Growing up in Cleveland, both Susan Miller and her husband Jim had never heard of The Fresh Air Fund’s Volunteer Host Family Program. It wasn’t until they moved to Quechee, and spoke to some of their neighbors that they were introduced to the program. It was initially Jim’s idea to become a host. It had been a lifetime goal of his to help inner-city children. Susan and Jim, along with their two daughters Caroline and Christine, first signed up to host in 2010 for two weeks and since then, they have welcomed Erykah, of the Bronx, back every summer.

The Fresh Air Fund, an independent, not-for-profit agency, has provided free summer experiences to more than 1.8 million New York City children from low-income neighborhoods since 1877. Each summer, close to 4,000 inner-city children visit suburban, rural, and small town communities across 13 states from Virginia to Maine and Canada through The Fresh Air Fund’s Volunteer Host Family Program.

At first, Susan wasn’t sure what to expect going into her hosting experience. However, after speaking with local volunteers about the program and meeting her Fresh Air child, Erykah, Susan knew she had made the right decision. Susan recalls the first time they picked Erykah up, “We were on our way home. I remember looking at her in the backseat and seeing how shy and quiet she was. From that day on, it was amazing seeing how quickly she opened up and felt at home.” Susan added that Erykah calls Susan her “Vermont mom.”

For the past five years, Erykah has visited the Millers every summer, taking part in outdoor activities and enjoying local tourist areas that Susan says the family takes for granted them selves. About two years ago, the Millers decided that only seeing Erykah in the summer was too much time apart and they invited her to visit during winter break. This past February, Erykah had her second winter visit. She stayed for a full week and took part in the winter activities that Vermont has to offer. Erykah went sledding, ice skating, and she even learned how to ski. “I was so surprised when Erykah told me that she would like to ski, but it made me so happy to see her try something new that she was never exposed to,” said Susan, “The smile on her face as she was going down the mountains was amazing.” During this recent visit, Erykah also joined the family at Christine’s hockey games. Susan added, “Winters are typically more low-key than summers, but it’s so nice just hanging out and having Erykah ‘home.’”

“The biggest surprise was how great of an impact it has had on our family,” said Susan when asked about how her experience with The Fresh Air Fund has affected her life. “I went into this thinking that I am going to be doing something good for someone else, but it has changed our lives for the better. If you’re willing to take a chance and try something new, it can be the experience of a lifetime. I would encourage anyone to host because of the positive impact it has on life, for both the hosts and the children.” Susan and her family have invited Erykah back this summer and look forward to having her for the sixth year in a row.

The Fresh Air Fund is always seeking host families to enable as many New York City children as possible to benefit from a summer experience outside of the city. To learn more about how to become a host family in the Central Vermont area, please call Amy Kamb at 802-558-5161 or visit The Fresh Air Fund online at freshair.org.

The Upper Valley is blessed with many people who quietly perform significant work to help others. A collection of such folks can be found at the Bugbee Senior Center in White River Junction, VT. The building itself is a gift, the legacy of T.D. Bugbee, a local dentist who died in 1954 leaving money to the town of Hartford for a building in the town’s interest and bearing his name. The Senior Center opened in 1980.

The Center provides social services such as rides to medical appointments, assistance with Social Security, living wills, Medicare and Medicaid. The Center also provides a variety of different activities. A table holds a jigsaw puzzle in process; Monday and Friday are bingo days, and Tuesday is cribbage. Wednesday is line dancing, which brings additional visitors who follow the instructor. Thursday is Zumba Gold. These social events attract people who join in the Center’s most well known service: meals.

Or perhaps it’s vice versa—the sociability of dining together draws people into other group pursuits. Either way, lunch at the Center is popular with the hardworking-kitchen staff preparing approximately 120 meals a day.

Close to half of these meals are delivered to housebound seniors through the Meals on Wheels program. Each weekday, volunteers drive specified routes delivering a hot lunch “to frail or convalescing seniors.” Drivers cover five routes: Thetford, Norwich, downtown White River, Hartford-Wilder and “the Quechee route,” which includes West Hartford. Though their contact with each person is brief, drivers keep an eye out for problems and can report possible health or social needs they observe.

Funding for the meals program comes from donations from the seniors receiving meals (currently suggested at $5 per day) and about half the funding comes from the federal government. There is no income threshold. The Center does not use donated food, or federal surplus distributions, because these do not provide a reliable and sufficient supply of the ingredients they actually use. The chefs will leave out the brownie from a diabetic’s meal, or substitute canned fruit, but “we don’t have a wide range of substitutions we can make,” says Center Director Len Brown. “By and large the group that comes in here wants comfort food.”

Mac and cheese is very popular, adds Brown, “and heaven forbid you forget the stewed tomatoes that go with it.” He adds, sotto voice, that he hates mac and cheese, and has never eaten a stewed tomato. His chance to exercise his opinions about cuisine comes once a month when the Center sends out for pizza.

The staff

Brown has been director of the Center since the fall of 2008. Immediately prior to this job, he sold motorcycles—“I like to ride, and have owned a number of motorcycles over the years”—but his main career was for 31 years as a superintendent of schools in various districts. “When I began this job my mom said, ‘It’s just like working in schools—us old people are just like children.’” Brown displays a freewheeling good humor that probably helped him survive school meetings. He has a practical excuse for displaying a large photo of Elvis Presley in his office—it’s a clock, donated to a bazaar, but the clock doesn’t work so he put it aside—but what about the mylar palm tree that dangles over his head? Well, that was a surprise gift after a vacation, and he’s surprising people by keeping it.

