The TD Charitable Foundation has awarded a grant for academic programming to the Brattleboro Retreat, the nonprofit psychiatric hospital announced this week. The $13,500 grant will underwrite the Inspired to Shine program, a theater-based academic program for children and youth enrolled in the Meadows EducationalCenter, a K-12 Vermont approved school located on the Brattleboro Retreat campus.
‘We are honored to receive support from TD Bank, through the TD Charitable Foundation, for this innovative program,’ said Brattleboro Retreat’s President and CEO, Robert Simpson. ‘Inspired to Shine combines substantive academic material with the exceptional clinical care that is the trademark of the Brattleboro Retreat.’
Piloted in the summer of 2011, Inspired to Shine ties a theater-based project in with core classroom subjects in order to help participating students improve educational outcomes, develop self-esteem, and build interpersonal skills. Students from the Retreat’s alternative therapeutic day school program, the Brattleboro Retreat Individually Developed & Guided Education Services (BRIDGES), as well as Meadows School residential patients participatetogether in the program.
In the pilot session, students read several different Shakespeare works and ‘ under the direction of a theater teacher ‘ created a dramatic performance using a ‘newscast’ format to highlight various Shakespeare plots. The themes were embedded into all of the students’ core subjects: students read Shakespeare scripts forEnglish, studied the time period for history, used ancient architecture for math, and created set designs for art.
‘The successful pilot session of Inspired to Shine was a rewarding and memorable experience for our students, our school staff, and the Retreat employees who served as our audience,’ said BRIDGES Coordinator Jessica Shepley. ‘We have found that success in reaching our students, many of whom have struggled in school--and helping them absorb academic material--lies in moving away from the traditional classroom setting and engaging them in hands-on, activity-based programming. Inspired to Shine exemplifies this approach,’ continued Shepley. ‘We are so grateful for TD Bank’s support and we are looking forward to continuing the program in 2012.’
The Brattleboro Retreat, founded in 1834, is a not-for-profit, regional specialty psychiatric hospital and addictions treatment center, providing a full range of diagnostic, therapeutic and rehabilitation services for individuals of all ages and their families. Recognized as a national leader in the treatment mental illness and addiction, the Brattleboro Retreat offers a high quality, individualized, comprehensive continuum of care including inpatient, partial hospitalization, residential and outpatient treatment.
The TD Charitable Foundation is the charitable giving arm of TD Bank N.A., which operates as TD Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank®, and is one of the 10 largest commercial banking organizations in the United States. The Foundation's mission is to serve the individuals, families and businesses in all the communities where TD Bank operates, having made $83.5 million in charitable donations since its inception in 2002. The Foundation’s areas of focus are affordable housing, financial literacy and education, and the environment. More information on the TD Charitable Foundation, including an online grant application, is available at www.TDBank.com.
TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank, is one of the 10 largest banks in the U.S., providing more than 7.8 million customers with a full range of retail, small business and commercial banking products and services at more than 1,280 convenient locations throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Metro D.C., the Carolinas and Florida. In addition, TD Bank and its subsidiaries offer customized wealth management services through TD Wealth, and insurance products and services through TD Insurance, Inc. TD Bank is headquartered in Cherry Hill, N.J., and Portland, Maine.
BRATTLEBORO, VT (January 12, 2012)