THE COMMITTEE ON TEMPORARY SHELTER VOL. 33, NO. 2 www.cotsonline.org FALL 2015 #172vt A GIFT in someone’S name Alternative gifts End homelessness, one from COTS child at a time Send a Katharine Montstream holiday card: Make a minimum $10 donation COTS launched our #172vt campaign to end to COTS in someone’s name, and we’ll homelessness one child at a time in March. send the recipient a beautiful Katharine The #172vt campaign is an effort to bring Montstream card with this message: “A attention to the urgent and growing needs of generous donation has been made to homeless children. The number of homeless the Committee on Temporary Shelter children nationally has surged in recent years in your name. This gift of warmth to all-time record highs. Today, one in every 30 and shelter will help families and children in the United States is homeless. individuals who are experiencing the crisis of homelessness make it through Vermont has echoed these disturbing trends. the harsh winter months. Happy In the fall of 2014, there were 140 homeless holidays and best wishes for the new school-aged children, plus 32 children under year.” To order, call Gillian at (802) age 5. That made 172 homeless children in our 864-7402, Ext. 207 or email gilliant@ community in October 2014. cotsonline.org. The campaign was made possible with a Small & Inspiring grant from the Vermont Community Foundation and support from KeyBank and the Church Street Marketplace. The #172vt campaign’s kickoff event included 172 students from Rice Memorial High School, and featured a display of four school buses in front of Burlington City Hall. Each student from Rice symbolically represented a child experiencing homelessness in our community, and the four buses showed how many buses you would need to transport 172 homeless children. continued page 2 Above, right: In May, Champlain Elementary School’s choir hosted a benefit concert for the #172vt campaign at The Spot in Burlington, raising more than $1,200. Below: At the For more Alternative Giving Ideas, see kickoff in March, 172 students from Rice Memorial High School demonstrated what 172 Page 4. children looks like, as they stood on the Burlington City Hall steps. Dee PT Great Diaper DriVE 2015 This year’s goal: 40,000 diapers! Since 2007, Jason Fitzgerald and Dee Physical Therapy have led the Dee PT Great Diaper Drive. This year’s goal: 40,000 diapers! continued page 3 172VT...continued from page 1 Our speakers included: Gov. Peter Shumlin, Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington Bishop Christopher Coyne, Agency of Human Services Secretary Hal Cohen, King Street Center Executive Director Vicky Smith, and Rice Student Council President Griffin Cunningham. COTS Executive Director Rita Markley also addressed the crowd of supporters. Ten days after the event, Gov. Shumlin came to COTS and announced a statewide initiative to end family homelessness by 2020. HomeFront is published twice a year, The #172vt campaign continued via social media through the spring, summer and fall in March and November, by: and sparked a number of student-led efforts on behalf of homeless families. Students COMMITTEE ON stood up for their struggling peers through concerts, car washes, lemonade stands, TEMPORARY SHELTER famers’ market sales, and collection drives. PO Box 1616 Burlington, VT 05402 In the late summer, the #172vt Back-to-School Drive provided school supplies to 802-864-7402 children for the upcoming academic year. The drive was made possible through the fax 802-864-2612 support of KeyBank, Kinney Drugs and Staples’ South Burlington Copy & Print. The www.cotsonline.org backpacks and additional supplies were distributed through COTS, the Burlington Boys & Girls Club, the Sara Holbrook Center, the King Street Center, Spectrum Youth Established 1982 & Family Services, and other community partners. BOARD OF DIRECTORS We are happy to report that a year later, following an increased awareness, more money Jeffrey Nolan, Chair Tom Torti, Vice Chair for prevention, and changes in housing policy the number has declined. The survey Debra Royce, Treasurer of school district’s homeless liaisons revealed 133 children experiencing homelessness Paul Lekstutis, Secretary in our community: 116 schoolchildren, plus 17 children under age 5. Our work Beth Anderson continues – even one homeless child is one too many. Thank you for your help! Sean Collins Catherine Dingle Left: The awareness campaign continued Laurie Gunn into the fall with the Back to School Drive, George Hubbard Michael H. Lipson where more than 172 backpacks and Jeff Martin additional supplies were collected and Shelley Richardson distributed to children via COTS and our Brigitte Ritchie community partners. Below left: Gov. Bob Steis Peter Shumlin and Bishop Christopher Rita Markley, Executive Director Coyne joined COTS for the kickoff. Below right: Ivah, age 6, worked tirelessly and independently to sell lemonade on the A United