2022 Investments

Stronger Together, Living United

Together, we can create a strong and vibrant Monadnock Region where:

• Children live in safe, nurturing, healthy homes and communities
• Community members receive an education that enables them to achieve their full potential
• Community members have the financial resources they need to live healthy, happy, and productive lives

Your gifts are investments in these collaborative programs, community initiatives, and proven strategies that make real and measurable difference in our region.

FINANCIAL STABILITY

Monadnock Food Pantries Collective: $73,625

• Serving 25 towns and 2,710 people in 2020
• Accessing more fresh produce for families
• Adopted a drive through pantry model during the pandemic to ensure client and volunteer safety

The Collective includes the following pantries:

• The Community Kitchen (Keene)
• Gert’s Pantry (Swanzey)
• Joan’s Pantry (Chesterfield)
• The Federated Church Food Pantry (Marlborough)
• Helping Hands of Troy
• Jaffrey Food Pantry
• Kidz Cupboard (Marlborough)

Cheshire County Emergency Housing Collaborative: $72,675

• Serving 290 people in 15 towns in 2020
• Providing 21,013 bed-nights to 290 neighbors facing a housing crisis
• Able to remain operational without a single client case of Covid-19 

The Collaborative includes the following organizations:

• Southwestern Community Services
• Hundred Nights
• Monadnock Center for Violence Prevention

2-1-1 – $15,000

As the state’s 24-hour social services hotline, 211 connects individuals with critical services. It is also the hotline for Covid-19 and The Doorway for substance misuse. 211 is managed by Granite United Way and funded, in part, by all five United Ways in NH.

CHILDREN AND EDUCATION

Monadnock Region Afterschool Collective: $142,500

• Serving 935 youth in 15 towns in 2020
• Offered modified programming through individualized, take home, activity kits for children
• Expanded training opportunities for staff
• Amplified programming though collaboration with local organizations and schools

The Collective includes the following programs:

• ACCESS Winchester Afterschool Program
• Hinsdale Afterschool Program
• Keene Family YMCA School's Out Program (plus Chesterfield site)
• Project Keep (at Symonds, Fuller, and Franklin Schools in Keene)
• Project Edventure Marlborough Afterschool
• Beyond the Bell (at Mt. Caesar and Cutler Schools in Swanzey, Troy Elementary, and Emerson Elementary in Fitzwilliam)
• Hillsboro-Deering Before and Afterschool Program

EARLY CHILDHOOD: Impact Monadnock

MUW’s signature early childhood initiative that prepares Monadnock Region children from birth to age eight for future academic, career, and life success.

Monadnock Alliance for Families: $213,000

• Serving 989 children and familes in 34 towns in 2020
• Increased number of families served by 44% through the merger of Monadnock Home Visiting Alliance and the Monadnock Parent Education Collective
• Amplified programming through the use of technology in providing remote access to classes and meetings
• Provided direct basic needs support in the form of gas and grocery gift cards and assistance with rent and utility bills to families during the height of the pandemic

The Collective includes the following organizations:

• Rise for baby and family
• Monadnock Family Services
• The River Center
• The Grapevine
• Healthy Starts - Home Healthcare, Hospice and Community Services

Quality Child Care Centers: $104,500

• Served 304 children in 30 towns in 2020
• Offered stable care for children whose families' stability was challenged during the Covid-19 pandemic
• Provided tuition assistance to families in need
• Expanded training opportunities for staff

Childcare Centers include:

• Keene Day Care Center, Inc - $28,500
• Monadnock Community Early Learning Center - $28,500
• Hillsboro Child Development Center (SNHS) - $14,250
• Walpole Village School - $4,750
• Winchester Learning Center - $28,500

SCS WIC Dental Program: $14,250

• Served 55 infants, children, and expectant moms in 11 towns during the 10 week period before the pandemic lockdown in 2020*
• Of those, 35 children had their first dental visit before age 1
• Began exploring ways to include dental screenings in other settings

*due to the Covid-19 pandemic stay at home order, in person dental screenings were not performed after the second week in March. WIC clients continued to receive other services just not dental services.

Preschool Development Project (pending grant funding approval)

Collaborative Early Childhood Team

A coalition of cross-sector programs will guide efforts in our region to improve the quality of life for young children and their families. This team will help coordinate activities, improve communications, share resources, and launch collaborative projects.

Family Cafes

Family Cafés being held across the region engage families and involve parents as leaders in children’s success. Parents and caregivers gain proven parenting strategies and learn from each other.   

Pyramid Model Behavior Intervention

Pyramid Model’s behavior intervention methods help teachers, caregivers, and other professionals who work in Child Care settings build nurturing skills, create positive learning environments, and support children with challenging behavior.

• Currently in place at 3 centers in the Monadnock Region
  • Keene Day Care Center
  • The Children's Learning Center (TCLC) at Cheshire Medical Center/Dartmouth Hitchcock (CMC/DH)
  •  (CDC) at Keene State College (KSC)
• Child Development CenterFour centers are preparing for Pyramid Model
  • Rise for baby and family
  • Keene Family YMCA
  • Wapole Village School
  • Home Away from Home in Walpole
• State-funded Classroom Coaches Valued at $150,000 year

Impact Monadnock Business Ambassadors (IMBA)

Coalition of over 20 local businesses promote child- and family-friendly practices in the workplace, including Babies at Work and StartSmart Birth gifts that support early childhood brain development and recognize new parents in their workplace. IMBA also raises awareness abouth the importance of the early years; championing early learning policy; and building public-private partnerships that promote innovation and investment to strengthen early learning in our state.

StartSmart: Birth Gifts with a Purpose: $3,000

A project of the Impact Monadnock Business Ambassadors, the StartSmart: Birth Gifts with a Purpose program offers individuals the opportunity to welcome a new baby with a gift that can help that child's brain development AND also contributes to the enrollment of a local, at-risk child in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. This means more books for local kids!