Ti Backpack Program awarded ECH Community Health Investment funding

TICONDEROGA | Ticonderoga Area Backpack Program recently received a very generous grant of $7,500 from UVM–Elizabethtown Community Hospital–Community Health Investment. UVM Health's Community Health Investment program is an annual initiative that supports community-based organizations working to improve health, expand access to care and address social drivers of health. Awards support projects focused on food security, mental health and substance use disorder treatment and support, housing stability and other community-based priorities. The backpack program is an all-volunteer organization that provides backpacks filled with nutritious foods to deserving local area children on weekends throughout the school year. In addition, there also is a summer food program which provides a whole week of food in each of eight weeks during July and August. The grant funds will be used exclusively to purchase food from the Regional Food Bank of Northeast NY. Elizabethtown Community Hospital collaborates with community-based organizations to expand access, reduce barriers to care, and strengthen health and wellness throughout our community. "No organization can do this work alone. We are proud to support the outstanding work going on in our community that promotes health and wellbeing," said Community Investment Project Manager Justin Graham. "Addressing social drivers of health takes all of us working together. The work these organizations do improves access to services and resources that improve lives throughout our community." The initial roll-out of the Ticonderoga Area Backpack Program in 2013 served 30 deserving kids at Ticonderoga Elementary. Thanks to the help of generous donors and organizations like Elizabethtown Community Hospital, the program has been able to expand from this relatively modest start to seven local area schools and 300 kids. Program volunteers were extremely grateful for Elizabethtown Community Hospital's continuing support of the efforts to help local kids. The hope is to be able to continue to grow and expand the backpack program and provide additional food for more local area children who need help. The cost to sponsor one child for an entire school year is only $300. One hundred percent of all donations are used to purchase the food to fill the backpacks for deserving local area children and donations to this very worthy cause are tax-deductible. For more information, contact John Bartlett at bartlettjohn281@gmail.com or 518-585-2304.

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Ti Backpack Program awarded ECH Community Health Investment funding

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