Intervale Center and COTS Team Up on #GivingTuesday

Today for #GivingTuesday we are collaborating with another incredibly impactful Vermont non-profit organization: The Committee on Temporary Shelter (COTS). COTS works tirelessly to provide emergency shelter, services, and housing for people who are homeless or marginally housed in Vermont. In short, they take good care of our neighbors who are in need.

If you donate to both COTS and the Intervale Center TODAY, a tree will be planted in your honor along one of Vermont’s waterways.

Planting trees is one of the most cost-effective ways to improve Vermont’s water quality for the long-term – by having trees growing in the right places. This year, the Intervale Conservation Nursery will add 40,000 native trees and shrubs to Vermont's landscape.

The Intervale Center and COTS have been partnering together since 2012 through the Intervale Center's Gleaning and Food Rescue Program. The Intervale Center works with generous local farms and volunteers to harvest produce that would otherwise go to waste and distribute it to families experiencing hunger and organizations that serve them. The COTS Daystation has been receiving food for seven summers to stock their kitchen with fresh, organic produce. People at the Daystation can cook and eat healthy food together - something so many of us take for granted but that lends some comfort and normalcy to what is a stressful and difficult time for many.

Access to healthy food is a basic human right, and the Intervale Center knows when we include food in other services, people who need it can access it more easily. That’s why we partner with folks like COTS, King Street Youth Center, Allen St. Senior Center, and the Vermont Center on Behavior and Health.

This is the kind of partnership that’s having a real impact in our community.

So be sure to support both the Intervale Center and COTS this holiday season. Give to both organizations on Giving Tuesday and we will plant a native, locally sourced tree in your honor! Let’s make sure everyone in our community has a warm place to sleep, access to good, healthy food, and a clean environment.