Do you have a device that you are no longer using? We are looking for device donations so we can clean, refurbish, and set up these used devices for families who do not have a device to use to stay connected on the internet. Families now need devices to access services like health care, wellness, social connectivity, and social & educational services and we see this need continuing throughout this crisis.

We are seeking devices that are newer than 5 years old. We are accepting cell phones, tablets, and laptops. Please use the link below to access a Fillable PDF with information about your device, then email it to connectivity@gmunitedway.org.

Thank you in advance for your help in keeping families safe and connected during the COVID-19 crisis. Click Donate Now to access the PDF with device donation information. When you have completed the form, please email it to Carrie Stahler at connectivity@gmunitedway.org.

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This time of year we are usually planning our route to spread cheer and love by delivering roses donated by generous community members to area nursing homes.

This year, our Annual Roses event has been canceled and those same nursing homes have not had visitors for weeks because of the coronavirus. We are thrilled that elders in our communities are safe and protected, but we know they still need some love and cheer. This year for Mother’s Day we are asking you to join us in supporting them with a Card Shower.

Cards can be homemade, store-bought, or any combination of the two! Below are the names and addresses of contacts at our area nursing or elder care facilities. Mail your cards to them so they can hang them in public spaces and share them with the elders in these facilities. Your messages can be ones of love, appreciation, and community, whatever moves you! You can focus on Mother’s Day or another reason, the main idea is that we are sharing our joy with folks who have not been able to have their friends and family nearby!

If you join us, please send us some photos of your cards before they go out! Email pictures to info@gmunitedway.org or post them to our Facebook page!

• Genesis Health and Rehab:   Melissa Haupt or Melody Richardson , 98 Hospitality Drive, Berlin,  05603
• Woodridge Nursing Home:  Dana Figueroa, 142 Woodridge Drive, Berlin, VT  05602
• Heaton Woods Senior Residence:  Attn: Susie – Activities, 10 Heaton Street, Montpelier, 05602
• The Gary Residence: Residents, 149 Main Street, Montpelier, 05602
• Barre Gardens:  Susan Gile, 378 Prospect Street, Barre, 05641
• Mayo Healthcare:  Activities Dept , 71 Richardson Avenue, Northfield, 05663
• Menig Nursing Home: 215 Tom Wicker Lane, Randolph Center, VT 05061
• Greensboro Nursing Home:  Activities Dept, 47 Maggies Pond Road, Greensboro, 05841
• The Pines Rehabilitation & Health: Attn: Lizbeth Rodgers, Activities, 601 Red Village Rd, Lyndonville, VT 05851
• St. Johnsbury Health & Rehab: Attn: Maria Luggelle, Admission Dir, 1248 Hospital Dr, St Johnsbury, VT 05819

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Use this page to find ways to Give Help, Get Help, and, Volunteer

We’re dedicated to supporting our communities through the COVID-19 pandemic and the social and economic fallout that may result from it. To support all of our neighbors, we’re working with our existing network of partnerships and the community at large to develop a comprehensive list of community-based services and volunteer opportunities updated on a regular basis.

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Disclaimer: We’re sharing opportunities and needs in communities across the region in an effort to provide real-time info. Green Mountain United Way has not vetted or researched all of these opportunities. Please keep yourself and your community safe by practicing social distancing and the guidelines established by healthvermont.gov.

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Green Mountain United Way is pleased to announce that Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital (NVRH) has joined Green Mountain United Way’s Working Bridges™ program and will be bringing supports to its employees.

Working Bridges, a program of Green Mountain United Way, is designed to foster the shared understanding that barriers such as childcare, food insecurity and acute need for emergency financial assistance get in the way of continuous employment and can derail good employees. Working Bridges brings Resource Coordinator Michelle Clark on-site weekly at NVRH to provide assistance to employees in order to navigate local resources. As a trained K.E.E.P. Financial Coach, Clark is also available to coach employees who are navigating complicated financial situations. In addition to Resource Coordination, Working Bridges™ provides Income Advance Loans to employees, Mobile Volunteer Tax Preparation Program, and on-site classes based on employee needs.

