To the Editor:
Healthy Kids has been serving Lincoln County families since 1985 with parent education, home visiting, and school-based programs whose mission is to strengthen families and prevent child abuse. The current budget environment has significantly impacted Healthy Kids and led to restructuring and staffing changes.
The Board of Healthy Kids has been working hard to ensure that throughout these changes Healthy Kids will continue to provide important services including parent education, mandatory reporter and school-based workshops, and our very popular Monday playgroup.
As part of the State’s effort to regionalize, however, many families that previously received home visiting through Healthy Kids will now be served by Parent Education and Family Services.
As a board we would like to thank Andrea Vassallo, the outgoing Executive Director of Healthy Kids, for 10 years of dedicated service to the organization. Andrea’s legacy of excellent programs and deep compassion for local families has left a lasting mark on this organization.
We would also like to acknowledge the excellent work provided in the field by Jane Ludwig and Heather Elowe and thank them for their service to the community. We would like to welcome Leslie Livingston, who has returned to Healthy Kids after a 10-year hiatus to serve as our interim Executive Director. The Board has every confidence in Leslie’s ability to lead Healthy Kids through this restructuring period.
We hope that the community will support Healthy Kids through this transitional period, most immediately by coming to Chocolate Fest, our largest annual fundraiser, on Feb. 7 and bidding early and often on our extraordinary array of silent auction items. To continue to support local families through the challenges of parenting, we need community support now more than ever.
Sincerely, The Healthy Kids Board:
Emily Chase, President, Damariscotta
