Donation part of overall $400,000 commitment from Hannaford to support expanded childcare programs during the pandemic
Brattleboro and Rutland, VT – Hannaford Supermarkets and the Hannaford Charitable Foundation today jointly announced $40,000 in donations to support after-school programs for southern and central Vermont families impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The donation includes $20,000 each to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Brattleboro and Rutland County. The organizations will use the funding to support after-school programming for local children.
The southern and central Vermont funding is one component of an overall $400,000 commitment from Hannaford to support expanded childcare programs for working families across New York and New England during the pandemic.
“As our schedules, commitments and priorities have shifted over the last 10 months, so have the needs of working families in our community,” said Hannaford Charitable Foundation Board Member Peter Forester, who also serves as senior vice president of merchandising for the grocery retailer. “The organizations benefiting from this donation provide parents and caregivers with the peace of mind and security that their children are being cared for in a safe, healthy and supportive environment. We applaud these organizations for their ability to pivot their services to meet the needs of families during this challenging time.”
The Boys and Girls Club of Brattleboro will use the $20,000 in funding from Hannaford to support the relocation of its after-school program to an outdoor setting at Retreat Farm, a local farm and forest facility. The Club made the decision to provide a new outdoor format for its after-school programming due to safety and social distancing needs during the pandemic.
“We are so grateful to Hannaford in supporting our work to safely bring children together for fun in the outdoors to learn about food and farming,” said Boys and Girls Club of Brattleboro Executive Director Michelle Simpson. “So much of Vermont’s cultural identity and economic sustainability is rooted in the land and in food production. We are delighted that Hannaford is supporting our collaboration with the Retreat Farm to engage children with the land and with each other.”
The $20,000 grant from Hannaford will support enhancements for after-school programming at the Boys and Girls Club of Rutland County, including the purchase of new computers to increase access to technology for students learning remotely.
“During this traumatic time, Hannaford has made all the difference,” said Boys and Girls Club of Rutland County Executive Director David Woolpy. “Their stunning donation of $20,000 to the Boys and Girls Club of Rutland County helped us offset the most difficult time in our history. We continue to meet Covid-19 challenges and we success thanks to places like Hannaford.”
The mission of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Brattleboro and Rutland County is to inspire and enable community youth to realize their full potential as productive, healthy, responsible and caring citizens. For more information about the Brattleboro Club, visit www.bgcbrattleboro.org. For more information about the Rutland County Club, visit www.rutlandbgclub.org.
About Hannaford Supermarkets
Hannaford Supermarkets, based in Scarborough, Maine, operates 184 stores in the Northeast. Stores are located in Maine, New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. Hannaford employs more than 27,000 associates. Additional information can be found at Hannaford.com.
About the Hannaford Charitable Foundation
The mission of the Hannaford Charitable Foundation is to invest in creating and sustaining healthy communities through providing support to non-profit programs that focus on the improvement of the root causes impacting the quality of life for our neighbors, customers and associates. Founded in 1994, the Foundation has given over $14 million to organizations in the New England region.