Vermont Everyone Eats (VEE), the innovative COVID-19 response program that provides meal assistance to Vermonters while supporting local restaurants, farmers, and food producers, has received an extension to continue through December of this year. Program managers had anticipated that meals would end on September 30, but with funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Vermont has extended the program to address the ongoing economic instability of restaurants and the food insecurity experienced by nearly one in four Vermonters.

Since the start of Everyone Eats, 14 community hubs have worked with over 200 restaurants sourcing ingredients from over 300 farmers to distribute over 1.6 million meals to Vermonters all over the state. 

“Over the course of the past year, it has been astounding to watch so many VEE partners work together to feed and care for one another,” Jean Hamilton, Vermont Everyone Eats Statewide Coordinator for Southeastern Vermont Community Action (SEVCA), said this week. “A lot of hard work has gone into this program, and everyone I talk with – volunteers, restaurants, meal recipients, lawmakers, and state employees – is overjoyed that we can continue for another three months. I am so proud that our partners across state agencies, FEMA, the legislature, SEVCA, and local communities are continuing to offer this program. Not only are we meeting today’s acute challenges, we are also learning to work together in new, collaborative ways that can help improve how our communities build health and resiliency into the future.”

For more information about Vermont Everyone Eats or to find a meal near you, please visit www.vteveryoneeats.org

To explore community posts, please visit #vteveryoneeats

Southeastern Vermont Community Action (SEVCA) is partnering with Vermont Adult Learning (VAL) to provide a free Ready for Work workshop series.

These 4 workshops provide training, support, and resources to help participants entering or re-entering the workforce by investigating career interests, along with growing job search and workplace skills.

Ready for Work Workshop Series - October 2021

· Workshop 1: What Career is Right for You? 10/06/21 9am-11:30am

· Workshop 2: Resume Writing Workshop 10/13/21 9am-11:30am

· Workshop 3: Job Search, Cover Letter & Interview Skills 10/20/21 9am-11:30am

· Workshop 4: Succeeding in the Workplace 10/27/21 9am-11:30am

Workshops are free and are open to all Vermont residents. SEVCA will provide a $50 gift card incentive to Vermont residents for those who attend all 4 Workshops.

Workshops will be offered in person at Vermont Adult Learning (VAL) located at 999 Putney Road, 2nd Floor, Brattleboro, Vermont. During the morning workshop break, VAL will provide snacks along with coffee, water and tea.

Class size is limited to 6. To register, email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 Workshop 1: What Career is Right for You? 10/6/21 9am-11:30am

Are you going from job to job and but would like to create a career plan? Are you just starting out in the working world and are interested in learning about options? This workshop can be a fun and interesting way to help you learn more about yourself, your interests, skills, needs and values. We’ll do individualized career interest and values assessments along with exploring career options. Participants will be self-guided yet supported while investigating available matching employment along with researching the skills, training, and experience needed. We’ll also review the SMART tool used to plan and achieve career goals.

Workshop 2: Resume Writing Workshop 10/13/21 9am-11:30am

One of the most important steps in the job search process is writing a solid resume that gets the positive attention you want. This workshop demonstrates what a resume should look like and what it should say. Participants will use Microsoft Word to create their own resume with support by learning how to present their interests, experiences, skills, and abilities using action keywords, and interpersonal skills words in a clear and readable layout.

Workshop 3: Job Search, Cover Letters & Interview Skills 10/20/21 9am-11:30am

This workshop will be accessing several job search websites with participants learning how to browse for jobs and how to read, interpret and apply to an employer’s job posting. Participants will learn how to create and customize a cover letter to present skills and interests based on a specific job posting. Participants will also learn how to prepare for and be successful in job interviews.

Workshop 4: Succeeding in the Workplace 10/27/219am-11:30am

Interpersonal skills are the behaviors a person uses to interact with others effectively. In many businesses, employees with strong interpersonal skills are highly valued and successful due to positive, solution-oriented attitude and teamwork. Many Human Resource managers said they would hire a candidate with strong interpersonal skills even if their technical abilities were lacking. This workshop focuses on strengthening interpersonal skills employers are looking for: reliability, teamwork, communication (verbal, non-verbal and written), conflict resolution, initiative, adaptability, and professionalism.

Southeastern Vermont Community Action (SEVCA) is providing a series of 4 Financial Fitness workshops to provide training, support and resources to help participants gain control and manage their money. Workshop topics include: creating a personal, workable budget; reducing debt; setting personal goals; modify spending; basics of banking; plus credit.