Way Member Agency Burlington Bike Path to raise awareness and money for COTS. Editor Becky Holt Writers Daniel Frey, Lori Goldman, Tamira Martel, Gillian Taylor Designer Lisa Cadieux, Liquid Studio FOLLOW US ONLINE Let all of your friends and followers know that you think 172 homeless children in our www.cotsonline.org community is unacceptable. Use the hashtag #172vt to join a community of people fighting against childhood homelessness. Tweet a storm! Take to Instagram! Flood www.facebook.com/COTSonline Facebook! Do anything you can to get the word out about the #172vt campaign. @COTSvt Pinterest.com/cotsvt For more information on how to raise awareness about the growing number of homeless youth, contact Lori Goldman at [email protected] and follow the #172vt hashtag. www.cotsonline.org COTS HOMEFRONT FALL 2015 2 More on the COTS blog Diaper Drive...continued from page 1 Visit cotsonline.orG to read more The diapers they collect help families in COTS services for an entire year. Visit our blog to read more about these Daystation Mandalas Diapers for one child, for one month great initiatives: Former AmeriCorps (now COTS staffer) cost about $60. For families struggling Sydney Kalas, following the suggestion to return or stabilize housing, this of a local art therapist, decided to donation makes it a little easier to introduce mandalas – geometrically make ends meet, while also helping intricate designs of Indian origin – to them care for their child. guests of the Daystation. Guest-made mandalas (intricate, artistic designs), The drive continues through Dec. along with other artwork, now line 22nd, with three Dee Physical Therapy the walls of the Daystation and the diaper drop-off sites: Waystation. “There are many goals at • 23 San Remo Dr., South Burlington the Daystation, and one of those goals • Field House, 166 Athletic Dr., is to make this place more homey,” Shelburne Sydney said. • 52 Farmall Dr., Hinesburg Main Street Makeover Sydney Kalas with guest-created artwork Diapers can be dropped off between The Main Street Family Shelter under- 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday-Thursday, went major weatherization renovations and between 7 a.m. through 4 p.m. this summer. The project’s goals: to Fridays. For questions, call (802) make the shelter more livable for guests 865-0010, or email Jason at and to lower COTS’ annual energy costs. [email protected]. The partnership and generous support of Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity’s (CVOEO), Champlain Valley Weatherization, Commons Energy, and Consumer Construction made this project possible. What started with an Volunteers needed energy audit ended with bringing the historic structure in line with the 2015 for Phonathon energy codes. The COTS annual Phonathon starts Nov. 30. Volunteers call COTS Main Street Family Garden supporters to thank them for their past When AmeriCorps Macy Margolin Partnership with UVM donations and ask them to consider a arrived at COTS family shelter, she Last school year, COTS partnered with gift again this year. found they already had a small container the Cabot Community Challenge course, If you would like to volunteer, as a garden, made out of several storage part of the University of Vermont’s caller or in the mailroom, call Lori at bins. Her goal: Build a 100-square- Community Development and Applied (802) 864-7402, Ext. 207, or email foot, raised bed, garden in its place, to Economics department. Led by lecturer her at [email protected]. We need supplement produce for COTS’ healthy Kate Woodruff, in collaboration with 50 volunteers, 5:30-9 p.m. Nov. snack and meal program for youth. And, Roberta MacDonald of Cabot Creamery 30–Dec. 4 and Dec. 7–8; morning that’s exactly what she did! Inspired by Co-op, COTS worked with hours available are Dec. 9. Thank you a national reading program that rewards dynamic students who for your help. children for reading throughout the created original new summer months, Macy also created marketing tools a “Summer Veggie Challenge” that and helped raise similarly incentivized children to eat awareness about vegetables. Children received points homelessness on based on how nutritious a vegetable campus. was and how much of it they ate. They also received bonus points for trying a Sticker designed by vegetable for the first time. artist and UVM graduate Jackson Tupper) www.cotsonline.org COTS HOMEFRONT FALL 2015 3 Volunteer SpotliGht National Service Launch and Governor’s Service Awards KeyBank and Macy Margolin were recognized at Governor’s Service Awards, as part of the National Service Launch for AmeriCorps and SeniorCorps, in October. KeyBank and Brigitte Richie, Director of Community Relations and Public Affairs, were paramount in the success of our #172vt campaign. KeyBank spearheaded the #172vt Back to School Drive. After generously donating 172 backpacks to be filled, KeyBank Above left: Brigitte Ritchie and Don Baker of KeyBank.