Springfield to receive $120K grant for child well-being

Springfield Area Building Bright Futures received notification that Springfield had been chosen as a Promise Community and would be receiving a $120,000 grant to help children age eight and younger in the community.

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2016-09-15 / Front Page Springfield to receive $120K grant for child well-being By NEIL P. ALLEN mftwmail@gmail.com SPRINGFIELD — Last week, Springfield Area Building Bright Futures (BBF), the regional council for a statewide nonprofit, public-private partnership focused on improving the well-being of young children and families, received notification that Springfield had been chosen as a Promise Community and would be receiving a $120,000 grant to help children age eight and younger in the community. “One of our state representatives came to a Building Bright Futures council meetings and presented about the Promise Community initiative,” said Ellen Taetzsch, coordinator of the Springfield Area BBF. “It was our job to spread the word about the initiative to the towns in our area. “There are a few requirements,” she continued. “You have to have an elementary school and have at least 40 children under the age of eight in the town.” Some towns, like Plymouth, didn’t meet either requirement, according to Taetzsch. “Some members of the council were already aware of it, as Bellows Falls was chosen to be a Promise Community in the first round,” Taetzsch said. “So people were excited about it already.” In July, BBF met with approximately 40 members of the community including police, fire, schools, the hospital, and businesses. “Rachel Hunter pulled out her list of contacts and got everyone to the table to talk about kids under eight years old,” continued Taetzsch. Hunter is a Springfield child care provider and member of the Springfield Area BBF. BBF has total ownership of the grant, but is hoping their steering committee will be able to work together with other organizations who are already working to make the Springfield community better, like Project ACTION and Springfield On the Move (SOM). “[Project ACTION’s] goals are so similar in what we want for the community, which is to improve the lives of the residents,” said Taetzsch. “I’m hoping that we will have a relationship with the new director for Springfield On The Move.” Stephanie Thompson, community coordinator for Project ACTION and town selectboard member, is thrilled with the designation. "I am very pleased Springfield received the designation. There are many of the same people around the table as with Project ACTION and the more we can all work together and bring in resources to help our community, the better," she said. The steering committee has talked about some of the options they could pursue with the grant. “We could do multiple things depending on how we leverage the grant,” Taetzsch said. “One idea was to help make the recreation center bigger so they can do more there and offer more services there and another idea was to provide programming on adverse effects on kids. “It is going to depend on what the parents want,” she continued. “The community holds the key.” The Promise Community grant can help the community to gain access to more federal grant money, according to Hunter. The steering committee has to undergo some training in mid-October then will be looking at their next steps. “[The steering committee] wants to start meeting now,” said Taetzch. “Once we get started we can plan community meetings and reach out to residents through the schools and Facebook. We want to hear as many voices as possible.” The Promise Community is designed to impact the lives of children eight years old and younger but is more than that, said Taetzsch. “It doesn’t just impact the children, it impacts their whole environment,” she said. “People are just starting to understand that.” She has high hopes for Springfield and its ability to bounce back. “Springfield is resilient,” she said. The steering committee is still looking for members. For more information, call Taetzsch at (802) 591-2004 or by email at etaetzsch@buildingbrightfutures.org.