Leahy replaces U.S. flag stolen from Vt. Guardsman

While their flag might have been stolen and burned, two Springfield residents one of whom is in the armed forces received a special replacement.

http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=201002170351                  $100K federal grant kicks off center's fundraising By Josh O'Gorman STAFF WRITER - Rutland Herald - Published: February 17, 2010 NORTH SPRINGFIELD — Democratic U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy helped launch the Springfield Area Parent Child Center's capital campaign with a $100,000 federal grant. Leahy announced the grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture before a standing-room-only crowd Tuesday at the center. "It's one thing to bring back money like this," Leahy said. "I do it because I think it pays dividends in the long run, but you can't do it without community support. It's almost a cliché: It takes a village to raise a child, but it really does. You can't have young children and their mothers feel they are isolated and without help." Since 1992, the center has provided child care, early-childhood education, and education and job training for young parents, said Executive Director Betty Kinsman. Demand for the center's services is rising. In 2006, the center served 1,500 families from 15 area towns. By 2008, that number had risen to 3,500, and the center projects a 60 percent increase in families in the next two years. In response, the center will break ground this spring on a new $4 million, 12,000-square-foot facility next to the current Main Street location. The center has already raised $3 million and is looking for an additional $1 million during its capital campaign. Things are off to a good start, with $300,000 raised so far, thanks to the grant from Leahy, gifts from Vermont Telephone Company and Ivek Corporation, and gifts from staff and board and committee members at the center. Frank Perotti, who is both superintendent of the Springfield School District and a member of the Capital Campaign Steering Committee, said the center's work benefits the schools and the community at large. "Some of our families in the area are really struggling and under stress and need our support," Perotti said. "It just kind of fits with everything we're about with Springfield schools and they (the center) really support our families and our children and gives them a shot at the future." To learn more about the center, visit www.sapcc-vt.org. For more about the capital campaign, visit www.fundraising.org/icase/sapcc.