Healthy Lamoille Valley was excited to celebrate this year’s work at our first annual prevention celebration held on May 15th during National Prevention week! This was an exciting time to bring together and celebrate some of the amazing prevention work being done in our region. There were 65 attendees including 35 students! We celebrated with music, make your own ice cream sundaes, and free t-shirts celebrating the value of connections. Congratulations to the 2024 Prevention All Stars and many thanks to all who attended, volunteered, and shared their projects!
2024 Prevention All Stars
Youth Partners
Arlo Bickford
Arlo has been volunteering with the coalition since 2019 and is a peer leader with the Lamoille North Youth Coalition.
Fletcher Lewton
Fletcher has led prevention efforts at Stowe Middle and High School as well as community based efforts in Stowe.
School Partners
Amy Whitlock
Amy is the Lamoille Union Middle School Health Teacher and has jumped into building an active youth coalition with Lamoille Union Middle School students.
Community Projects
Center for an Agricultural Economy – Hardwick
The CAE team has impressed with their work to create a safer environment at Atkins Field. They saw a need and jumped in to bring the community together to make positive and creative change.
Michelle Salvador Prevention Award
Every year Healthy Lamoille Valley’s Michelle Salvador Prevention Award goes to an individual who has made a long term commitment to prevention and created lasting change. This year’s award goes to Val Valcour of the Vermont Department of Health.
Top row, from left to right: Val Valcour, Amy Whitlock
Bottom row, from left to right: Arlo Bickford, Bethany Dundar with CAE
Student Presentations
We got to hear about the projects these amazing student groups have been working on!
- GMTCC Allied Health Students/Our Voices Exposed (OVX) – vape prevention and mental health
- Lamoille Middle School/Lamoille North Youth Coalition/Vermont Kids Against Tobacco (VKAT) – empowering youth
- Peoples Academy OVX/VKAT Middle and High School Students – vape prevention
- Lamoille North Equity Team Students – equity work
Check out the Anti-Vaping PSA that Lamoille North Youth Coalition students created!
Top row from left to right: GMTCC Allied Health students, Lamoille North Youth Coalition
Botton row from left to right: Lamoille North Equity Design Team, Peoples Academy OVX/VCAT
Community Presentations
We heard from some of the community partners funded through subgrants from the Northeast Vermont Prevention Consortium’s subgrant program this year:
- Lamoille County Mental Health – shared on their work at Craftsbury Academy around school belonging and safety
- Center for an Agricultural Economy – Bethany Dunbar shared about their work in creating a vibrant substance free community space at Atkins Field
- Hyde Park Elementary School – Principal Riley and Erin Carr shared their excitement around building community
- Lamoille South Supervisory Union – LSSU Superintendent Ryan Heraty shared about his district’s equity and inclusion work with trainer Jamelle Adams
- DREAM Program – staff shared their mentoring work in the Lamoille Valley
Top row, from left to right: Bethany Dunbar from CAE, Hyde Park Elementary Pricipal Riley and Erin Carr,
Bottom row, from left to right: the DREAM Team, LSSU Superintendent Ryan Heraty