Gifford Med. Ctr. Awards $25,000

To 11 Community Organizations

Eleven programs aimed at improving community health will have more money to do their work, thanks to Gifford Medical Center.

The hospital annually gives $25,000 through its Community Health Grant Program. Receiving grants in 2008 are the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life of Central Vermont, the Vermont Chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Lifestyle Foundation, Dandelion Day Care in Rochester, the Randolph Recreation Department, the Randolph Union High School track and field and cross-country programs, SafeArt of Chelsea, the Strafford Creative Preschool and the Tunbridge Central School.

Additionally funded were two hospital programs: Eating Healthy Cooking Classes offered by Gifford’s chefs, and very popular in 2007; and a new program offered by Gifford’s physical therapy department. The new therapy treats incontinence and the grant will offset some of the diagnostic testing equipment expense to patients.

"Gifford is extremely pleased to be able to help these organizations through our Community Health Grant Program," said Ashley Lincoln, Director of Development and Marketing at Gifford. 

Gifford began awarding the grants in 2003 to improve community health. The grants were made possible when, in the late 1990s, the hospital committed to creating an endowment with 25 percent of every dollar raised in the Campaign for Gifford. As a result of this fund-raising effort, Gifford now awards $25,000 annually with a goal of keeping people healthy and reducing the need for more costly hospital care.

Gifford Community Health Grant recipients in 2008 will provide physical activity, safe childcare, healthy eating and nutrition information, and more throughout the central Vermont area. The Relay for Life raises money for cancer research and awareness of the disease. The Cystic Fibrosis Lifestyle Foundation, with Gifford’s help, will provide funding, transportation and facilitation of recreation activities to Vermont adolescents and young adults with cystic fibrosis.

Dandelion Day Care is in need of help with expenses, such as winter heating oil.

Kids Place in Randolph will provide parenting classes to Orange County mothers and fathers whose children are in foster care. Kids Place Director Connie Button said the new program will be done in partnership with the Department of Children and Families in White River Junction and be modeled after a successful program in Bennington.

Kids Place monitors visits between parents and their children. This new program, expected to start in the summer, will add an educational component to the visit.

"It’s specifically for children in foster care for their biological parents to have supervised visits and at the same time have parenting classes," Button said. "The kids also have their own special support group, classes and share lunch. The goal is healthy re-unification, and lessening the time children are in foster care."

Other recipients include Randolph Union high school and junior high students participating in track and field and cross-country clubs. These students will receive needed equipment and training facility memberships. The Randolph Recreation Committee will purchase tennis and basketball court benches, balls and other equipment for the School Street courts. SafeArt and the Orange County Domestic and Sexual Violence Task Force will coordinate initiatives aimed at preventing, intervening and healing from traumatic abuse.

The Strafford Creative Preschool will purchase children’s snowshoes to promote the outdoor activity. The Tunbridge Central School will host an artist-in-residence from Circus Smirkus for two weeks so students can experience not only the performance arts, but also physical activity.

In all, nearly $50,000 in grants was requested from the hospital.

"Unfortunately, need always outstrips our ability to give," Lincoln said. "All the applicants are certainly deserving of community support."

____________