Goodwill Industries of Northern New England announced today that is has received an initial grant of $686,864 of a $1.1 Million three award from the Department of Labor (DOL) to manage the YouthBuild program in Lewiston, Maine.  Goodwill will recruit 70 at-risk, low-income youth ages 18-24 in the Lewiston-Auburn area to participate in the two-year program.

YouthBuild is a national program that assists out-of-school youth in obtaining their diplomas or GEDs while providing occupational training in the construction industry.  In addition to leadership training, the youth also participate in community service by renovating affordable housing in their communities.

Portland’s easygoing quality of life is praised in the April 1st feature. The list was compiled based on a leisure index, crime data and 5-year cost of living average and unemployment figures. Kudos for local highlights go to Grittys, Cinque Terre, Blackpoint Inn and Cold River Vodka!

Portland, ME – In just three days, 99.9 THE WOLF and 107.5 FRANK FM raised a boatload of money for the annual Cares For Kids Radiothon, live from the Atrium at the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital. This is the largest amount raised in the history of the Cares For Kids Radiothon, beating last year by over $17,000. Both stations are owned by Nassau Broadcasting.

Saturday, April 21st, EQME (Equality Maine) held its annual dinner honoring volunteers, board members and supporting organizations. The program was presented to a sold-out house of 600 attendees at the Holiday Inn by the Bay. Midway through the evening, a fund-raising request was made for every person in the room to donate $25 to meet the organization’s goal of $12,000. Thirty minutes later, they not only had met their goal, but had exceeded it to the hefty tune of $25,000!

Cheers to EQME, Maine’s only statewide advocacy organization for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.