NVRH receives grant from the Vermont Community Foundation to host free family dinner

ST. JOHNSBURY, Vt. (date) – Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital (NVRH) recently received a $2,780.00 grant from the Vermont Community Foundation’s Spark! Connecting Community grant program. The grant will help further NVRH’s mission of working to increase community access to services that strengthen and support youth and families by celebrating the positive influence parents have on their children.

Thanks to this grant, NVRH is able to join FamilyDay® in hosting a free community family dinner as well as free family activities. Founded in 2001 by the National Center on Addiction, FamilyDay® is a nation-wide movement to remind parents that spending time together and frequent family dinners are effective tools to help keep America’s youth substance free.

“Laying a strong foundation that promotes open communication when your child is very young, like 10 or 12, makes talking easier once your child is a teenager,” said Creighton Drury, CEO of Center on Addiction. “You can build this foundation by engaging in small, simple activities with your kids –like sharing a meal, playing a game or just asking about your child’s day.”

Open to all families with children in the NVRH service area, this free sit-down meal will be offered to parents and their children to encourage regular family dinners. The event will also encourage parents to open lines of communications, provide an opportunity for parents to connect with other parents from the community, promote social interaction across generations and provide parents with helpful parenting materials.

“It’s amazing what simply sharing time together can do for a family,” said Cheryl Chandler, NVRH Regional Prevention Partnerships Coordinator. “Spending time together allows family members to connect and support each other, and in a way, this grant does the same thing: it makes it possible for NVRH and community partners to come together to nourish and in turn, strengthen the local community.”

The Spark! Connecting Community grant program puts building and nurturing community front and center. The Foundation aims to support the work happening throughout Vermont’s 251 towns that builds social capital. These grants—where a small amount can make a big difference—are intended to light the spark that keeps Vermonters healthy and happy.

The FamilyDay® free community family dinner will take place from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Monday, September 23, 2019 at the Northeast Kingdom Community Action Parent Child Center (NEKCA PCC). Registration is required and space is limited. Please call Bobbie Lepine at 748-6040 x221 to register by Monday, September 16. Transportation will be provided by Rural Community Transportation (RCT). Please indicate whether or not you and your family need transportation when registering. For more information on how to celebrate family time, visit www.casafamilyday.org.