For young people, “chum” might be considered an old-fashioned word for friend.

For fishermen, chum means pieces of fish scattered in the water to attract other fish to a fishing area.

But for folks in the Machias area, chum is taking on a whole new meaning and spelling.

The University of Maine at Machias, under the leadership of acting President Dr. Sue Huseman, has launched a new program that, it is hoped, will help promote goodwill within the university and the Greater Machias community.

That program is CHUMM: Cultural Hosts at the University of Maine at Machias.

CHUMM pairs volunteer families with international students to help introduce those students to the area, its people and life in Down East Maine.

“This fall, we had 10 families and 12 students involved,” Huseman said of the program, which will offer an informational session at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 29, in Kimball Hall on the UMM campus.

“I’ve been an internationalist all my life,” Huseman said of her career in international studies that dates back to her first college assignment in the 1970s at Illinois-Wesleyan University in Bloomington, Ill., and has spanned 20 years.

When she went to the University of Maine at Farmington, she started an international student program there.

When she lived in Pittsfield and taught at Maine Central Institute, which has host families, she said, “it was very clear to me, in a community of that size” that relationships between students and local families are very helpful.

“It opens up families to ethnic, cultural and racial diversity,” she said, “and helps diminish all kinds of tensions that might occur in a community that has lots of students from away.

“I think it [host families] is a real gift to the community as well as a benefit” to the student.

With 56 international students and five exchange students at UMM, Huseman is hoping not only families from the Machias area will become involved with CHUMM, but families in “surrounding areas such as Jonesport, Eastport, and the Down East area” will get to know these 61 students.

The purpose of CHUMM, according to “Lefty” McIntyre, UMM’s International Club adviser whom Huseman tapped to be the international student liaison, is to promote “social interaction that will lead to greater cross-cultural understanding for all.”

As the only program of its kind in the University of Maine System, McIntyre said the activities for CHUMM hosts can include introductions to American culture, family picnics, birthday parties, sports events, hiking trips and visits to other parts of Maine or New England.

If you would like more information about this unique opportunity to expand the relationship between international students and families Down East, attend the informational meeting or call the UMM president’s office at 255-1210.

Tickets are available for the Bangor Community Theatre and Maine Center for the Arts presentation of “Guys and Dolls” at 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 23, and Saturday, Jan. 24, and at 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 25, at the MCA on the University of Maine campus in Orono.

The show stars Steve Estey of Hampden, Heather Astbury of Blue Hill, Mark Ridenour of Sullivan and Lily Christian of Holden.

Doug Mesward of Old Town directs the production; Ludlow Hallman of Orono is the musical director and Judy Brookings of Bangor is the choreographer.

Chez Cherry of Orono designed and built the set, and Linda Grindle of Ellsworth and Thelma Astbury of Blue Hill made the 1940s-era costumes.

David Adkins, Jeff Richards and Scott Stitham of the university are handling light and sound and BCT President Missy Babineau is co-producing the show with MCA assistant director Adele Adkins.

Tickets can be obtained by calling the MCA box office at 581-1755 or at its Web site, www.mainecenterforthearts.org.

Bangor Baptist Church Ministries is sponsoring a benefit concert for Shepherd’s Godparent Home, a residential maternity home for teen girls age 17 and under facing unplanned or crisis pregnancies.

The concert will be held tonight at 7 p.m. at Bangor Baptist Church, 1476 Broadway in Bangor.

The admission is $15 per person, $25 per couple and free for those ages 17 and under.

The concert features Paula Dunn and Charles Billingsley, contemporary Christian recording artists.

Dunn, a Maine native, travels extensively throughout the country with Paula Dunn Ministries.

Billingsley, formerly with Newsong, a contemporary Christian group, is worship leader for Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Va.

If you have questions about the benefit or about this program, call 947-2751.

Joni Averill, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor 04402; 990-8288.