I live in Londonderry and I’m part of the Mountain Town community. The Stratton Foundation plays an invaluable role in supporting children and families through local schools, including pre-K programs, as well as collaborating with numerous local non-profits, and likely in many more ways. The support generosity is seemly unwavering, when aligning with their mission, and the impact they have is immeasurable. Keep up the great work—it truly makes a difference for so many!
I've lived in the area that the Stratton Community Foundation serves for just over two years. I've only heard good things about the Foundation from neighbors, and I regularly see the Foundation offering help and resources. They seem to take great pride in supporting everyone in the community--sometimes through general campaigns and sometimes through targeted assistance. I think it's wonderful that the Foundation is nearby to provide support when people need it the most.
The Stratton Foundation is an active member of our local community. They see a need and work hard to get that addressed. From providing sneakers and winter gear to school children, helping out community members hit hard by flooding, to even connecting folks donating furniture to those who need it, they are always depended upon to help.
The Stratton fountain has helped me and my family especially when we needed it the most. They are generous and selfless helping many families and children with all sorts of needs! We are very fortunate to have a nonprofit organization here in Vermont.
The Stratton Foundation is very generous in donating winter gear to children in need. When passing out winter gear to a family the father was so Thankful. He said he didn’t know how he would have afforded winter gear without the help. One child was so excited to receive new sneakers for the first time that she insisted on keeping the box so she could keep them safe when she wasn’t wearing them. These children would not have their basic needs met without the help from the Stratton Foundation.
Four generations of three branches of our family have called this area of Vermont our part time home since 1950, and we absolutely love and care about the region. We first became aware of The Stratton Foundation in 2011 and since then, they have been our go to non-profit in Vermont for all our philanthropic efforts.
The creativity employed in programming to meet local needs, and the growth of funds distributed by SCF to support those programs continues to impress us. Programs like "Head to Toe" which we supported broadly this year, has become a benchmark of donor engagement. In fact, the year-round calendar of events that support SCF, suggests that the board and staff desire to contribute even more in programming and funding than they already do. SCF’s heart and soul is squarely focused on each community in the region and every person marginalized by poverty or lack of opportunity. We can easily imagine how local folks can carry their heads a little higher, their walk a little quicker, and their lives less of a daily struggle.
SCF has become an incredible resource in south central Vermont, and their continued success is paramount to the success of human services going forward. We will enthusiastically continue to support them to the best of our ability.
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Four generations of my wife's family co-own a property first purchased by a family member in 1950. Suffice it to say that is everyone's favorite destination, at all seasons of the year.
We first heard about the Stratton Community Foundation in the summer of 2011. Hurricane Irene had devastated the local community with roads and even houses washed away. I reached out to a close friend and she in turn called her State Representative who extolled the virtues of the Stratton Foundation. She assured us that they would be the best way to get funds to the local community, and told me to call their new Executive Director, Tammy Mosher. As a family we collected and sent in our first five figure donation.
Since that first event we have been impressed and amazed by the incredible efforts of the Stratton Community Foundation. Their continued creativity in finding ways to support the local community and those most needing it. Their partnership with local schools identified children in need of winter clothing and dental care. You name it, they do it from groceries, to scholarships, from the everyday to emergencies like the flooding of 2023. We have, since that first donation, made regular contributions supporting all aspects of the foundation. We were even able to donate a few vehicles for folks whose primary issue was transportation. We will continue supporting the stratton Community Foundation for as long as family members visit the region.
It feels so good to give back to this special part of Vermont, one that has given our family nothing but joy for seventy-four years.
I participated in their super fun Stratton 24 hours ski event and then saw first hand all of the help they provided to local families during the horrible flooding in Vermont last summer. I have donated bedding and housewares and fans and also witnessed the life changing college scholarships they were able to provide to school friends of my daughter. The Stratton Foundation is truly a gift to our local community!
I have the privilege of collaborating with the Stratton Community Foundation through my role as Associate Director of Student Success at Burr & Burton Academy. Time and time again the Stratton Community Foundation shows up for our school community, our greater community and Southwestern Vermont in meaningful and impactful ways. If they cannot help, they have connections and have helped us to collaborate with endless amounts of organizations, businesses and people. When I think of Stratton Community Foundation, I don't just see them as a resource, I see this organization as real people helping real people.
I run the Burr and Burton Student Success Program. Without support from the Stratton Foundation there is no way I could be able to serve the students to the end that I do. They have not only provided the funding for programs, grants and any emergency needs - but have also provided the encouragement and the mentorship to keep thinking deeper. I love the Stratton Foundation and shout their praises any time I can.
