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Addison Independent, Monday, March 16, 2015 — PAGE 33
ADDISON COUNTY
INDEPENDENT
Middlebury, Vermont X Thursday, February 26, 2015 X Page 11A FLANKED BY GOV. Shumlin and legislative leadership, a dozen Unbound Grace students stand with Program Direc-­
tor Kerry Kurt at the Statehouse last week. Pictured from left are Mount Abe freshman Dakota Demore, Marianne Wer-­
ner, 8th-­grader Jacques Bickford, freshman Emily Lowell, sophomore Victor Hinojosa, Kerry Kurt, Rep. Dave Sharp, Rep. Kevin Christie, Corrina Demore, Gampo Wickenheiser, Rep. Joey Donovan, Williston 8th-­grader Olivia Werner, *RY3HWHU6KXPOLQ%LOOL4XLWQHU6HQ'DYH=XFNHUPDQ5HS&XUW0F&RUPDFN6SHDNHU6KDS6PLWK0RQWSHOLHU¿IWK
grader Ezme Quitner, Rep. Mollie Burke, and Adjutant Gen. Steven Cray,
Unbound Grace students visit Statehouse
STARKSBORO — Unbound Grace, a therapeutic, agrarian afterschool and summer program in Starksboro for kids ages 7-­18, brought students to meet the governor and legislative leadership at the Statehouse in Montpelier on Feb. 19, in part to mark progress in the gov-­
ernor’s opiate prevention initiative and to draw attention to the need for struc-­
tural investments in successful preven-­
tion programming.
The farm program, which is offered to area children free of charge to ensure equal access for children who rely on the programming, relies on private invest-­
ments from the Unbound Grace Angels — including Pomerleau Real Estate, Hickok and Boardman Insurance, Ver-­
mont Rocker, Automaster, and Guy’s Farm and Yard and other concerned so-­
cial philanthropists — but struggles to meet the demand for services in neigh-­
boring communities where opiate ad-­
diction is on the rise. This leaves plenty of room for individuals, businesses and RUJDQL]DWLRQV WR OHQG WKHLU VLJQL¿FDQW
and needed support to build health fo-­
cused decision-­making skills in all of our youth.
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looming in the background, the group was undeterred in its message. “It’s a tough budget year, as we all know, but Vermont’s greatest natural resource — our children — have no shelf life,” said Unbound Grace Program Direc-­
tor Kerry Kurt. “We cannot put their formational development on hold for even one day. If you’re looking for cur-­
rent and future savings, here they are — staring you right in the face — with compounding interest. We can invest our way out of this hole by investing in our youth.”
Speaking from his own experience, high school sophomore Victor Hinojo-­
sa said, “Practicing using good judg-­
ment on a daily basis is what you do at Unbound Grace and I know that these are the life skills that I’ve needed to stay happy, healthy and out of trou-­
ble. I’ve watched family, friends, and neighbors make devastating decisions, that if they had the right guidance ear-­
ly, I believe it would have saved a lot of heartache.”
In closing, Hinojosa joked that he liked the look of the governor’s ceremo-­
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