against Racism” event, which fosters multi-cultural understanding by bringing together local activists, community leaders, students and researchers.

Lewiston Housing Authority: $533 to purchase office furniture for “How Everything Works,” an after-school science, engineering and technology program.

In addition to the grants, each organization will be able to tap resources at the college, such as faculty and staff expertise, student workers and student researchers. Bates students made up the bulk of the committee that selected the grant winners.

“These grants will support programs and organizations that work hard every day to improve the lives of local residents, students and children,” said Darby Ray, director of the Harward Center for Community Partnerships. “We are amazed by the work that these groups do, and we are proud to be partners in their efforts.”

The grants are funded through the Harward Center’s James W. Carignan and Sally Larson Carignan Fund for Community Programs, which was established with donations and contributions from more than 150 Bates alumni and friends. The fund honors the Carignans’ lifelong work and commitment to improving the lives of Mainers.