FINANCIAL STABILITY

Monadnock Food Pantries Collective: $73,625*

• Served 22 towns and 2,033 people in 2021
• Accessed 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)

*The Monadnock Food Pantries Collective also received $4,500 from the MUW Investor's Group Special Allocation.

Cheshire County Emergency Housing Collaborative: $72,675

• Served 371 people in 16 towns in 2021
• Provided 21,967 bed-nights to 371 neighbors facing a housing crisis
• Provided  access to COVID-19 testing and vaccines to keep clients healthy 

The Collaborative includes the following organizations:

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

CHILDREN AND EDUCATION

Monadnock Region Afterschool Collective: $142,500

• Served 938 youth in 15 towns in 2021
• Offered modified programming through individualized, take home, activity kits for children
• Expanded training opportunities for 64 staff members
• 637 parents report having a child enrolled in the program has improved the family's financial stability

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
• Hillsboro-Deering Before and Afterschool Program
• Beyond the Bell (at Mt. Caesar and Cutler Schools in Swanzey, Troy Elementary, and Emerson Elementary in Fitzwilliam)

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

• Served 2,655 children and families in 34 towns in 2021
• 683 families referred to services 
• 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 296 children in 30 towns in 2021
• 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 Dental Program (Head Start): $14,250

• 64 children in 14 towns received dental screenings during the first part of the school year 2021
• 13 children also received one or more additional dental services (cleanings, fluoride, sealants...)
• Enacted safety protocols to ensure good oral hygiene while limiting the possibility of virus transmission

StartSmart: Birth Gifts with a Purpose: $3,561 - Special Allocation

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! Since 2018, over 100 birth gifts have been purchased providing new babies and parent a Smart Start for the future.

Pyramid Model: $4,500 - MUW Investor's Group Special Allocation

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 Center
• Four centers are preparing for Pyramid Model
  • Rise for baby and family
  • Keene Family YMCA
  • Walpole Village School
  • Home Away from Home in Walpole

In addition to grants and allocations, MUW provides coalition building, offers training and tools for human service agencies, advocates for policy change, engages volunteer groups, participates as a member of several community initiatives, and promotes the value of health and human service programs to ensure that our community remains vibrant now and in the future. $393,012 is invested in these initiatives:

• 211- NH is 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 assistance. 211 is managed by Granite United Way and funded, in part, by the four United Ways in NH.
• Membership in the United Way World Wide Network
• The State Early Learning Alliance (SELA) of NH program is a groundbreaking, economy-of-scale model for child care, early childhood education, Head Start, and afterschool programs. Members share back-office services and buying power for bottom line efficiencies. They also join together to strengthen business practices that provide quality care and give the children they serve a better start.
• Impact Monadnock Business Ambassadors
• Advising for partner agencies
• Convener for affinity groups across the region
  • Monadnock Social Services Collective - a group of local agencies focused on issues related to seniors in our community
• Member of the Healthy Monadnock Alliance
  • ​Executive Committee
  • Behavioral Health Work Group
  • Food Access and Active Living
• ​Member of the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund Board
• ​Monadnock Resource Alliance – MUW and the NH Community Loan Fund co-host a cross-sector coalition working to strengthen the vitality of the region by focusing on the issue of affordable housing. Alliance members collaborate to ensure that our region’s nonprofits, for-profits, towns, community groups, and other stakeholders are aware of and have access to community building resources needed to solve this issue.

MUW is honored to be able to attract specialized grant funding into our region for the benefit of our greater community. Some grants are managed and distributed by MUW (Granted Directly) and other funds are managed and distributed by partnering entities (Attracted). Either way, these funds support children, education and financial stability throughout our region.

Federal Funding for Early Childhood Expansion - $1,000,000 (attracted)

Awarded to Keene State College, the funds support a collaboration between the College, MUW, Keene Family YMCA, and local Early Childhood Centers designed to increase access to affordable, quality child care for working families in the Greater Monadnock Region.

Preschool Development Project- $725,000 (granted directly to MUW)

Early Childhood Region 1 - $350,000

MUW’s Impact Monadnock was awarded the Lead Agency for Early Childhood Region 1. Formed in mid-2021, this community-wide coalition includes childcare and education centers, schools, health and mental health organizations, family resource centers, and businesses spanning a 100-mile corridor of the Monadnock, Sullivan County and Upper Valley regions of NH.

The coalition focuses on improving educational, health, and social-emotional outcomes for children prenatal through age 8 and their families. As a result of the coalition’s work:

• Children’s social-emotional, educational and health outcomes will improve.
• Families will have a genuine voice and role in the success of their children.
• Families of young children will more easily access unduplicated services when they need them.

The Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families awarded the funds through The Preschool Development Grant (Award# 90TP0060-01-00).

Collaboration through Coaching and Mentoring Project- $375,000

Early Childhood Region 1 was also awarded funding for projects that benefit families while fostering collaboration among agencies, schools and programs in this newly-expanded region. The project creates a self-sustaining and supportive train-the-trainer system within the coalition where providers share common delivery systems. This will create positive outcomes for families who will experience commonalities in services, communications/lingo and approaches when they access services.

Pyramid Model Behavior Intervention - State-funded Classroom Coaches Valued at $150,000 year (attracted)

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 Center
• Four centers are preparing for Pyramid Model
  • Rise for baby and family
  • Keene Family YMCA
  • Walpole Village School
  • Home Away from Home in Walpole

Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP) - $75,854 in 2022 (attracted, funding varies by phase)

The Emergency Food and Shelter Program was established on March 24, 1983, with the signing of the "Jobs Stimulus Bill," Public Law 98-8. That legislation created a National Board, chaired by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that consisted of representatives of the American Red Cross, Catholic Charities USA, The Jewish Federations of North America, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, The Salvation Army and United Way Worldwide.

MUW serves as the liaison between EFSP and food and shelter programs in Cheshire County and serves as chair of a Local Board consisting of local representatives from the national organizations listed above and local food and shelter organizations. Funds are released by EFSP in phases, to these programs, which are determined by a National Board.