Through an on-going process and revision of the BBF Regional Council Action Plan since January 2019, the council is happy to announce that the FY19-FY21 Franklin/Grand Isle Regional Action Plan has been updated! This process was a group effort and each member was able to offer insights to what’s working well in the region and what next steps the council would like to embark on, focusing on gaps that need filling throughout the region! This finalization of the Action Plan will be regularly utilized as the council continues to recruit new BBF council members, consider our group’s annual goals and continue on-going, collective impact strategies to implement tangible change in the community.
The BBF Regional Council is thrilled to announce continued momentum in our mission to implement and support the Universal Developmental Screening Registry in our communities. Through a collaborative partnership with the Parent Child Center of Northwestern Counseling and Support Services, the BBF Council and the Early Intervention team at the PCC-NCSS will offer developmental screenings during the PCC’s community-wide event, ‘Kids’ Fest’, to take place in Taylor Park in St. Albans on August 2nd, 2019 from 2:00-5:00pm. With Developmental Educators providing direct screening support, parents and caregivers will have the opportunity to fill our developmental screenings to learn more about their kids.
While the BBF Regional Council has continued to have a strong, collaborative partnership with Franklin County Home Health Agency, the region is excited to announce the recent arrival of Amy Wenger as the new Maternal Child Health Manager. Amy will continue supporting the nurse home visiting team to provide Maternal Child services through prevention, home health care, pediatric palliative care, etc., working with community and state partners. Through managing Strong Families Vermont Program, Amy brings her own experiences and professional skills to continue forward movement in the region’s mission towards wellness for all. We’re very excited to welcome her!
The Franklin/Grand Isle Building Bright Futures Regional Council continues to be inspired by the incredible generosity and collective impact work that the entire region came together on during the Toiletry Drive in February 2019. After communicating with the community partners, both at the BBF Regional Council table and otherwise, the region’s council is excited to be rolling out with another community drive to benefit families. The Infant-Toddler Drive will be taking place across the Franklin and Grand Isle regions from June 1st-June 30th, 2019, collecting varying items for our youngest community members! For more information, please feel free to visit our council page on the BBF website.
Throughout the last several months, the BBF council has continued to discuss and brainstorm around free and reduced lunch programs across school districts. At our May 16th council meeting, the council welcomed Tim Morgan from Hunger Free VT to learn about the meal programs available to schools across the state, more about the application process for schools, and what we as a community can do to support this initiative for our community’s children. The council learned that 10 schools (42%) have universal breakfast and lunch programs and that, more importantly, many schools that previously qualified for these programs didn’t qualify this year. The council will continue to collaborate with Hunger Free VT and the region’s Hunger Council to explore ways we can support this initiative.
