From the Desk of Paul Dragon, 6/5/26
At CVOEO, we believe in collaboration and transparency. That’s why every week Executive Director Paul Dragon shares a roundup of updates and initiatives to keep everyone, from our 300+ team members to the broader community we serve, informed and connected. Here’s what’s new this week!
Weekly Update:
June: A Month of Community Belonging
June is a powerful moment to reflect on freedom, identity, and belonging. As we recognize Juneteenth, Immigrant Heritage Month, Pride Month, and the ongoing journey toward community belonging, we honor both shared histories and diverse lived experiences.
Juneteenth reminds us that freedom, justice, and racial equity have been hard-won, and that the work of liberation is ongoing. Immigrant Heritage Month invites us to celebrate the courage, resilience, and contributions of immigrant communities who continue to shape and strengthen our society. Pride Month affirms the dignity, visibility, and rights of LGBTQ+ communities and reminds us of the importance of creating spaces where everyone can live authentically and safely. Together, these observances call us to deepen our understanding of what it means to belong.
At the heart of this month is a simple but essential truth: our communities are strongest when everyone is seen, valued, and included. Belonging is not passive, it is created through intentional action, shared humanity, and a sustained commitment to equity in how we live, work, and serve one another. This June, we invite everyone to reflect on how we can continue building communities where freedom is real, identity is honored, and belonging is truly shared.
City of Burlington Spotlight – Virginie Diambou
Virginie was celebrated in the City of Burlington’s Equity Spotlight. Virginie knows communities are strongest when people have equitable access to opportunities, resources, and services, and when diverse voices are included in decision-making processes. In both her professional and community work, Virginie approaches others with empathy, cultural awareness, and respect to help ensure people feel welcomed, heard, and connected! Congratulations Virginie!
Full Plates, Full Hearts
Yesterday evening, we had close to 100 people attend the event at our Feeding Champlain Valley Food Shelf and Community Resource Center in the Old North End. Legislators, city officials, guests of the CRC and Food Shelf, board members, neighbors, donors, and CVOEO colleagues joined us for wonderful food and conversation. Thank you so much to Hannah and the entire Philanthropy and Communications Team and to the Feeding Champlain Valley team with a shout to Justin and Charlie for the culinary delights and Samantha for organizing the volunteers. Thanks to Anthony and the whole team for organizing the tours. Thanks to our Community Resource Center team and to Brenna for championing our work for the folks how need it the most – our neighbors living unsheltered in our community. A great event with news coverage below.
https://www.aol.com/news/feeding-champlain-valley-celebrates-renovations-001254062.html
https://www.mychamplainvalley.com/video/feeding-champlain-valley-opens-location-thursday/11847886/
CVOEO Garden Day
Huge thanks to CVOEO staff, volunteers, and community partners who helped at Garden Day 2026 at the ONE Community Center. We provided thousands of seedlings to more than 150 households and shared plants for the raised beds at CVOEO and COTS shelters. The Intervale Community Farm and Essex Westford School District provided the much needed and loved free seedlings. This year we offered varieties of tomatoes, African eggplants, hot and sweet peppers, melons, cucumbers, broccoli, cabbage, herbs, and more. We are thankful for the strong community partnerships that help CVOEO to make this important contribution to food security.
Head Start Annual Family Survey
Head Start recently released our annual family survey. Collecting this data on experience and satisfaction with Heath Start services is an integral part of our program’s on-going self-assessment. Here is a comment from one of the survey participants:
"I don't know where to begin. Every staff member puts in their all to make a difference for each child. I feel so blessed that my child attends this program."
CVOEO Completes the Clinic Capacity Building Training Legal Services
CVOEO has successfully completed CLINIC's Capacity Building Institute, a rigorous training program that prepares organizations to provide immigration legal services. This is a significant step toward our goal of offering these services in-house: with the Institute complete, we're now positioned to apply to become a CLINIC Affiliate and then pursue federal Department of Justice Recognition and Accreditation, the authorization that will allow CVOEO staff to formally represent immigrants in their legal matters. Reaching this milestone means we're moving from preparation to building real, lasting capacity to meet a pressing and growing need in our community.”
CVOEO and Share the Love Event
Subaru raised a total of $48,603 from this year’s ‘Share the Love Event.’ To commemorate 11 years of partnership, staff from Subaru of New England and Burlington Subaru helped pack delivery boxes for online orders to schools and homes throughout the Burlington area.
Food Access in Health Care Community Fund Project
Feeding Champlain Valley will implement a collaborative pilot program to improve food security and nutrition access for rural Vermont cancer survivors experiencing food insecurity. In partnership with the University of Vermont Medical Center (UVMMC) oncology social work team, Vermonters Taking Action Against Cancer (VTAAC), and additional community and health care partners, the project will provide medically tailored groceries, online ordering support, and delivery coordination to eligible cancer patients residing in Addison, Franklin, and Grand Isle Counties.
CVOEO Annual Fun Day
Thanks to everyone who came to Smugglers Notch for swimming, hiking, the Big Smuggle Race, Ty dye, laser tag, the arcade and more! Several years ago, we made a conscious decision to move away from an annual training day to a day to have fun, relax and to get to know each other. This is an important workday meet to learn about the 13 different CVOEO programs and connect with your colleagues and do it an informal and fun way.
Feeding Champlain Valley’s Healthy Roots Program
The 2026 Northwest Vermont Grown paper maps are printed and being distributed to farms and businesses around Franklin and Grand Isle Counties. Anna Purtell created the Franklin County Food and Farm Guide.
Volunteer Spotlight – Feeding Champlain Valley
Ben & Jerry’s volunteers helped clean up beds and plant half an acre of winter squash at West Shore Farm, our grow-for-donation partner.
