MIDDLEBURY, VT -  More than $420,000 was awarded to 51 organizations across the state as part of the Foundation’s Basic Human Needs grant round, which makes awards to organizations that promote children, elderly, and family services; housing, food, and shelter; and health.

The following organizations received grants:

Addison County
AC Dental Care Incorporated was awarded $10,000 to create a community-developed dental practice in Middlebury to help meet the dental care needs of primarily low-income and Medicaid-eligible individuals.

Addison County Housing Coalition was awarded $10,000 to support the Addison County Housing Solutions program, a multi-agency supportive housing program that keeps families and individuals safely and affordably housed.
 
John Graham Shelter was awarded $10,000 to target intensive case management services to assist sixty homeless individuals to attain permanent housing.
 
Lake Champlain Maritime Museum was awarded $1,000 for general support of the Champlain Longboats program, a team boat-building project and extensive youth rowing program.
 
Middlebury Transitional Care Coalition was awarded $9,000 to create storage space for donated home furnishings that will be made available to transitioning families.

Bennington County
Bennington Interfaith Council Emergency Food and Fuel Fund, Inc. was awarded $6,500 to work with member congregations to recruit and train ten mentors who will provide education and support to Food & Fuel Fund clients.

Caledonia County
Northeast Kingdom Youth Services was awarded $9,343 to support the Elm Street Project, an overnight emergency shelter and transitional housing program for youth ages 16-21 years old in Caledonia and S. Essex Counties.

Rural Community Transportation, Inc. was awarded $3,000 to provide coordinated transportation services in the Northeast Kingdom.

Chittenden County
Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf was awarded $10,000 to support the grocery distribution translator position to help refugees and immigrants who speak little English access the Food Shelf’s services.

Intervale Center, Inc. was awarded $3,500 to support the Intervale's Healthy City Gleaning Project which will provide fresh, healthy food to social service agencies and train youth in sustainable organic farming.

King Street Youth Center was awarded $10,000 to support King Street South, a wrap around out-of-school care program for refugee children who attend Champlain Elementary School.
 
Lund Family Center was awarded $10,000 to support Lund's Home-Based Family Services Program, helping families successfully deal with challenges such as lone parenting, social isolation, addiction, and mental illness.
 
Mercy Connections, Inc. was awarded $8,040 to support Kindling Connections, a workplace readiness program offered at the Education and Transition Center in the Old North End of Burlington.

Recycle North was awarded $10,000 to support the Apprentice-style Training Program, a  6-month course for individuals who are ready to work, but need certain credentials for their desired career.
 
Sara Holbrook Community Center was awarded $10,000 to support additional staffing for its after-school program given the large increase in the numbers of children from refugee families.

Spectrum Youth and Family Services was awarded $5,000 to implement a performance measurement system, Results-Based Accountability, throughout Spectrum's residential programs.

Visiting Nurse Association of Chittenden and Grand Isle Counties was awarded $10,000 to improve the health of its clients with chronic disease by hiring a registered dietitian.
 
Women's Rape Crisis Center was awarded $7,500 to provide general operating support given a dramatic increase in clients in the last two years.

Franklin County
Champlain Housing Trust was awarded $10,000 to complete a feasibility study to redevelop three properties in Swanton Village into 15-20 affordable apartments.
 
Montgomery Teen Center (The Basement) was awarded $9,000 to support the start-up of the teen center in donated basement space, including staffing and programming.

Lamoille County
Clarina Howard Nichols Center was awarded $10,000 to increase staffing to ensure consistent availability of quality services.

Out and About Adult Day Care Center was awarded $10,000 to support operating expenses while the center develops a financial plan for on-going sustainability.
 
Salvation Farms was awarded $10,000 to increase Salvation Farms' cold storage and distribution infrastucture to ensure excess farm produce is available to the food- and/or nutritionally-insecure of the Lamoille Valley area and beyond.
 
Orange County 
Orange County Domestic & Sexual Violence Task Force was awarded $10,000 to support staffing for regional teen and adult groups, called Cluster Groups, to identify domestic and sexual violence issues and share ideas about solutions.

White River Valley Interfaith Volunteer Caregivers Network was awarded $3,000 to support the expansion of Home-Safe-Home beyond Orange County, as well as offer one visit to assess fire and fall safety needs at home.
 
Rutland County 
Castleton Community Seniors, Inc. was awarded $5,000 to support building plans and permits to convert a barn on the property into a Community Wellness Center.
 
Washington County 
Central Vermont Community Action Council was awarded $9,880 to support the seed grant program to provide conditional seed capital grants to low-income entrepreneurs, who are often unable to obtain traditional financing and have limited resources.
  