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As the Director of Student Success at Burr and Burton Academy my partnership with the Stratton Foundation has been integral to the work I do. They have supported the students in our community in countless ways. Basic needs are met through the Head to Toe programs as well as donations in support of our in-school thrift store. However, their support runs much deeper than that. They also fund many of our most powerful programs and have been the driving force behind much of our innovation. Due to the Stratton Foundation's support we have an Academic Interventionist on staff in the post-COVID climate, we have a mentoring program established between our High School students and our partners in the local middle schools, and we have a grant program in place to support students striving to take actionable steps on their career paths via summer opportunities and internships. Many of our graduates have been able to secure life changing scholarships to allow them to afford and access post-secondary education. Also, in many emergency situations the Stratton Community Foundation has been our go-to resource for families in need of support. I am so grateful for the support of the Foundation and try to take every opportunity I can to express this!
Your support of Burr and Burton helps us do something extraordinary: we put the strength and resources of an independent school to work for the public by offering outstanding, personalized and inclusive education to every student who chooses to be a Bulldog. Thanks to you, at Burr and Burton “education for all” is more than an ideal - - it's a promise we get to fulfill everyday.
Your generosity enables us to invest in the future of our students and our community. Thank you for helping us build a brighter future together.
Thank you for supporting Grace Cottage's Reach Out & Read program. Our nursing staff is very excited about the work that they do and book distribution. A new mother also tells us how much her young son has been loving the new books he gets with each wellness visit. It's heartwarming to see all the many ways the Stratton Foundation and its supporters give and give to help make our community better and brighter.
CJ King
Grace Cottage Family Health & Hospital
As the Manager of a Medical Practice, we see firsthand the needs of our patients and unfortunately, at times these are needs that we can't address. While we may be able to listen, prescribe or order testing, we can't help our patients buy groceries or fill their gas tank to get to their appointments. The Stratton Foundation however, can. They provide us with grocery and gas cards to give to our patients and the smiles, hugs and tears let us know that we made a difference in their lives and in ours as well.
I have been a volunteer with The Stratton Foundation for almost 2 years. I retired 2 years ago and knew where I wanted to volunteer. They do the most incredible work with a small staff. Tammy and Katie are wonderful to work with.
I helped with the Head to Toe program the past two years. It made me feel so good to be able to box up and bring these wonderful things to the different school. The coats, snow pants socks, gloves, hats and boots, all new! I had one Head of School tell me that he did not know us all but we were angels . I told him I was just a volunteer and then realized that I was also part of this wonderful group. I have had the pleasure of fitting a family of 6 with sneakers and boots. The mother told me her children had never had new shoes!. They were so appreciative. Another child told me that they love when we bring the Dental kits. He said he had to share a toothbrush with his brother.
Thank you Tammy and Kate for all your hard work!!
Nancy E. Brown
Volunteer
The Stratton Foundation provided the first grant to Shire Kids to launch Dolly Parton's Imagination Library in Southern Vermont in 2019. Since then, their commitment to improving early childhood experiences has led to over 1,600 local children being enrolled in the Imagination Library. The Stratton Foundation is leading the effort for all children to be healthy, safe and educated.
The Stratton Foundation recognizes that having books in the home is the first step to creating a literacy-rich environment and a foundation for education. That's why they have been the key supporter of Shire Kids to launch and grow the Imagination Library in Southern Vermont, ensuring that all enrolled children receive a free book in the mail every month from birth until the child's fifth birthday.
Literacy is a key component for children to become successful, independent adults. The Stratton Foundation's belief in providing local families and children with free books has resulted in over 35,000 Imagination Library books being mailed to local children since 2019. Thank you to the Stratton Foundation for the incredible work to ensure our youngest Vermonters are healthy, safe and educated.
The Stratton Community Foundation supports an amazing number of children that are at risk due to financial circumstances. Head to toe winter clothing, sneakers , backpacks filled with school supplies , grocery cards and gas cards are just a few of the ways the foundation supports the children and their families.
To help stem the generational poverty cycle , College and trade school scholarships are also offered to talented students who would not otherwise have the means to attend.
This is an amazing foundation that does critical work in a community with great need. They are focused on essential needs for children and families. They are transparent and provide regular updates on how funds are used and the impact donations are creating.