“It is another resource that we can give our employees to help them smoothly navigate the rough patches in their lives. It also helps to build their capacity to self-manage in the future and that’s one of the things I really value about the Working Bridges program,” offered Shawn Tester, CEO of Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital in St. Johnsbury. “Additionally, it is a resource that shows employees that you value them as a part of our organization, and it makes them want to stay and contribute meaningfully to our business. We have already seen this program work here in the Northeast Kingdom and we are excited to bring this to the employees of NVRH,” continued Tester.

Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital joins Central Vermont Medical Center, Weidmann Electrical Technology, Northern Counties Health Care, Northeast Kingdom Human Services, Central Vermont Home Health and Hospice, and ABC-LOL Childcare as the 7^th Working Bridges program site served by Green Mountain United Way in their five-county region and the 5^th site in the Northeast Kingdom.

“This program brings support for employees who are integral to caring for our community in the Northeast Kingdom. We are honored to partner with NVRH to serve the needs of employees so they are able to better serve and care for individuals and families health care needs. This hospital is so well known throughout our community for the support and care they provide – we are fortunate to be able to ensure that their employees continue to be able to offer the high quality of care they are known for and are supported by our Resource Coordinator in their own lives,” said Tawnya Kristen, Executive Director of Green Mountain United Way.

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Green Mountain United Way would like to congratulate a new cohort of recently certified K.E.E.P. Financial Coaches. These individuals passed the Introduction to Financial Coaching Course with Green Mountain United Way at Capstone Community Action in December and are now working toward integrating financial coaching practices into the work they do at their nonprofit organizations.

K.E.E.P. Financial Coaching is a program of Green Mountain United Way where nonprofit, client-facing staff are training in the emerging practice of Financial Coaching. This work helps clients learn to set and achieve their financial goals. Through the program, both coaches and their nonprofit organizations receive ongoing support from United Way, peer-to-peer support from nearly 80 financial coaches throughout Vermont, and ongoing education opportunities provided by experienced community partners, in addition to the initial financial literacy and coaching training they took to become certified.

Congratulations to these new K.E.E.P. Financial Coaches and the agencies, organizations, and clients they serve:

• Michelle Clark                     Green Mountain United Way
• Nicole DiDomenico            Norwich University, Global Community Initiatives, Rotary
• Pattie Dupuis                       Downstreet Housing & Community Development
• Faith Foley                            Burlington Housing Authority
• Laura Furber                        Hunger Mountain Coop
• Morgan Gray                       Vermont State Housing Authority
• Lindsey  Hedges                  Steps to End Domestic Violence
• Sarah Kenney                       Umbrella
• Tamera Pariseau                 State of Vermont – DCF/Economic Services
• Telma Patterson                 Vermont State Housing Authority
• Liz Walsh                              The Drawing Board, EM Walsh Bookkeeping
• Mary Wilson                        Vermont State Housing Authority

 “We are really excited about the breadth of experience our financial coaches bring to this program and to one another. They work across the sectors serving Vermonters and bring an incredible amount of professional knowledge to one another through this program. The one thread that brings them together is that the Vermonters they serve struggle with financial insecurity. By empowering these professionals as financial coaches, those they serve will benefit from this shared knowledge and the resources they now have access to,” offered Tawnya Kristen, Executive Director of Green Mountain United Way

“Becoming a Financial Coach has given me the tools I need to help people see that big dreams start with a little savings,” offered Ramsey Papp, Family Development Specialist at Capstone Community Action and K.E.E.P. Financial Coach.

For more information about K.E.E.P. Financial Coaches, go to gmunitedway.org/our-work/income/keep or call Green Mountain United Way at 802-613-3989.

