CAMDEN — The Camden Rotary Club has selected eight local nonprofit organizations to receive grants totaling $25,000 this year.

A $10,000 grant to Area Interfaith Outreach will support AIO's Weekend Backpack Program, which will help children who receive free school lunches at the Rockland Middle School and the South Elementary School. The program will send the children home on Fridays with food for their own weekend meals as well as ingredients for one family meal.

"Food pantries throughout the state have seen increased demand in recent years, and many families suffer from food insecurity," said Camden Rotary President Jane Monhart in a news release. "We are pleased to help the AIO food pantry support the health and well-being of children from low-income families."

A $5,000 grant to Strive Northern New England will help this new organization start a work-preparation training program in Knox County and Lincolnville.

The Knox County Health Clinic in Rockland will receive a $5,000 grant to help provide dental care to uninsured and underinsured children and teenagers in Knox County, Lincolnville and Waldoboro. The clinic is partnering with Pen Bay Healthcare and Waldo General Hospital to provide this service in an area where there are currently no dentists accepting MaineCare patients.

This grant is part of Camden Rotary's Youth-are-the-Future program, which supports the development and education of youth in the Knox County area through a variety of activities including post-secondary scholarships, international youth exchange programs, the Interact Club at Camden Hills Regional High School, and a Rotary Youth Leadership Award.

The club is also granting $1,000 each to five organizations: Penobscot School, the Megunticook Watershed Association, Merryspring Nature Center, the University of Maine Cooperative Extension Teen and Young Parent Program, and the Spectrum Generations Knox County Aging and Disabilities Resource Center.

Each year the Camden Rotary Club provides financial support in the form of grants to organizations that work to improve the lives of people in Knox County and the town of Lincolnville. The next round of grant applications will open in early 2016.

About Camden Rotary Club

For 90 years, Camden Rotary has embraced Rotary International¹s motto, "Service Above Self." Camden Rotarians work together to help those in need, by participating in local service projects, providing grants to charities, distributing college scholarships, arranging for international youth exchanges, and supporting initiatives that improve living conditions for people in underdeveloped countries.

For more details, visit www.camdenrotary.org.