I am coming up on my fifth year of volunteering for the Stratton Community Foundation and intend on volunteering for many more years to come. The devotion that is put forth to making this foundation possible is astonishing. Everyone involved with the Stratton Community Foundation works so hard to benefit the lives of those who are less fortunate in surrounding areas. The Stratton Community Foundation is competent in how they show their needs and demonstrates why donations are important and what they will be used for. For example, the foundation holds a clothing drive called “Pass It On” where people are asked to donate lightly worn outerwear. On Instagram, you can see children in local school systems wearing donated outerwear to keep them warm during the cold Vermont months. It is amazing to think about how a small donation of a coat can change a child’s life. The community that is built around the Stratton Foundation is incredibly cordial and welcoming. Everyone that I have worked and volunteered with is exceptionally concentrated on the mission of the foundation and making events possible. This foundation is known for being trustworthy, useful, and ethical, where donors can feel secure in that their donation is used well. Everything that the foundation does is for the benefit of others, they are selfless, prominent, and focused on their end goal of ending generational poverty.
I was a point person for my company, Old Mill Road Media, coordinating with Tammy and the Foundation on branding, website updates, the Annual Report, overall event promotion, and a variety of other special projects. I've seen first hand how hard Tammy and her staff work to address EVERY need that the children and families of Southern Vermont have- they are tireless, diligent, incredibly caring, and extremely effective, going straight to the root cause of the issues facing our community. I've seen the testimonials from partners, sponsors, and more importantly, children and families. It's heartwarming and inspiring. I didn't grow up in Vermont, but I directly identify with childhood poverty and all the challenges it presents. I can't help but wonder how much better life might have been if I had a Stratton Community Foundation in my area growing up. The children of Southern Vermont are so lucky to have SCF in their corner, helping to build the strong foundation that every child needs and deserves.
The Stratton Community Foundation is responsive to the needs of our greater community. At Northshire Day School, we cultivate a nurturing and inclusive community where our youngest children grow and thrive. The Stratton Foundation's mission aligns extremely well with ours by ensuring equitable opportunities for our families to access basic needs and exceptional early learning experiences.
As the BRSU Family Support Liaison, Stratton Foundation is an amazing resource in our community. They support our families and students in so many ways. Their Head to Toe program provides new boots, coats, hats, gloves and sneakers for so many children in need. They provide Price Chopper gift cards to families which is incredibly helpful with rising food costs. They funded an experiential learning opportunity for one of our schools to take a field trip to our local bookstore so the students could participate in story time and book talks and then select a book of their choice. This was the first time many of our students had been to a bookstore and a "favorite field trip of all time" experience. They also provide an annual free clothing distribution for one of our highest need schools. They support dental health for our students by providing hygiene kits and a dental hygienist to visit our schools. They do so much to meet the immediate needs of families struggling in our community and support initiatives to better the lives of our children. What I most appreciate about them is their willingness to help at a moment's notice. They care. They make a difference in the lives of many.
Beth Eyre
The Stratton Community Foundation has been the definition of a partner to Taconic and Green Student Success; providing support for things as big as our summer camp and as often overlooked as a new pair of sneakers for the school year. T&G Success is able to provide the kind of experience we can for our middle schoolers because of Stratton; we are able to be the community we are because they are a part of that community. It is not just their commitment to our schools and our children that makes them remarkable but also their constant encouragement for their supported programs to expand and innovate that allows us to be constantly meeting the needs of these students.
The Stratton Foundation funded Leland & Gray's first Journey Away program. Students worked together to design and fundraise for a 10 day course to New York City and New Orleans to collect oral histories from folks that have experienced climate disasters. Providing our students with experiences outside of Vermont was profound. One student had never been to a city before and was inspired by a world beyond her wildest imagination. Other students were able to discover new skills and talents, be it navigation or interviewing skills, and so much in between. All of the students have a new sense of what opportunities are available to them. Many of our students do not have families that are able to take them on vacations or pay for summer courses, so having access to this type of programming levels the playing field for all of our students and inspires hope for their futures. Thank you Stratton Foundation for helping to foster these experiences!
Big Brothers Big Sisters is a grant recipient of the Stratton Community Foundation. This funding has allowed us to develop a now thriving peer mentoring program designed to pair high schoolers with elementary/middle schoolers. Peer mentoring provides a positive peer role model for the younger student and the opportunity for older students to develop team building and leadership skills. These relationships help to ease the transitions between elementary/middle and high school and support the social/emotional health of students paired in the program. This program has flourished under the support of the Stratton Community Foundation. They are not only funders, but real partners that love to be involved with the work at hand.
Each winter the children in our community benefit from the Head to Toe program. The Stratton Foundation goes out of their way to make sure that children have what they need to gear up for the winter months;winter coats, snow pants boot, gloves and even a quality pair of winter socks. The gear is dropped off right of at the schools. There are times when things need to be exchanged because some of the items don't fit. A volunteer will then come to the school to exchange the items to make sure everyone has what they need. Thank you for serving the children in our community. You make a difference.
Tammy Bates
Wardsboro Elementary School, Principal