Good Samaritan Haven was awarded $5,000 to provide support for the renovation and construction of an addition to its facility for health and safety, increased energy efficiency, and improved accessibility.

Greater Barre Community Justice Center was awarded $10,000 to support the part-time volunteer coordinator who coordinates a team of three trained community members to support and assist offenders released from prison to the Barre area.

Washington County Youth Service Bureau, Inc. was awarded $10,000 to support the Gateway Project, which provides intense services to 22 young people at Barre City Middle School whose behaviors and life circumstances place them at high risk for social and educational failure.

Windham County 
AIDS Project of Southern Vermont was awarded $7,500 to support the Gathering for Mealtime food program, providing frozen prepared meals, non-perishable food, and a wide variety of frozen meats and vegetables to people living with HIV and their families in rural southern Vermont.

Connecticut River Transit, Inc. was awarded $10,000 to support operating expenses to continue to provide transportation services to people in Windham and southern Windsor Counties.
 
Our Place Drop-In Center was awarded $10,000 to support the Nutrition-Based Food Services Program, to increase the nutrition level of foods offered, educate clients on portion size and meal content, and involve clients in healthy menu planning and food preparation at the Center.

Valley Cares, Inc. was awarded $10,000 to support first-year operating expenses for this new elderly housing facility in Townsend. 
 
Vernon Advent Christian Home was awarded $9,000 to hire a development director to raise funds to support a redesign of its nursing care facility to a more home-like setting. 

Windham Child Care Association was awarded $7,000 to reach out to underserved populations (grandparents, non-native English speakers, and the deaf) in order to provide improved child care referral and subsidy services.

Windsor County 
COVER Home Repair was awarded $10,000 to support the Home Repair Program, which organizes volunteers to work in partnership with low-income, elderly, and disabled Upper Valley residents to provide urgent home repairs at no charge.

Magic Mountain Children's Center was awarded $2,970 to purchase age-appropriate, best practice educational materials, gross motor materials, art supplies, and curriculum materials.
 
Valley Court Diversion Programs was awarded $8,500 to create a "One Up" group in Springfield for teens in grades 9-12 who are contemplating or committed to recovery from drugs and alcohol.
 
Willing Hands Enterprises, Inc. was awarded $10,000 to support the recovery and free distribution of reclaimed produce, baked goods, and prepared foods to those experiencing food insecurity in the Upper Valley.

Statewide 
Kids Are Priority One Coalition was awarded $10,000 to support the new multi-year Champions For Children initiative, an effort to broaden and diversify advocates for improved early childhood development policies and services.

NH/VT Albert Schweitzer Fellows Program was awarded $4,000 to help support two 2007-2008 Schweitzer projects: conducting a needs assessment and developing an action plan at the Pearl Street Clinic in Burlington; working to reduce the incidence of lead-based paint poisoning in children in Sharon, S. Royalton, and Tunbridge.
 
PACE Vermont, Inc. was awarded $7,168 to help support a facilitated strategic planning retreat for its Board of Directors to evaluate progress to date and determine capacity and opportunity to expand PACE to other regions of Vermont.
 
Prevent Child Abuse Vermont was awarded $5,000 to support 150 child sexual abuse prevention trainings in 2008 throughout the state of Vermont.
 
Steps Toward Adult Responsibility (STAR) was awarded $10,000 to create and pilot a six-session curriculum for teens with chronic disease or disability and pair them with college mentors who are also dealing with chronic health conditions.
 
Vermont Campaign for Health Care Security Education Fund was awarded $10,000 to create an outreach and enrollment network, the Vermont Health Care Reform Outreach Initiative, to build awareness of and increase enrollment in the new Catamount Health Plan.
 
Vermont Campaign to End Childhood Hunger was awarded $5,000 to support the Cooking for Life: Young Adult program to empower at-risk teens to improve their health by learning to cook nutritious, affordable meals, and explore the benefits of balanced nutrition and physical activity.
 
Vermont Center for Independent Living was awarded $10,000 to support the Youth Leadership Program, a cross-disability program for high school students and young adults with disabilities, ages 15-25, who want to learn independent living and leadership skills, self-advocacy, and peer mentoring.
 
Vermont Children's Aid Society, Inc. was awarded $10,000 to create a youth advisory group to provide training and consultation for families with an incarcerated parent, and to develop a statewide public awareness campaign about issues faced by the children in these families.
 
Vermont Community Loan Fund was awarded $10,000 to support its Community Facilities Loan Program, providing low-interest lending opportunities to support community-based organizations in the building and renovation of facilities that provide essential services to low- and moderate-income Vermont families.
 
Vermont Foodbank, Inc. was awarded $10,000 to increase the capacity of member agencies to collect and re-distribute nutritious and perishable food by purchasing 20 freezers for member agencies.