News and Events

Join us for a virtual run (or walk, hike, bike, or another healthy fitness activity)! When the 2020 Covered Bridges Half Marathon was postponed, several of our staff continued to train and will support The Family Place on Sunday, June 7 from the comfort of their home or safely outdoors. We invite you to join us with the virtual fitness activity of your choosing between the dates of June 7 – June 13, 2020. A virtual activity can be done from any location you choose and anytime during that timeframe. The only requirements are to stay safe, maintain physical distancing with your activity, and follow any COVID-19 restrictions and trail closures in your area.

It is easy to participate! Complete your fitness activity anytime between June 7 and June 13 and document your participation by taking a photo of yourself completing the activity. Participants do not have to pay an entry fee or meet a fundraising minimum to join the fun! While no registration is needed, we would love to know who is participating and why – please send us an email and let us know why you support TFP! For your high-resolution photos, please email to info@the-family-place.org and post on social media – don’t forget to tag The Family Place! If possible, but not required, record your activity on a fitness app and email app screenshots on completion (or a weblink to your course map from the app); if you do not have a fitness app on your device or choose to run indoors on a treadmill, your results can be manually entered into an app. For everyone who submits a photo or evidence of completion, we will send you a participation certificate. Photos posted to social media will be reposted by The Family Place with a shout out acknowledging any donors to your activity. We are so grateful for our community’s support and we hope you can join us!

For those who want to go the extra mile for The Family Place, turn your activity into a fundraiser for TFP and ask for donations! Our team in the 2020 Covered Bridges Half Marathon would have raised significant funds to financially support our mission, so we hope you will create a fundraiser to support TFP in these uncertain times. Fundraisers can be created on any platform you choose, like Facebook or Mightycause, or you can create your own fundraising page on The Family Place’s website. View our current fundraisers here!

Our Executive Director, Nancy Bloomfield, is excited to participate running a virtual half marathon of 13.1 miles:

“For the past four months, I have been working toward my goal of running 13 miles… a distance I have not run since 1999 when I was 22 and ran the Covered Bridges Half Marathon with a good friend. After several years of cheering on The Family Place’s Covered Bridges team, I finally convinced myself to get off the sidelines and begin training! Of course, I pictured covering the miles among an enthusiastic crowd of other runners and feeling the support of neighbors and friends assembled along the route… and now I know that it will be a solo journey, apart from the brook I will be running beside for most of the way and my very kind husband who will be manning the water stations! So, to feel a bit more connected throughout my run, I will dedicate each mile to 100 of the roughly 1,300 children and their families reached by the work of The Family Place’s skilled and committed staff each year. Thank you for helping me honor them!”

Here are step-by-step instructions to create a fundraising page directly with The Family Place:

Create a Fundraising Page with The Family Place:
1) Click this link to begin: https://familyplacevt.z2systems.com/createFundraiser.jsp?campaignId=89&
2) If you have previously created an account with The Family Place – from making a donation or registering for an event – you can sign in with your login name and password (and skip to step 6). Can’t remember your login name or password? Click “Get Help” under “Forgot your password?” and enter the email address you previously used to create this account.
3) If you need to create an account, click on the “Create New Account” button.
4) On the next page “Create Fundraiser Account,” enter the following information: your first name, last name, and email address. Click submit – and a confirmation email will arrive to your email inbox!
5) Log into your email account and open the account registration confirmation email from The Family Place. The email will contain a link to choose your login name & password for account. Click on the link, enter your preferred login name and password, and click the submit button.
6) You will be asked, “What would you like to do?” on the next page. On the dropdown menu, choose “Peer-to-Peer Fundraising.”
7) On the next page, a fundraising page for the Virtual Run should appear on the page. Select “Manage Page” if a fundraiser is available, if not, select “Virtual Run” from the dropdown and select “Create Page.”
8) On the next page, you will be able to customize the page content: add a unique page title, enter a fundraising goal, and a personal photo. We encourage you to add a brief bio, including more about your particular activity and why you are supporting The Family Place.
9) Would you like to make a fundraising team? On your account page, select the “Team” tab and there will be a question, “Are you part of a team?” If you are creating a team, select “Yes, and I’m team captain.” If you are joining a team, select “I’d like to join a team” and from the “Select a Team” dropdown menu, chose your team. Please note: every team needs a team captain, who will manage the team.
9) When you are finished – share your page! On the left-hand side of the fundraising page, there are options to share your page via social media or email to your family, friends, colleagues, and community.
If you need any assistance, please contact us and I can guide you through the process (or we create a page on your behalf).

If your donors prefer not to donate online, they may send a check – made out to The Family Place – to:
The Family Place, Attn: Virtual Run Fundraiser, 319 US Route 5 South, Norwich, VT 05055

For all checks, please be sure to instruct your donors to write your name on the memo line (so we can add to your fundraising page, otherwise we won’t know it is intended for your fundraiser).

If you need any assistance, please contact us and I can guide you through the process (or we create a page on your behalf).

If your donors prefer not to donate online, they may send a check – made out to The Family Place – to: The Family Place, Attn: Virtual Run Fundraiser, 319 US Route 5 South, Norwich, VT 05055

For all checks, please be sure to instruct your donors to write your name on the memo line (so we can add to your fundraising page, otherwise we won’t know it is intended for your fundraiser).