By Heather Newcomb, Program Manager On September 27, Vermont Works for Women started a new program at Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility (CRCF), training incarcerated women in culinary skills, combining hands-on skills with classroom curriculum. During the new 12-week pilot course, trainees will focus on basic skills in institutional style cooking, preparing them to work in… Read More

By Caelan Keenan and Marla Goldstein, VWW’s Youth Team And that’s a wrap! Our Rosie’s Girls summer camp, which could only be described as a traveling roadshow, finished up in Swanton on August 20th. With two packed cars and their iconic blue t-shirts, Caelan and Marla made their way around… Read More

By Missy Mackin, Program Manager What a summer it’s been! The construction and clean energy trades have been as hot as the weather, with many businesses across Vermont hiring new employees. This is great news for the eight participants who recently completed the summer cohort of VWW’s highly successful Trailblazers… Read More

Rosie’s Girls Camp is underway for the summer! It is so exciting to be back, offering in-person camps for middle school girls, non-binary, and gender non-conforming youth.  This week, VWW is leading Rosie’s Girls in Essex, our third week of camp this month. Community partners have already hosted camp… Read More

By Heather Newcomb, VWW Program Manager Renovations have begun on a new career resource center at Vermont’s only prison for women, Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility (CRCF). Once the center is fully operational, all programming about career exploration, work-readiness, vocational trainings, and re-entry employment planning will be delivered in a single… Read More

By Heather Newcomb, Program Manager Vermont Works for Women’s Reentry Services support women transitioning out of incarceration, so they can successfully integrate with their community, gain employment, and thrive. We work directly with women as they plan for their release from Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility (CRCF), meet them upon their… Read More

By Alison Spasyk, AmeriCorps VISTA member Throughout the winter and early spring, Vermont Works for Women organized a series of virtual job shadow events to highlight careers in the trades and other non-traditional fields for women. Each event featured a local company or employer, and a live tour or pre-recorded… Read More

$196,000 of CARES Act funds employment and support services; sustained state funding needed for ongoing successful reintegration Being unemployed is one of the top predictors of recidivism. And yet women leave incarceration without a state-issued ID, a reference from their job in the facility and the necessary executive… Read More

To our community: Our VWW team includes 14 women, 12 children, 26 pets, and 5 counties. Our hours are unpredictable, our meetings are mostly on screens from kitchen tables and makeshift office spaces, and our laundry is at our feet – yet our organization is needed more than ever. Read More