Community

• Addison County Chamber of Commerce
• Brandon Chamber of Commerce
• Fivetown Business Association
• Hinesburg Business and Professional Association
• Hinesburg Community Food Shelf
• Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce
• Lamoile Valley Chamber of Commerce
• Mad River Valley Chamber of Commerce
• Richmond Area Business Association
• Special Olympics Vermont or the Summer Games
• Stowe Area Association
• Valley Rotary Club
• Vermont Business Roundtable
• Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility
• Vermont Chamber of Commerce

Scholarships

Waitsfield and Champlain Valley Telecom provides a scholarship entitled the Eunice B. Farr Incentive Award to each public high school that students from our service area attend. This includes: CVU High School, Harwood Union High School, Mount Abraham Union High School, and Mount Mansfield Union High School.

The criteria of the scholarship is as follows "the award should be presented to a graduating senior that plans subsequent education, be it college or trade school. The faculty should select an individual that has shown a steady improvement in his or her academics, but is not necessarily at the top of the class. The award is designed to benefit a hard working graduate that his or her instructors have found to demonstrate a sincere effort to improve grades/results and plans continuing education."

FRED (Foundation for Rural Education and Development) Scholarships & Grants

(FRED) is a charitable foundation affiliated with the Organization for the Promotion and Advancement of Small Telecommunications Companies (OPASTCO) of which Waitsfield and Champlain Valley Telecom is a long standing member.

FRED's mission is to sponsor programs and activities that improve the educational, social and economic conditions of rural areas. Descriptions of available scholarships and grants are listed below. All applications must be submitted by Waitsfield and Champlain Valley Telecom. For more information and applications, visit the FRED website at www.fred.org or contact Lorraine M. Keener at 800-496-3391 or e-mail lkeener@wcvt.com.

Technology Grants
Technology Grants for Rural Schools program was created to help meet the growing need for innovative technology in the classroom. The grants are funded by a donation from Rural Telephone Finance Cooperative (RTFC) and strive to help public schools in rural areas served by OPASTCO members bring modern computers to every classroom, connect schools to the information superhighway and make sure that effective and engaging software and online resources are an integral part of the school curriculum.

Ethyl Grants
The Ethyl Grant program provides matching grants to OPASTCO member telephone companies that are involved with projects aimed at bettering their communities. The grants, ranging from $500 - $2,500, are awarded on a rolling basis.

Past recipients: Richmond Elementary School, Bristol Elementary School, Richmond Area Teen Center (2007), Hinesburg Community School (2009).

Leadership Through Learning
Program aimed at providing rural students the learning opportunity of a lifetime. The Leadership Through Learning program provides a hands-on approach to education. High school juniors and seniors from across the U.S. are invited to spend an all expense-paid week in our nation’s capital to learn about government, civic affairs and telecommunications regulation. Each year, the Foundation for Rural Education and Development awards scholarships to rural America's best and brightest students. Scholarships range from $1,000 to $5,000 and are funded by the FRED Scholarship Endowment and by donations to the FRED Annual Giving Campaign. Scholarship Applications available in October.