New Hope for Women, Midcoast Maine’s only comprehensive Domestic Violence Resource Center, announces its 40th Anniversary fundraiser. With a goal of $4,040, the campaign begins May22 and runs for 40 days through June 30.

The agency invites community members to donate any multiple of $40 in celebration of the agency’s successes and to support critical programs. A member of the Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence, New Hope for Women’s services have progressed from a volunteer, grassroots effort in 1981, to one of Maine’s nine domestic violence resource centers. The agency’s helpline, the cornerstone of its services, is perhaps best known.

But the agency provides many other services including prevention and education for students and school personnel, extended housing for victims, and cross-disciplinary high-risk response teams in several counties. Each of these services is a piece of what can make the difference in a victim’s life, potentially saving someone from ongoing domestic abuse, dating violence or stalking. With an eye to the future, New Hope for Women looks forward to deepening its commitment to victims of domestic abuse.

A recently launched accessible and responsive website is the first stage of the agency’s substantive rebranding process that will also include a new, gender-inclusive name and updated logo, both of which will be introduced later this year. Also on the agency’s list for this year are 11 new transitional housing units made possible through grants from the Office of Violence Against Women and the Continuum of Care. The agency’s partnership with New Ventures Maine will allow many victim-survivors living in transitional housing to access classes and workshops on budgeting, saving, and repairing one’s credit.

New Hope for Women serves Sagadahoc, Lincoln, Knox and Waldo Counties. Donations to the 40 for 40 Campaign may be made online at newhopeforwomen.org, by calling the development director at (207) 594.2128 or by mailing to New Hope for Women, P.O. Box A, Rockland, Maine 04841.