We’re teaming up with Phoenix Books and Chris Bohjalian to raise some holiday cheer for our youth!

For every copy of Bohjalian’s upcoming novel The Guest Room that you preorder before December 24th, $5 goes directly to our youth.

Plus, the first 300 books preordered will also be signed and personalized by Bohjalian in time for the release of The Guest Room on January 5th, 2016.

“This program is the epitome of what makes Vermont so special: a local, homegrown talent supporting his community, working in partnership with a locally owned bookstore, to raise needed funds for one of the most important social service organizations in Vermont,” says Phoenix Books owner Mike DeSanto. “I am so happy to work with Chris Bohjalian and our fantastic booksellers along with the wonderful staff at Spectrum Youth and Family Services to do what we can to support Spectrum. May the gift giving begin!”

All three Phoenix Books locations – in Burlington, Essex, and Rutland, Vermont – will be chipping in to help! For more information, please call 802-872-7111 or visit Phoenix Books online.

Mark Redmond, our Executive Director, said, “We’re so grateful that Chris wanted to help the teens and young adults we serve this way. There is no question he is a masterful writer who knows how to keep a reader hooked from the first page to the last. But as far and wide as he travels, he is always reaching out to help his community back home any way he can. We appreciate it so much.”

“It has never been easy to be a teenager,” adds Bohjalian, “but these days it might be tougher than ever. That’s why I support Spectrum. Over the years, I have met — and written about — so many teens whose lives were changed by the group. Spectrum sees the promise in our kids and gives them a future.”

Read more about The Guest Room on Chris’s website.

The post Why your holiday shopping helps our youth appeared first on Spectrum Youth & Family Services.

Bob and David went fishing together, watched movies, and even taught him how to parallel-park. But that wasn’t all.

In David’s words, “Bob always gave me lots of good advice. … I felt like I was being bullied in high school and so I wasn’t a very good student. Sometimes I wasn’t a very good kid. But Bob was always there for me.”

Read more about their friendship here.

Contact Lee Ann Donner to learn more about becoming a mentor.

The post Friendship Begins with Mentoring appeared first on Spectrum Youth & Family Services.

Kayla is one such woman—she was just 8 years old when she had a neighbor call the police for her to get herself placed in foster care.  Vermont author Chris Bohjalian spoke with her recently about her experience with the foster care system and how Spectrum helped her.

Read more about Kayla’s remarkable story here.

The post Moving On from Foster Care: Chris Bohjalian Interviews Kayla appeared first on Spectrum Youth & Family Services.