Grantees

Pages, a Book Club for Parents and Caregivers is a group to gather caregivers to discuss the highs and lows of raising tweens. The discussion will be guided by a book of the group's choosing and will center the expertise of participants. This is an opportunity for parents and caregivers to find community, share tips, and develop a support network. Friday Nights in the Teen Center for High School Students will open our Teen Center space to 9-12th graders. We will offer games, dinner, crafts, and other activities of the kids choosing. Providing this third space for youth at no-cost to families will help engage high schoolers.

The Teen Center provides after school drop-in to teens in Addison County, as well as no-cost enrichment and summer programming. We encourage teens to use our space to explore their interests and talents. Teens who have not found an interest by middle- or high school often feel like they have missed their chance. For many of our teens, this is tied to their socio-economic status, as their families could not afford lessons or equipment when they were younger. Teens internalize this into thinking they are not as talented or capable as their peers, which affects confidence and drives anxiety. Play for Keeps (PfK) will allow teens to earn their own equipment while learning a new talent, setting them up to be lifelong, confident learners.

Outright Vermont has always been a statewide organization, though not all regions need the same level of acute attention. In an effort to concentrate on those areas most in need of support and transformation, Outright is excited to engage a new and robust strategy: targeted regional prevention and intervention. By identifying areas of priority, and coordinating multi-faceted outreach and engagement, our hope is to build a supportive base of partners, adults, and youth leaders who can lead the charge in their own communities. This strategic approach will allow us to maximize impact in the areas where it is most needed. We are excited to pilot these efforts in Rutland County.

Paran Recreations INC is dedicated to enhancing the health and well-being of rural children from low income families. Our goal is to sustain the access of year-round outdoor and place-based education for our surrounding community focusing on youth populations by providing at least 45% of campers with a full funded scholarship to attend our camps throughout the year.

Building a Positive Community (BAPC) supports the greater Brattleboro community (including the towns served by the Windham Southeast Supervisory Union school district. We are becoming certified as a Quality Youth Development community. The Quality Youth Development or “QYD” is a community certification process that will demonstrate the greater Brattleboro community is actively promoting youth engagement and youth empowerment. The Coalition will convene youth and adults representing a cross-section of our community to work toward meeting at least 7 of the 10 possible benchmarks identified by Essex CHIPS in Essex, VT (the host of the certification process) to qualify as a QYD community.

Provide affordable, quality arts programming to at risk Lamoille County youth and to provide scholarship support to low income families.

The Riverside Middle School "Not Summer School" program is an enrichment program offered to low socioeconomic status students with limited summer opportunities. Throughout the summer Riversides "Not Summer School" program provides a 4-week enrichment program for students going into 6th-8th grade. Additionally, the students we enroll have missed upwards of 30 days of school and can immensely benefit from a summer enrichment program. We call this program “Not Summer School” because our kids associate summer school with hours of endless math and reading while trapped inside on a beautiful day. “Not Summer School” focuses on learning “in real life”. We focus on skills needed every day, and we focus on fun.

Roots & Wings aims to be the staple program of the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Vergennes. The primary pillars of the Roots & Wings program are community outreach, character development and good citizenship. Elementary students will work towards becoming Peer Leaders, middle school students towards Club Leaders, and high school students towards Community Leaders. As a member progresses through each stage, new opportunities become available and additional requirements are added. Pillars will offer increased opportunities for recognition, achievement, and community visibility that will foster stronger, more engaged citizens. We will build strong Roots here in the community so that youth will develop the Wings needed to support great futures.