Aroostook nonprofit rebrands as Avec Community Action

Maine (WAGM) - A nonprofit organization that has served Aroostook County for decades is changing its name again, this time to Avec Community Action.

The organization was previously known as ACAP, an Aroostook County group focused on helping local residents find support, stability and opportunity. Last year, it expanded into a three-county organization and rebranded as Community Action in Aroostook, Washington, and Hancock Counties. Officials say the group is now changing its name to better reflect the people in the communities it serves.

Reasoning behind the new name

CEO Jason Parent said the previous name was a placeholder while the organization searched for the right fit.

“We’ve been calling ourselves Community Action in Aroostook, Washington, and Hancock Counties really as a placeholder with the intent of really finding that right space, that right name,” Parent said. “We work with individuals. We’re an organization that partners with, whether it’s seniors needing fuel assistance to stay warm and safe in their homes to households that rely on us for early care and education services like HeadStart each and every day. We’re working in partnership with those households to essentially provide the services that they need to be more economically and socially mobile and secure. In addition to that, where the intersectionality really happens is in the cultural and historic ties in all 3 counties with the French culture. So, it really is a nod to that culture, and that history, and the tie into the work that we actually do in partnership with communities and individuals and families each and every day,” Parent said.

No change to services

Parent said the rebrand will not affect any of the organization’s services. New signage will go up in the next few months at all three of the organization’s locations in Aroostook.