How your generosity is helping Groundworks meet today’s needs while preparing for tomorrow.
Every day, someone walks through the doors of Groundworks looking for hope.
It may be a parent shopping for groceries after stretching every dollar to pay rent. It may be someone seeking shelter after losing their housing. It may be a neighbor searching for support, a hot meal, assistance to replace a lost ID, sign up for Medicaid, or simply a place where they are welcomed with dignity.
Because of you, they find it.
Your generosity made an extraordinary impact this past fiscal year, helping Groundworks serve more than 5,700 individuals across southeastern Vermont through our integrated programs addressing homelessness, housing instability, and food insecurity.
Together, you helped make it possible to:
- Provide 13,192 nights of emergency shelter for neighbors experiencing homelessness.
- Serve more than 25,000 meals through our Drop-In Center.
- Support 402 households on their journey toward stable housing.
- Connect with 462 unsheltered individuals through community outreach.
- Deliver more than 3,100 in-person healthcare and support visits through Healthworks.
- Welcome 4,767 individuals to Foodworks, our free-choice grocery store, while rescuing and redistributing more than $540,000 worth of nutritious food that otherwise would have gone to waste.
These numbers represent more than services provided—they represent lives changed. Families finding stability. Individuals reconnecting with healthcare. Neighbors receiving nutritious food with dignity. Community members taking meaningful steps toward permanent housing.
None of this would have been possible without the generosity of our donors, volunteers, community partners, and supporters.
Looking Ahead: A New Chapter for Groundworks
While we celebrate what we’ve accomplished together, we know our work is far from over.
Housing affordability remains one of the greatest challenges facing our region, and more individuals and families continue to experience both housing instability and food insecurity. Groundworks is preparing to meet that need by expanding our capacity in significant ways this year.
This fall, we will open our new, purpose-built shelter, adding 40 additional beds and expanded support services for individuals experiencing homelessness. More than simply increasing capacity, the new shelter will provide a safe, welcoming, trauma-informed environment where guests can access housing navigation, Medicare enrollment assistance, case management, and the resources needed to move toward permanent housing in this very tight and costly rental market.
We’re also investing in the future of Foodworks.
Renovations to our Foodworks facility will transform the space into an even more welcoming, neighborhood grocery store experience—where anyone can shop for free with dignity and choice. The refreshed facility will enhance the shopping experience while contributing to the continued revitalization of downtown Brattleboro—a reflection of our belief that a thriving community is one where everyone has access to nutritious food and the opportunity to succeed.
Investing in the People Behind the Mission
As Groundworks expands its facilities and services, we are also investing in one of our greatest strengths—our people.
Every day, our staff walk alongside individuals and families experiencing food insecurity, homelessness, trauma, and crisis. This work is deeply meaningful, but it also carries significant emotional demands. And while we are proud to meet the ever-growing challenge to pay a living wage and provide excellent benefits to our staff, it is essential to ensure our team can continue providing compassionate, high-quality care for our community. For these reasons, Groundworks is launching WellnessWorks, a comprehensive employee wellness initiative designed to strengthen resilience, reduce burnout, and support the well-being of the team that makes our services possible.
WellnessWorks will offer evidence-based training with trauma specialists, professional development, resilience-building workshops, and opportunities for staff to recharge through community, cultural, and outdoor experiences. Together, these initiatives will help employees build practical skills for managing the challenges of human service work while fostering a healthy, connected workplace culture.
We believe caring for our community begins with caring for the people who serve it. By investing in our staff, we are investing in stronger services, greater organizational resilience, and better outcomes for the thousands of neighbors who rely on Groundworks each year.
Stronger Together
Groundworks has never done this work alone.
Our success is built on strong partnerships with organizations and initiatives throughout our community, including Brattleboro Memorial Hospital, the Brattleboro Police, Fire, and Public Works Departments, the Brattleboro Retreat, HCRS, Windham & Windsor Housing Trust, Winston Prouty Center, Brattleboro Housing Partnerships, Turning Point of Windham County, the AIDS Project of Southern Vermont, One Brattleboro, the Downtown Brattleboro Alliance, Retreat Farm, Brattleboro Food Co-op, and countless local businesses and community organizations working toward a shared vision of a vibrant, welcoming Brattleboro.
Together, we are helping build not only stronger services, but a stronger community.
Looking Ahead with Deep Gratitude and Purpose
As we begin Fiscal Year 2027, we do so with optimism, determination, and deep gratitude.
Groundworks is entering one of the most exciting chapters in our history. This year, we will expand shelter capacity with the opening of our new 40-bed shelter, reimagine Foodworks to create a more welcoming neighborhood grocery store, launch WellnessWorks to strengthen the well-being of the dedicated people behind our mission, and continue building partnerships that are helping shape a healthier, more vibrant, and re-energized Brattleboro.
We believe that strong communities are built through collaboration. By working alongside local businesses, healthcare providers, schools, public safety, community organizations, and civic leaders, Groundworks is helping create a community where everyone has the opportunity to thrive. Together, we are not only responding to today’s challenges—we are investing in long-term solutions that strengthen our region for generations to come.
None of this would be possible without you.
Thanks to your generosity, Groundworks reached its Fiscal Year 2026 fundraising goal, providing the flexibility to respond to emerging needs during a time of continued uncertainty in government funding. Your support allows us to innovate, expand our impact, and ensure that every person who comes through our doors is met with dignity, compassion, and hope.
The year ahead will undoubtedly bring new challenges, but it also presents extraordinary opportunities. Together, we will expand access to food, shelter, housing, healthcare, and supportive services while continuing to build a stronger, healthier, and more connected community.
Thank you for believing in our mission and for investing in more than Groundworks—you are investing in the future of Brattleboro. We look forward to all we will accomplish together.
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