FARMINGTON — Franklin County’s 13th annual March for Violence-Free Communities will be held on Thursday, April 8, when participants will gather at 6:30 p.m. at Meeting House Park on Main Street.
Marchers are invited to carry signs, make noise and have fun. The University of Maine Farmington will provide a vehicle for those participants who are unable to walk the length of the march.
The event will be followed by a program at the Old South Congregational Church on Main Street, where snacks and cold drinks will be provided. The program will include a keynote address as well as comments from community supporters.
Free childcare will be available upon request by calling Franklin County Children’s Task Force at 778-6960 by Wednesday, April 7. An open microphone will be provided for anyone who wishes to speak about the issue of violence.
The annual Peace in Our Families’ Recognition Award will be presented to Chief Richard Caton of the Farmington Police Department and Officer Mary Hastings of the University of Maine Farmington’s Public Safety Department.
The march is sponsored by Peace in Our Families, a collaboration between Sexual Assault Victims Emergency Services Inc. (SAVES), Abused Women’s Advocacy Project (AWAP), the Healthy Community Coalition, Franklin County Children’s Task Force and United Way of the Tri-Valley Area, the University of Maine Farmington, and numerous local agencies and individuals.
For more information, call SAVES at 778-9522. SAVES’s toll-free, 24-hour sexual assault crisis and support helpline is 1-800-871-7741. AWAP’s toll-free, 24-hour domestic abuse crisis and support helpline is 1-800-559-2927.