Brooks Memorial Library moves services online
BRATTLEBORO - Brooks Memorial Library might not be open, but many services it offers are still available.
For quick and easy updates about the community and library, as well as links to online services and fun things to do at home, visit Brooks Memorial Library's Virtual Library at sites.google.com/view/brookslibraryvt.
Staff members are frequently updating the site. For assistance, call 802-254-5290, ext. 1206, or email [email protected].
Free breakfast sandwiches for kids on weekends
BRATTLEBORO - Free breakfast sandwiches will be available for kids on Saturdays and Sundays starting in May at the Retreat Farm on Route 30.
The sausage or cheese egg sandwiches, made fresh with local eggs and sausage, will be served between 9 a.m. and noon.
To honor the social distancing details, place your order at the drive-up order area and then drive up to the pickup station. People on foot who maintain social distance are also welcome.
CherryRail Farm, a farm on Meadowbrook Road that specializes in raising pork and shiitake mushrooms, will donate the sausage and cater the meals. Pete and Gerry's Eggs, Against the Grain, Brown and Roberts, Leader Home Center, and Wendy's have provided additional donations and support.
For more information, email Jim Westbrook at [email protected].
Spring Into Health 5K will go on - virtually
TOWNSHEND - Grace Cottage Family Health & Hospital's 11th annual Spring into Health 5K is going virtual this year, so people can get out and get physical while maintaining social distancing.
Run, walk, roll, or push your way to your own finish line. You choose the day and your course - it could even be on your treadmill, if you wish.
Registration is open now at $15 per participant.
If you register by Tuesday, May 5, you will receive an official Spring Into Health 5K numbered runner's bib to wear while doing your 5K. (No T-shirts will be produced this year.)
Send in a photo of yourself wearing your runner's bib by May 10, and it will be posted on Grace Cottage's Facebook page.
Want to help even more? Start a Facebook fundraiser so that others can encourage and applaud you by supporting Grace Cottage Family Health and Hospital.
For more information, call 802-365-9109 or email [email protected].
Many food options available for families with young children
BRATTLEBORO - Have your children lost access to meals they were receiving at child care? Every school district and supervisory union in the state is providing free meals to all children 18 and under. Dial 2-1-1 to find out how to begin accessing nutritious meals for children younger than 18.
Programs such as 3SquaresVT and WIC are also available to provide assistance during these uncertain times. If you have any questions, reach out to Child Nutrition Initiatives Specialist Keely Agan ([email protected]; 802-448-4396).
For more information about these programs and to learn how you can apply, visit the Hunger Free Vermont COVID-19 response page at hungerfreevt.org/coronavirus.
HCRS opens free phone support line
SPRINGFIELD - In response to the increased need for support to manage the stress and anxiety associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, Health Care and Rehabilitation Services (HCRS), southeastern Vermont's community mental health agency, has opened a phone support Warm Line (800-917-1622).
The Warm Line is staffed with trained professionals offering support daily from 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. The line is anonymous and open to anyone in Windsor and Windham counties.
HCRS is also working with some rural communities to host online workshops about managing stress and anxiety as well as understanding suicide signs and risk. These one-hour workshops are designed to be informative and interactive. Visit the agency's Facebook page (facebook.com/HCRSVermont) for more details.
The agency continues to accept new clients seeking to receive mental health, substance use, or developmental disability services. Although many services must currently be provided remotely, the use of telehealth is very effective. Critical outreach staff will also provide face-to-face support.
Community members who want to sign up for services can contact HCRS toll-free: Brattleboro area (855-220-9428), Springfield area (855-220-9429), and Hartford area (855-220-9430). There are currently minimal wait times to access services and supports.
Anyone who lives in Windsor or Windham counties may call HCRS's 24-hour toll-free crisis hotline (800-622-4235) if they or someone they know is experiencing thoughts of intent to harm, either themselves or others, or for other mental health emergencies.
For more information, visit hcrs.org.
St. Michael's Episcopal Church offers daily online services
BRATTLEBORO - St. Michael's Episcopal Church continues to offer services each day. All are welcome to join any service at any time.
• Sunday mornings: Services continue at 8 and 10:15 a.m. The Adult Forum has resumed from 9 to 10 a.m. Eastertide gatherings, which will follow the 10:15 a.m. service on May 3 and May 10, are described as “somewhat like coffee hour with some structure (and you have to provide your own coffee).”
• Daily prayer: Morning prayer begins at 8 a.m. on weekdays and evening prayer each day at 5 p.m. “These services are ways to connect with God and keep a daily routine of prayer,” the church writes.
• Wednesday noon prayer, saint of the day: This service will offer an opportunity to come together for prayer, conversation, and a story about the saint of the day.
• The Thursday evening Contemplative Service is now offered from 5:30 to 6 p.m.
Each of these gatherings has its own Zoom link found at stmichaelsvermont.org.
Planned Parenthood of Northern New England launches new telehealth service
COLCHESTER- Planned Parenthood of Northern New England (PPNNE) has announced the launch of a new telehealth program in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.
It allows patients to access high-quality, affordable health care services by phone or through a private and secure video conferencing platform that connects them with PPNNE's health care providers.
The program was launched amid the coronavirus pandemic “in recognition that people's reproductive and sexual health care can't wait,” according to a news release.
Through telehealth, patients can access services remotely, with fewer or no in-person visits. Using internet technology, providers will answer patient questions, manage prescriptions, and help patients address their sexual and reproductive-health-care needs remotely.
PPNNE is still offering in-person visits when necessary at 12 health centers around Vermont, including at its office on High Street.
For more information, visit ppnne.org or call 866-476-1321.
VDART addresses pet-food needs during pandemic
BRATTLEBORO - As part of its mission to keep pets with their families during the COVID-19 crisis, the Vermont Disaster Animal Response Team (VDART) has been busy assessing needs, fundraising, and providing pet food to food banks across the state.
Earlier this month, the Windham Disaster Animal Response Team (WinDART), a regional team of the statewide group, donated $500 of pet food to the Vermont Foodbank's Brattleboro warehouse.
Staff at the Windham County Humane Society assisted with the delivery, which will be available to the regional food bank's local member agencies in Windham County and beyond.
This initiative was part of a COVID-19 Emergency Animal Care Grant the group received from the Humane Society of the United States to support animals who are victims of the pandemic crisis and its current and future economic consequences.
Earlier this month, VDART connected the Vermont Foodbank to a grant opportunity with Greater Good, a national nonprofit that protects people, pets, and the planet. As a result, VFB is expecting a large shipment of pet food in early May to help restock Vermont food pantries and meet this growing need.
Donations can be made at VermontDART.org/donate.
Rock River Artists cancels 2020 studio tour
SOUTH NEWFANE- Rock River Artists (RRA), a 17-member collective of fine artists and craftspeople in southeastern Vermont, has canceled its open studio tour due to the public health emergency caused by the COVID-19 virus.
The nearly three-decade-old RRA said in a news release that it wants followers to know that while they are practicing social distancing, members of this creative hub are “hunkered down in our studios creating some of our best work."
Visit rockriverartists.com to see virtual studio tours and samplings of new work.
“We'll miss your visits, but we look forward to staying connected through these trying times, and we especially look forward to seeing you in our studios again in 2021,” group members said in the press release.