Bernie Sanders donated a portion of the money earned from the sales of his inaugural-mitten-meme merchandise to the Vermont Parent Child Center Network (VtPCCN). The VtPCCN is a network of 15 community agencies that are the hub of early childhood services and services for young families across Vermont.  Each PCC — including the Addison County Parent/Child Center — will receive an equal portion of the donation and all monies will go directly to help young families struggling with basic needs. 
“It is incredible to be appreciated and known for what we do for families. Bernie gets what Vermonters need and will do whatever he can to get help to the people. He turned a silly meme into millions of dollars for Vermonters. This money will support Vermont’s most vulnerable families directly,” said Middlebury’s Donna Bailey, co-chair of the network. 
Parent Child Centers help young families get off to the right start by supporting their needs and working to prevent problems or mitigate them now, thereby helping the family to be self-reliant and not involved in costly systems later.  Bernie Sanders gets the importance of supporting families when they are starting out.  He is supportive of Vermont’s Parent Child Centers because we meet the needs of so many Vermont families and work to alleviate poverty by increasing education levels and job skills for parents and supporting children in healthy development.
Families will be supported by these funds in each of the 15 centers by helping with basic needs; housing and shelter costs, food, needs for children, family activities, etc.