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April 30, 2025

Noted author’s challenge grant will support planned Asian American center in Westbrook

A rendering of a building from two angles. RENDERING / COURTESY WINTON SCOTT ARCHITECTS Development of an Asian American Community Center and Buddhist temple complex is planned in Westbrook.
By Laurie Schreiber

A $10 million capital campaign to build Maine’s first Asian American Community Center got a vote of confidence from a bestselling author and from a Portland coffee company. 

Tess Gerritsen, a bestselling author and Maine resident, kicked off a $50,000 matching challenge.

Coffee By Design released a limited-edition AANHPI Blend, with $2 to be donated to the campaign for every 16-ounce bag sold.

Photo / Courtesy Josh Gerritsen
Tess Gerritsen

Books and beans

Gerritsen is a retired physician-turned-author whose work has been translated into 40 languages, with more than 40 million books sold worldwide. 

“What a wonderful idea for Maine: a place where everyone can learn about Asian cultures, join in their festivities, hear their languages and sample their wide variety of foods,” said Gerritsen. “It promises to be an enriching place for all.”

Gerritsen will match every dollar donated to the campaign during May through Oct. 31, up to $50,000. For more information, click here.

Coffee By Design’s AANHPI Blend is a medium roast incorporating beans from Sumatra, Papua New Guinea and India KaadKaapi, with tasting notes of grapefruit and molasses. For every 16-ounce bag sold, $2 will be donated to the campaign. The blend will be available at Coffee By Design locations and on its website.

“At Coffee By Design, we believe everyone deserves a seat at the table — and that means taking the time to understand and respect the diverse values, beliefs and traditions that make up the fabric of our communities,” said Mary Allen Lindemann, co-founder of Coffee By Design. 

Community hub

The money will go toward the Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, or AANHPI, community’s $10 million campaign to build an Asian American Community Center. The Westbrook site spans 30 acres owned by Watt Samaki Temple, a nonprofit Cambodian Buddhist temple. 

Envisioned as a welcoming hub for education, cultural celebration and intergenerational gathering, the center is planned to house programming for youth and elders, language and arts classes, wellness initiatives, advocacy efforts and resource navigation.

“This center is about belonging,” said Marpheen Chann, executive director of Khmer Maine and project lead for the center’s development. “This campaign is a community-driven effort to honor our stories, invest in our future and ensure Maine communities benefit for generations to come.”

The capital campaign is supported by Khmer Maine in partnership with Watt Samaki Temple, the Filipino American Samahan of Maine, the Chinese American Friendship Association of Maine and a growing coalition of AANHPI community members throughout the state. 

Once built, the center will be a first-of-its-kind cultural and community facility in Maine and is considered a major step forward in recognizing and resourcing the state’s growing AANHPI population.

In April, Khmer Maine and Watt Samaki broke ground on a Welcome Garden and entrance that are part of the larger plan to develop the center as well as a Buddhist temple on the site.

Khmer Maine is a nonprofit that works to improve the social and economic well-being of Cambodians in Maine through cultural exchange, community building and civic engagement. The group also partners to support members of Maine’s Southeast Asian and Pacific Islander communities and strives for solidarity with Black and Indigenous communities.

As of 2022, Maine’s Cambodian community was just over 2,000. In total, Maine’s Asian American and Pacific Islander population numbered over 26,500 people, including those who are multiracial.

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