Quechee’s connection

Quechee residents enjoy and benefit from the programs and have also contributed to its success! Ginia Allison, Quechee resident for many years who now lives at Kendal at Hanover, is an original founder and one of five study leaders during the first pilot year! She led a course on mythology “because it’s a subject I know and love!” (I wasn’t aware of Ginia’s involvement before working on this article, but if you know her, it’s no surprise!) Stew Wood, also a former Quechee resident now at Kendal, is President of the Leadership Council. Bruce MacDonald, Quechee resident, is on the Leadership Council and headed up the Summer Lecture Series for ten years. I see Rosemarie Scibetta’s name on the list of Curriculum Committee members (along with Ginia) and Harvey Bazarian, Ron Dull, Bruce MacDonald and Rita Palanov were all study leaders in 2014 (Apologies if I missed anyone).

Wood reflected on his experience with OSHER@Dartmouth as he nears the end of his two-year term at the lead. Wood is a very active retired Episcopalian Bishop who is a graduate of Dartmouth. “I got started by signing up for a course. It wasn’t long before I thought I’d try my hand as a study leader. That was fun and personally very rewarding so I did it several more times. Then out of the blue I was asked to serve on the Board (now Leadership Council), introducing me to the significant contributions of a host of volunteers who oversee everything. I’ve also learned a great deal about Dartmouth and the Provost’s office, which has oversight for all academic departments. I count this as one of the really bright spots in my adult life. I’ve had the chance to work with others in a way that makes a difference in the lives of many people and have fun doing it.”

There have been several ILEAD programs presented at The Quechee Club and we hope to partner actively with OSHER@Dartmouth in the future to offer the great facilities here for more programs for residents of Quechee and our neighbors. We all need to maintain active minds; what an opportunity we have to do this through OSHER@Dartmouth! “Join in and share in the learning and laughter at Osher,” says King.

For the last 24 years, Southeastern Vermont Community Action’s (SEVCA’s) four “Good Buy” Thrift Stores, including its two in White River Junction, have recycled the clothing that didn’t sell, in order to reduce the waste stream going into the landfill and raise needed revenue to support its programs for vulnerable low-income residents in need.

But until 7 years ago, it was just a small-scale effort based on recycling bags of clothes that its Good Buy customers brought to the stores when they came in to shop. Then in November 2007, SEVCA decided to ratchet up its recycling game, significantly expanding its scope and nature. It purchased an industrial baler, opened a warehouse, and the regional Solid Waste Management District purchased and placed 4 large recycling bins – the ‘Red Sheds’ – at landfills and transfer stations around the area to collect recyclable clothing, shoes, and other textiles from local residents.

In 2009, SEVCA was able to build and place 9 more ‘Red Sheds’ thanks to American Recovery & Re-investment Act (ARRA) ‘stimulus’ funds. These new sheds were added to local area transfer stations and others around the state, other towns provided their own sheds, and SEVCA conducted outreach to other thrift stores to allow them to pick up their recycled clothes, in a greatly expanded commitment to reduce local landfill waste and generate additional revenue to support SEVCA’s vital services for low-income residents facing financial hardships.

SEVCA’s ‘Red Sheds’ are now located at transfer stations and/or thrift stores in the towns of Cavendish, Norwich, Plymouth, Rockingham, Weathersfield, Ludlow, Wilmington, Rutland, Johnson, Brattleboro, Moretown, and Stowe. Springfield VT and Marlborough (NH) provide their own sheds that are designated for textile recycling.

“Last year we recycled approximately 350 tons of unsold clothing and shoes from 14 towns,” said Tonia White, SEVCA’s Thrift Store / Textile Recycling Program Director, explaining how the process worked. “We sort all the clothes that are donated. Those in good enough condition go to be sold in our thrift stores. The rest are baled in roughly 1,000 pound bales and sold to a recycling wholesaler, who sorts and sells them for re-use and re-processing. Most of the clothing and shoes are shipped to other countries for resale as affordable clothing for people who might otherwise not be adequately clothed. Other items are converted back into fiber textiles, yarn, rags and other recycled products.”

Darline Rhoades, the District Manager of the White River Junction area stores, noted, “In the past, we weren’t able to take damaged clothing or leftover rummage items at our stores. But since we expanded our recycling capacity, people can now bring in their old, unwearable clothes as well as the good, resalable items, without having to worry whether we’ll turn them away. They can drop off all of it to any one of our stores, Red Sheds, or other designated sites. All we ask is that none of it is wet or dirty.”

The proceeds from the sale of these recycled items help support SEVCA’s mission to assist local residents struggling with the hardships of poverty to meet their basic needs of housing, heating fuel and utilities, food, clothing, and furniture, and change their lives for the better. Marty Wheeler, Textile Recycling’s Head Baler / Truck Driver, said, “We may not be as big as the ‘yellow box’ people (Planet Aid), but unlike them, we can say that the funds raised from our red sheds are used to help local Vermonters deal with crises and unmet needs.”

SEVCA is the non-profit designated by state and federal officials to address the full range of needs of low-income residents of Windham and Windsor Counties. In addition to providing the “safety net” for households in financial crisis, its services help them stabilize their lives, make their homes safe and energy-efficient, take strides toward becoming self-reliant, and enable their children to escape the generational poverty cycle. These goals are achieved through such programs as Family Services, Crisis Fuel, Homelessness Prevention, Housing Stabilization, 3SquaresVT (Food Stamp) Outreach, Budget Counseling, Weatherization, Financial Literacy, Individual Development (Matched Savings) Accounts, Economic & Workforce Development, Tax Preparation Assistance, Thrift Stores, VT Health Connect, Working Bridges Resource Coordination, and Head Start. For questions on SEVCA’s textile recycling or thrift stores contact Tonia White, 800-464-9951 Ext. 152.