DOVER-FOXCROFT – Womancare, an organization whose seed was planted nearly 30 years ago by eight women who provided shelter to victims of domestic violence, will celebrate a milestone today by breaking ground for a new home.

“It’s a culmination of a lot of hard work on the part of many volunteers and supporters of Womancare,” Cynthia Freeman-Cyr, Womancare’s resource development coordinator, said Wednesday.

Several dignitaries plan to attend the 6 p.m. event at the Mechanic Street building site in Dover-Foxcroft, including Mike Aube, state director for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development agency, which provided some of the funding.

“It was at least eight years ago that we began this journey,” Cyr said. The organization provides support and advocacy to people affected by domestic abuse in Piscataquis County and southwestern Penobscot County.

The group secured a $310,000 USDA loan in 2002 and was advised this week that it was awarded a $170,000 USDA Rural Development Community Facilities Grant for the building.

Locally, supporters are working to raise $350,000, which not only includes the $75,500 local match for the federal funds but also money to repay the mortgage, according to Cyr. Womancare employees and the organization’s steering committee anted up about $50,000 toward the local match, she said.

Another gift came from Mayo Regional Hospital, which donated land on its campus for the organization’s new home. Before construction could begin on the proposed 3,000-square-foot building, a dilapidated building on the site had to be removed. That project was funded by a $8,000 anonymous donation and $2,000 from Dover-Foxcroft Congregational Church.

That church allowed Womancare to sprout by providing a broom closet in its basement for an office early on. At the time, the closet was the only available space, according to church member Linda Howard of Dover-Foxcroft, who co-chairs the capital fundraising campaign with Sue Mackey-Andrews, also of Dover-Foxcroft.

From the broom closet, Womancare moved downtown to a second-floor rental that had no air conditioning, and later to its current Winter Street location, a former private home. Even though all three floors of the building are used by Womancare, space is cramped, Cyr said.

Cyr said the organization serves about 400 families a year. In addition, Womancare staff offer an outreach educational program for more than 2,000 children in the local schools. The organization operates a 24-hour help line, provides safe homes, operates support groups and advocacy services, among other offerings.

The community is invited to attend both the groundbreaking and the annual meeting that will be held at Dover-Foxcroft Congregational Church, 10 West Main St., after the ceremony.