Since December 2017, YMCA of Vermont has been selected to benefit from the Hannaford Community Bag and Bloomin’ 4 Good Programs six times. The organization has used donations from Hannaford to continue empowering women, creating inclusive spaces, and promoting equity for all.
Tell us about the YWCA of Vermont.
The mission of the YWCA of Vermont is to eliminate racism, empower women, and promote peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all. Especially with the current political climate, we are rooting into our mission and trying to expand access to our programs for all the kids who want to come.
YWCA is a global organization with just under 200 different associations across the United States. Every YWCA adapts to meet community-specific needs. As part of our effort to adapt to our community in Vermont, we have looked specifically at the childcare need in the summer. About 85% of our campers are from Vermont, and a large percentage of them need a scholarship to attend. We are happy to be able to provide scholarships to make sure we are supporting families in the summer months when the kids are out of school.
Our main program is Camp Hochelaga, an inclusive girls+ camp in South Hero. Here, we focus on leadership development and our values of empowerment, diversity, compassion, play, joy, community, and environmental education. These themes are central to all our offerings at the YWCA of Vermont.
Here, we focus on leadership development and our values of empowerment, diversity, compassion, play, joy, community, and environmental education.
What services do you provide to the community?
We have specific leadership development weekends, such as Leaders on the Lake and Leaders on the Rise, during the spring and fall. In the summer, we run our anchor program, Camp Hochelaga. The camp seeks to embody our mission and our values in many ways. About 50% of the staff is international to foster a robust cultural exchange and expose kids to things they wouldn’t normally encounter in their day-to-day lives.
Our staff are empowered to teach the kids that they each have a voice at our camp. We believe it’s important for them to be able to speak up and select their own classes. We encourage them to openly discuss how they would like to shift camp to cater to their needs or interests.
One of our related programs is No Bunk Empty. We partner with the Vermont Department for Children and Families and work to get all the kids in state custody or foster care into summer camps. We piloted this program last summer with 10 kids who each came for one week. Some of the kids enjoyed camp so much that they stayed for additional weeks, which we were really happy to see.
We received incredible feedback and are excited to be honoring that program again. All the kids can come back to camp if they want to. That’s part of the program because we want to be a stable place for them to rely on, especially if their home situation is unstable. We are also introducing new kids to the program and are hoping to roll this program out statewide with additional partner camps.
The fact that Camp Hochelaga has been around for over a hundred years is really special. When I moved to Vermont, I was shocked to find that almost everyone I talked to had a connection to Camp Hochelaga. Seeing the program’s impact throughout its long history is beautiful, and it is an honor to be part of it for a short time. The connection between our alumna, who are almost a hundred years old and still in our community, and the 5-year-old kids in the program now is really important and impactful.
Seeing the program’s impact throughout its long history is beautiful, and it is an honor to be part of it for a short time.
How has the YWCA of Vermont used the funds from the Hannaford Community Bag and Bloomin’ 4 Good Programs to further its mission?
The need for scholarships has increased dramatically this year. All the additional donations we receive from this program are funneled into the scholarship program. It is wonderful to have extra support because we can never have too much in our program bucket to help families access camp. We work hard to ensure that every kid who applies can get into our program for at least one week. We are proud that even if a kid cannot come for as many weeks as they were dreaming of, they can still come to camp. We are continuously working to expand access.
Tell us a story about a program, service, or initiative that the Hannaford Community Bag and Bloomin’ 4 Good Programs have supported.
We often get emails from parents telling us things like, “Thank you so much! You don’t understand how much it means to my child to be able to come to camp. We didn’t believe this would happen for us this year, and it makes such a difference for our child.”
It reminds us why we work so hard to get additional scholarship funds. I also have a sweet story about one of the kids who benefited from No Bunk Empty. All the funds to support this program come from our scholarship bucket.
Last year, one of the kids came and initially had a difficult time. We sat down with her and did a lot of work to ensure she felt like she belonged. She is one of the kids who ended up coming back for a second week. During her second week, she opened up and connected even more with counselors and other campers. As an acknowledgment of her growth, she won the Butterfly Award at the end of the summer.
The counselors voted for the award without knowing who was on scholarships or who was not. We don’t find that relevant to share. This girl receiving this award shows how kids integrate into our community and find a sense of belonging. No Bunk Empty is a program we are so proud to have, and we couldn’t do it without scholarship donations.
Have you noticed any changes in community awareness or support since becoming a partner of the Hannaford Community Bag and Bloomin’ 4 Good Programs?
It is hard to name exactly what the impact has been, but we know that being able to share that we’re part of this program on social media really helps let our community know that we are supported by large community members like Hannaford. The program also gives us visibility and shows that we are a serious member of this nonprofit community in Vermont. Hopefully, it helps other people learn about us and be able to support us as well.
The program also gives us visibility and shows that we are a serious member of this nonprofit community in Vermont.
What advice would you give to other nonprofits participating in the Hannaford Community Bag and Bloomin’ 4 Good Programs?
Hannaford makes it really easy to share information about the program on social media. Knowing we’re able to use those resources to quickly share this opportunity with our community feels great. Even if your knee-jerk reaction is that you don’t have time, try to push through that because it really is so easy and so worth it.
Interview with Chelsea Rendlen, Executive Director