Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital Inc

Renee is a 30-year old single mom with three young children.  Until a few years ago she didn’t think she would ever need to reach out for help.  She had a successful job she loved and while she worked hard, she never struggled to provide for her family.  The future was bright!

           Then Renee was diagnosed with a seizure disorder.  Her life became a struggle.  She had to leave her job. Normal day to day activities were challenging.  She began a downward spiral emotionally and knew she needed help. 

           Renee learned about the NVRH Community Connections program from her doctor.  It wasn’t easy for her to reach out.  Whenever she was asked what she needed, Renee only mentioned things for her kids, never for herself.  But working with Becca, a Community Health Worker, she was connected to critical resources including food assistance. 

           One early winter afternoon, with snow falling, Renee walked into Community Connections for a regular appointment.  Becca noticed she was wearing old sneakers with holes in them; Renee shared that she didn’t have any winter boots.  When Renee left, Becca gathered her co-workers and they immediately decided to step up.  Becca called Renee’s doctor’s office and shared their idea.  Agreeing that they also wanted to help, they combined donations and bought a pair of winter boots.  When Renee went to her regular doctor visit, the staff presented her with them.  After her appointment, she went directly to Community Connections and proudly showed her new boots to Becca!

           Renee is still able to use these boots.  When she works with Becca, she talks, with tears in her eyes, about the difference this act of generosity made in her life.  She is thankful and feels embraced by the community.  Renee now feels safe to reach out for help before she is in crisis.  In fact, Renee says these boots changed her life!

           A year after Renee got the boots, NVRH created the Unmet Needs Fund.   

I am reaching out to ask if you will help members of our community like Renee by making a tax-deductible gift to the NVRH Unmet Needs Fund.  You can be a hero for your friends and neighbors in need!   

In conjunction with Community Connections, the donor-driven Unmet Needs Fund at NVRH changes lives in large and small ways every day.  It is specifically designed for small things that can have an immediate positive impact on somebody’s life.  Sometimes it’s a pair of winter boots, sometimes it’s support to help buy medicine that will keep a child out of the hospital.  And sometimes it’s arranging transportation to an out-of-town specialty clinic for an emergency procedure.

          Community Connections works hard to empower people and give them the tools they need to reach the goals they’ve set.  The Unmet Needs Fund has been used for gas cards for transportation to medical appointments, prescription drug co-pays and grocery cards for items not covered by food assistance – such as toilet paper and diapers, eyeglass repair and handicapped accessible equipment.  Without the support of this fund, positive life changes would be challenging, if not impossible. 

          For Renee and many others in our community, a small gesture from a group of caring people has shown itself to be lifesaving.  I hope you, too, will choose to become a hero to these people…our friends and neighbors whose lives, due to unforeseen circumstances, became more difficult. 

          Thank you in advance.

 Sincerely,

  Paul

Paul Bengtson

NVRH CEO

(802)748-7400

p.bengtson@nvrh.org