Dear Friends and Supporters, 

For so very many of us, 2025 has been an incredibly challenging year. And yet, as we come to its close, we are deeply grateful for the compassion and resilience that carried us forward, especially the care shown by you, our supporters. Because of your generosity, Vermont CARES has continued to show up every day for our community, offering consistent, judgment-free support through our offices in Barre, Rutland, Burlington, and St. Johnsbury, as well as through mobile and case management services across the state.



Your belief in this work has made it possible for over 5000 people to be warmly welcomed and treated with respect, dignity and compassion by our team.   

Here are some positive highlights you helped make possible from from this past year: 

• We successfully co-wrote and won an expansion grant with two other service organizations for our life-saving harm reduction work, strengthening our partnerships and extending the reach of our shared services.  
• We strengthened the sustainability of our service ecosystem by partnering with another organization to create a shared role to oversee HIV Testing and Prevention services expansion. 
• We kept the doors open and our services consistent throughout the state, even with cuts in funding, significant increases in costs, staff changes, and a very uncertain future, making over 6,724 service touch-points with community members.  
• Our staff has continued to grow their skills, including our ability to offer drug testing, support volunteers, and work with partners in producing a zine. 
• We had the opportunity to work with an engaging artist intern who helped co-create a memorial piece (see above) with our staff, which travels to all our sites in honor of those we have lost. @wylie.illustration
• We excitedly welcomed our new executive director in late Fall (see below) and added a new leader to our HIV Testing and Case Management team, both bringing vital support and leadership to the organization.  

With the ongoing opioid crisis and the continued impact of HIV across Vermont, more people are turning to Vermont CARES for safety and connection than ever before. Additionally, after the closing of Pride Center in Burlington, we are working to reach out to 2SLGBTQ+ folks and have expanded our HIV testing to support testing and prevention needs. 

As we head into the new year, sustaining our HIV case management services, expanding harm reduction programs, and maintaining welcoming, compassionate spaces are more critical than ever. We simply cannot continue this work without the support of our community of donors. While grants support some of our work, many of our day-to-day costs go unfunded. Donations from individuals like you help fill those gaps, supporting our care team, meeting basic needs, and responding quickly when someone needs help staying connected, warm, fed, or able to get to a medical appointment. 

In honor of our 38th year of service, we invite you to consider making the impact of one of the following contributions:  

• $38 - Provides someone who is houseless with an insulated tarp  
• $380 - Helps provide new warm socks, mittens, and hats to folx we serve in the cold season  
• $3,800 - Helps our offices have coffee, cocoa and bottles of water available for 6 months, when people come by for services, meetings and supplies  
• $5,000+ - Ensures that our offices can stay stocked with vital supplies that are no longer purchasable through our grants due to changing federal attacks on HIV and harm reduction services 

Whether you can give $3.80 or $38,000 your contribution will directly impact the lives of real people in our community. Every gift, no matter the size, creates positive outcomes, so donate today to join our community of CARE. 

As we move into the year ahead, we do so with new leadership, hope, and integrity in the fight to create caring and compassionate spaces for all. We send deep gratitude to this wonderful community of support and hope you will join us in 2026 for an even greater impact.

In gratitude and solidarity, 

Chelsey Branham 

Interim Executive Director, Vermont CARES

Melissa Farr

Incoming Executive Director, Vermont CARES