Grantees

DREAM's Teen Leadership Program is designed to foster self-esteem and leadership skills in the teen populations of each of the seven DREAM communities.

Addison Central Teens provides a daily after school drop in space with a healthy meal, adult mentorship and support, and socio-emotional skill building opportunities for youth 12-18. We are expanding our drop in service alongside our additional critical programs, specifically our life skills classes, and we are broadening our community building support and activities for marginalized and minority youth. ACT strives to provide youth with the tools to succeed as teens and future adults. We host groups for LGBTQ+ youth, and for teens struggling with their mental health, and workshops on financial literacy to support teens from all angles. We hope to expand these programs to serve a broader range of identities, and build a variety life skills.

Engage youth in choosing healthy behavior by 1) creating a mentoring initiative of both training existing mentors and providing a Hope Works mentor model at two pilot sites; 2) expand men's youth violence prevention educational workshops into new populations of teen centers; and 3) expand their successful male role model presentations into co-ed and women's groups.

Create a group of "Dynamic Dads" with special focus on adolescent fathers.

Lyndon Institute, a Town Academy high school and Career & Technical Education center, has supported NEK families for more than 155 years. Education in the NEK plays a crucial role; ensuring resilience and sustainability by equipping the next generation with the skills necessary to address the social and economic challenges associated within a historically under-resourced community. Lyndon Institute in partnership with Northeast Kingdom Community Action and CCV will advance the pilot program started in fall of 2024 by growing capacity in support of VT’s need for ECE professionals with career-focused curriculum, licensure as a Teaching Assistant upon graduation, Dual-Enrollment college courses, and targeted education-related internships

Shire Kids is spearheading the effort to increase early childhood literacy by expanding availability of Dolly Parton's Imagination Library to all children from birth to five in Southern Vermont. The Imagination Library is a book-gifting program that mails a high-quality, age-appropriate book to enrolled children every month until the child's fifth birthday. By empowering young Vermonters with the earliest tools of literacy, books, we are establishing a lifelong love of reading a learning. After serving over 1,500 children Bennington County for the last two years, Shire Kids is expanding. On January 1st, 2020, Shire Kids began enrollment in nine additional towns in Windham and Windsor Counties and we plan to keep growing.

Provide a regular opportunity for parents and caregivers to receive support and education regarding early childhood nutrition and activity. To also increase health and wellness of caregivers, parents and children as a result of engaging in healthy nutrition practices and learn way to enange in active play.

Program will create a continuum of research-based prevention education programs that begin at the early childhood education years (0-5) and continues through high school.