Grantees

Vermont Family Network (VFN) empowers and supports all Vermont families of children with special needs. Puppets in Education (PiE) was a stand-alone nonprofit until 2017, when it merged with VFN. Utilizing life-sized puppets, PiE teaches children how to keep themselves safe and healthy and to appreciate each other’s differences through educational programs for pre-K–8 students and their adults. Our programs model effective leadership and problem-solving skills and demonstrate respect and inclusion in a diverse community. For over 38 years, PiE has reached 10,000 children a year in schools throughout VT, promoting empathy and kindness for all while educating students in strategies to break the cycles of abuse, bullying, and harassment.

Vermont Family Network (VFN) empowers and supports all Vermont families of children with special needs. Puppets in Education (PiE) was a stand-alone nonprofit until 2017, when it merged with VFN. Using life-sized puppets, PiE teaches children how to keep themselves safe and healthy and to appreciate each other’s differences through educational programs for pre-K–8 students and their adults. Our programs model effective leadership and problem-solving skills and demonstrate respect and inclusion in all communities. For over 40 years, PiE has reached 10,000 children annually in Vermont schools. We promote empathy and kindness while educating students about strategies that break the cycles of abuse, bullying and harassment.

Through this year-long pilot program, Safeline’s Youth Advocate will deliver direct outreach to eight school, library, and youth group sites in Orange and Windsor counties, reaching 204 students grades pre-K through high school with programming on developing healthy relationships, boundaries, and consent. They will also provide targeted resources to help teachers and librarians discuss healthy relationships as well as sensitive issues concerning domestic, sexual, and teen dating violence so that they can respond to students in need.

Second Growth provides counseling, youth programs, prevention education, and recovery supports for youth and families in our community. They provide free registration to middle school students who wish to attend Camp, thereby eliminating barriers to entry for low- and moderate-income families. Their long-standing summer programs are designed to provide social-emotional learning, prevention education, develop leadership skills, and offer other enrichment through experiential learning activities. Each year they update the curriculum to include new research, best practices, and improve efficacy. In recent years they have expanded into new towns and offered additional weeks in order to reach a broader audience.

MoonRise Therapeutics (MRT) is a farm-based nonprofit dedicated to healing emotional and psychological trauma and promoting mental health in the Upper Valley of Vermont. MRT brings together children, families, and adults in need with highly skilled clinical professionals and a herd of well-loved horses. This practice of integrating horses into mental health work creates a uniquely effective setting for healing and growth. As a member of Mt. Ascutney Hospital’s Strengthening Families workgroup, MRT requests funding for regional programs to support their Circle of Security trainings and Play Groups. Circle of Security enhances caregivers’ social connection, resulting in stronger, more secure attachments for children and families.

Conflict resolution program in Winooski.

The Upper Valley Haven's Children’s Services Program (CSP) provides critical support to children who are or who have ever been homeless. Since 1980, the Haven has served tens of thousands of individuals & families who are struggling with homelessness and poverty through access to food, shelter, educational programming, & service coordination. As part of our mission to break the cycle of poverty, our CSP offers the community's most vulnerable children, with high ACES scores, educational & developmental opportunities. This support is critical for the children we serve, who are suffering disproportionately from the social, educational, and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic & who have all suffered the trauma of homelessness.

The sand has been shifting under our feet since March of 2020. This has been especially challenging for children. For 40 years Vermont Family Network’s Puppets in Education (PiE) has connected with children through powerful puppet programs that address social and emotional issues. During the pandemic, PiE adapted two topics most needed by students to virtual format: Kindness/Bullying and Worry/Anxiety. Schools now need a third option: one that addresses mental health and anti-bullying TOGETHER. Schools and teachers report that children are so stressed that they are lashing out at fellow students, faculty and family. This new program will unite being an “upstander” with recognizing one’s own stress and how to calm oneself.