Friends of Aine wants to create a world where no child grieves alone. Our mission is to help children and their families grieving a death navigate their path to a hopeful future. We practice the values of kindness, compassion, connection, and courage. Through these values, we build a safe space for our grieving population to share their own personal experiences, explore topics related to grief, and learn coping strategies. Services are open to grieving children, teens, and their adult caregivers, free of charge. Each week, our groups focus on an activity centered around the discussion of grief. Additionally, they may read a book geared towards dealing with loss and grief. These activities are part of the curriculum organized by our Program Coordinator. All materials for the activity and books are provided by the center. Our peer-to-peer support groups are broken into developmental ages: littles, middles, tweens, and teens, as well as the adults who are required to remain on site while the child attends group. The ages range from 4-18 years old. To meet best practices and provide an equal opportunity for all participants to share their thoughts and experiences, each group is kept small and intimate. Friends of Aine’s group schedule runs three seasons per year: fall, winter, and spring. Each series runs eight weeks, with families and volunteers meeting once per week at our center, a beautiful home located on the West side of Manchester. We are actively seeking volunteers for our upcoming Spring Series. Volunteers do not need to have a specific background in any field. They will be prepared by the Program and Volunteer Coordinators during orientation training. In an effort to maintain consistency and build trust among our families, we ask volunteers to commit to all three series throughout the year, or 24 evenings total. We require all volunteers to provide two references and consent to a background check. If you enjoy working with children and wish to contribute toward our mission of creating a world where no child grieves alone, we would love to welcome you to our volunteer team. Applications can be submitted through our website at friendsofaine.com/about/volunteer.
Tapply-Thompson Community Center recently received a $7,000 grant from the Greater Lakes Region Children’s Auction. The grant will help further TTCC’s mission with these two important community programs. Operation Warm provides winter coats, boots, snow pants, hats and mittens to area children in need. In the past two years, they have distributed 432 items to 218 youth in the Newfound Region. This program is a collaboration with Bristol Community Services and the Bristol Fire Department. The funds will be split between this program and Every Child is Ours Newfound. Every Child is Ours distributes weekly food bags to students in the Newfound School District that may have food challenges on weekends. During the 20-21 school year 3,462 bags of food were distributed with the help of school nurses and guidance counselors. This program is a collaboration with the Bristol Police Department. TTCC Director, Leslie Dion, reports that the need for these two programs has been great and the community has also stepped up with donated winter gear and food items to help offset the costs. The Greater Lakes Region Children’s Auction has supported our programs for many years and help us to make a positive impact in our Community.
Thanks to the volunteers, the 123rd annual Gilmanton Old Home Day was not canceled. Due to the lack of volunteers, the committee was short by nearly 20 volunteers for the 2021 event. Thanks to the efforts of the Gilmanton Youth Organization and others, the day went on as planned. Interested in lending a hand this year? The Gilmanton Old Home Day Association meets on the third Thursday of each month starting and is always looking for members and volunteers. This year, the 124th annual Gilmanton Old Home Day will be held Aug. 20 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the grounds of Smith Meetinghouse in Gilmanton. For more information, to be added to our email list, or to volunteer, email GilmantonOldHomeDay@gmail.com; or find us on Facebook for event details along the way.
The Chichester Town Library is holding a public meeting to see if the town will vote to authorize the Public Library Trustees to accept our awarded grant funds through the American Rescue Plan Act. This is for round two of the grant, for which we received money last year too through ARPA. The meeting will take place March 23 at 6 p.m. at Grange, 54 Main Street in Chichester. For questions, please call 603-798-5613.