Workshops are free to Vermont residents. SEVCA will provide a gift card cash incentive to those Vermont residents affected by Covid who attend Workshops 1,2, and 3. Courses will be offered on Zoom, an online platform. Additional counseling is available to attendees. For more information email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Zoom Workshop dates and times for October 2021:

Workshop 1: Oct 5: 10am-11am or Oct 6: 6pm-7pm

Workshop 2: Oct 12: 10am-11am or Oct 13: 6pm-7pm

Workshop 3: Oct 19: 10am-11am or Oct 20: 6pm-7pm

Workshop 4: Oct 26: 10am-11am or Oct 27: 6pm-7pm

Workshop 1: Take Control of Your Money – Create a Budget
Date: October 5: 10am – 11am OR October 6: 6pm - 7pm

Understanding and tracking the details of your financial situation is the start to making better money decisions and building a more secure future. When life situations change, and it often does (job loss, illness, birth of a child, new job, divorce, etc.) it’s time to review how to manage your money. This workshop will help you take control of your money by taking the first step by...creating a budget. We’ll learn what a budget is, why use it, and create and review a budget step by step.

Workshop 2: Manage Your Expenses - Set Your Goals
Date: October 12: 10am - 11am OR October 13: 6pm - 7pm

After creating a budget, the next step is to review the expenses then identify goals. Goal examples are: paying off debts, saving for a car, or building an emergency fund. Creating a plan and taking control of income and expenses helps achieve goals. We’ll look at ways to lower expenses, increase income, what to do with bills you can’t pay and using strategies to achieve goals.

Workshop 3: Credit – Tame the Credit Beast
Date: October 19: 10am - 11am OR October 20: 6pm - 7pm

Let’s face it, using credit to make purchases make life more convenient. But when credit (loans and credit cards) are overused, they become a trap and one of the biggest barriers in reaching financial goals. This workshop reviews credit: The do’s and don’ts of credit, how to avoid credit traps and ways to get out of credit card debt. We will learn about “Your FICO Credit Score”, how it affects your lifetime of interest rates, how interest impacts monthly payments, and how to improve a credit score.

Workshop 4: Banks and Credit Unions – Protect and Grow Your Money
Date: October 26: 10am - 11am OR October 27: 6pm - 7pm

Where money is kept, whether it’s in a bank, credit union or under the mattress, does affect finances. This workshop explains the differences between banks and credit unions plus describes the accounts, benefits, and services (and fees) they offer. We will look at checking accounts, debit cards, savings accounts, loans and interest rates, plus strategies to grow and protect money. We’ll look at “Instant Cash” payday loans, how to protect your information and Identity theft.

Westminster, Vermont, August 3, 2021: After more than 17 years of dedicated leadership as Executive Director of Southeastern Vermont Community Action (SEVCA), and four decades of leadership in the Community Action network and the War on Poverty – not only in Vermont but also in New England and nationally – Steve Geller will be retiring at the end of December, 2021.

Under Steve’s leadership SEVCA has expanded the reach and impact of its programs serving people with low-income and developed a multi-faceted approach to meet the diverse and complex problems facing Vermonters in Windham and Windsor Counties as well as statewide. “Thanks to Steve and his deep commitment to fighting poverty, SEVCA is there with real and meaningful assistance to Vermonters that not only alleviates the hardships so many face, but offers a way towards a better life”, said Tom Dougherty, president of SEVCA’s Board of Directors. “Leadership transitions are always a challenge, but Steve’s solid management has ensured that SEVCA can be flexible and adapt to new crises, as we saw with the many initiatives SEVCA launched during the current pandemic. With the organization he and his team built and our incredibly talented and dedicated staff, we can look to a future in which SEVCA fulfills its mission with commitment, creativity and caring for our neighbors.”

“It’s been an enormous privilege and pleasure to be a partner in the fight against poverty as waged by the caring and committed staff at SEVCA day-after-day for the past 17 years,” said Geller. “There has never been a time when the outcomes Community Action helps to produce have been more vital, and I couldn’t be prouder about the role I played to enable that to happen. I can’t imagine devoting over half my life to anything more fulfilling and it’s very difficult to see it end, but I leave knowing that my colleagues at SEVCA and our sister organizations in Vermont and across the country will continue the fight in ways that meet people’s needs, improve their lives and enhance our communities, now and in the future.”
A search committee of board members and senior staff is leading the search, assisted by Beth Gilpin Consulting, a Vermont-based executive search and HR consulting company. Prospective applicants are encouraged to visit https://bethgilpin.com/current-openings/ for more information, and/or to submit an inquiry to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. The committee anticipates formally launching the search by mid-August, and interviewing candidates this fall.
SEVCA was created in 1965 as part of the nationwide ‘War on Poverty’ and Chartered as a Community Action Agency (CAA) – a private non-profit corporation, locally initiated and governed, and designated by local, state and federal officials as the ‘anti-poverty agency’ serving Windham and Windsor Counties. For more information visit www.sevca.org.