Grantees

Reinbow Riding Center has been providing therapeutic horsemanship lessons to individuals and groups of children age 3 to teenagers from schools, military families, and referrals for over 15 years. It is a safety requirement that during those lessons all participants must wear safety helmets while at the Center and especially while working with the horses, a focal point of their lessons, and often the key to opening their hearts and minds to new experiences, learning, attitudes and behaviors. Each helmet has an expiration date on its effectiveness. At the end of each year, Reinbow personnel checks the inventory and discards those that have reached that expiration. While we generally rotate them on a regular basis so there are only a few that expire each year, following Covid, our program was in great demand by local schools and we had to buy quite a few more helmets to accommodate the increase of participants. Those helmets reached their expiration date at the end of 2024.

Thrive is a childcare/enrichment program serving the diverse, close-knit, and resilient community of Winooski. We support children in grades K-5 to develop their literacy, STEM, and socioemotional skills during after school and summer time. We plan to create a Makerspace to enhance the engineering and tinkering options we provide to kids, promoting youth resilience. Using an iterative process to solve problems and persist through failure will help our students overcome challenges in other areas of their lives. Students will collaborate, imagine, and problem-solve while building cars and structures, coding and programming robots, and exploring with a 3-D printer.

Purchase specific equipment and materials for the Kids Camp component of camp Gizmo which serves all children attending camp with their parents.

Provide equipment to the three Village Kids Afterschool Programs and summertime Camp Maple Street to keep children active, both indoors and out for the entire year.

Funds will be used to purchase office supplies and equipment for a program that offers support, education and resource and referral to relative care providers and the children they care for.

At the Warren Public Library, we work to build a strong and resilient community by fostering connections among families. Our storytimes, toddler-preschool playgroups, and baby groups offer activities for our youngest community members while allowing parents and caregivers to connect with one another. Previously, we had toys but could not offer a space for developmentally appropriate active play. This grant allows us to create a portable indoor play area for gross motor movement and sensory exploration during our children's programs. These programs are free and open to all, filling a pressing community need not only for connecting families but also for providing free indoor play spaces.

A laptop is essential to The Mentoring Project of the Upper Valley (TMPUV) and is central to every aspect of our work with youth and mentors across 11+ rural Vermont towns. Our director relies on a laptop for daily operations, securely managing confidential participant data, tracking mentor-mentee interactions, and maintaining accurate digital records. A laptop also enables us to recruit, screen, and train mentors through online outreach, digital resources, and virtual meetings, a critical strategy in a geographically dispersed area. Prompt and consistent communication with schools, families, and community partners depends on digital tools accessed through a reliable laptop. It is also indispensable for creating and managing social media, website updates, and digital materials that raise program awareness and help us reach new volunteers and supporters. A laptop is vital for grant writing, budget tracking, and outcome reporting, ensuring TMPUV’s sustainability and accountability. Our director uses it to develop and share trauma-informed, equity-centered resources and to access current best practices in youth mentoring. Because our work is community-based and often remote, a laptop ensures flexibility and secure, consistent, access to essential files and tools. In summary, a laptop is an essential tool that enables TMPUV to connect, support, and uplift youth across the Upper Valley.

Purchase books for the program.