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Just one year ago in December, Green Mountain United Way, The Phoenix, Green Mountain CrossFit, and Shannon Brennan partnered to bring the mission of The Phoenix to Vermonters in Central Vermont. Just one year later this partnership has opened access to this free sober active community at five locations throughout Northern Vermont and we are working to support the opening of the first Northeast Kingdom site in winter 2020!

The Phoenix-Vermont seeks to bring a free sober active community to individuals who have suffered from a substance use disorder and to those who choose to live sober. Using a peer support model, they help members heal and rebuild their lives while also striving to eliminate the stigma around recovery.

Highlights for the first year include the success of many members who make it to class each week and bring friends and family to support and join them. In addition, Phoenix-Vermont member Megan C, an original Phoenix VT member who has been showing up since the very first day, is now a certified CrossFit Level 1 CrossFit coach1 Megan currently coaches Phoenix Central classes on alternating Saturdays at Green Mountain CrossFit. Amazing!

Congratulations to our partners and the incredible people in recovery who inspire us each and every week with your hard work, determination, and grit. Keep up the great work!

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Central Vermont and Northeast Kingdom Businesses Help Foster Kids through Green Mountain United Way Tatum’s Totes Holiday Drive

Montpelier, Vermont – January 10, 2020

This past December, employees at businesses and individual community members throughout Green Mountain United Way’s service region in Central Vermont and the Northeast Kingdom came together to support the foster children and foster families served Department for Children and Families in the by the Barre, Newport, and St. Johnsbury districts by donating gifts.

In November and December, gifts for over 225 children and families were collected from participating businesses, individuals, and community groups including Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont, the First Congregational Church of Berlin, Denis, Ricker, & Brown Insurance, Edward Jones offices, Williamstown Blue Devils girls basketball team, Noyle Johnson Insurance, Rise Vermont, Union Mutual Insurance of Vermont, the Vermont Land Trust and VSECU.

Each participant “sponsored” a foster child or foster family and purchased a gift or two, like a book or toy for the child. These gifts were collected and organized by the Green Mountain United Way staff and volunteers.

“Each year during the holiday drive we have a front-row seat to watch the generosity of our community unfold. We are so fortunate to be able to help ensure that our community supports the children in foster care who most need to know that the entire community loves them and wants the best for them. This is just one small way that Green Mountain United Way and Tatum’s Totes can do that,” said Tawnya Kristen, Green Mountain United Way’s Executive Director.

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Green Mountain United Way is pleased to announce that Julia K. Davis as joined the organization as Community Impact Program Manager. She will manage Green Mountain United Way’s programmatic work including Working Bridges, K.E.E.P. Financial Coaching, as well as Tatum’s Totes.

A graduate of Kent State, Julia has been living in Vermont for 5 years working first in farming before moving to the Human Services Sector in various roles at Onion River Crossroads in Montpelier. Her work there focused on case management and direct service for girls in residential treatment. Through that experience, Julia’s passion for serving her community has developed and she sees her new role at Green Mountain United Ways as a way to deepen that commitment to service.  

“We are thrilled that Julia has joined us. Her experience working with young women in the foster care system has already helped to inform the work we do at United Way with Tatum’s Totes, and in implementing the various elements of the Working Bridges Program,” said United Way’s Executive Director Tawnya Kristen. “Her perspective and enthusiasm for service work are what we need to help move our programs forward to serve more Vermonters in our region.”

“Working with the children of Vermont families who are struggling moved me to take a step further in my work and look at the broader stories behind the families being separated, including better understanding the supports that might be missing in our communities. Vermont is a beautiful but difficult state to live in. I’m excited to be part of United Way and particularly the Working Bridges Program. What this program offers is incredible – access to available resources, individualized support for low-income families, financial coaching tools; accessibility is a big piece of the puzzle. I’m excited to grow and continue serving the community with this organization,” offered Davis, who lives in Plainfield.

In addition to her work at Green Mountain United Way, Julia is the lead singer and guitarist for the band Yestrogen and is passionate about climate justice.

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