A celebration of Melinda Bussino’s life will be held Saturday, March 10, at 1 p.m. at the First Baptist Church of Brattleboro.   Calling hours will be at Ker-Westerlund Funeral Home on Friday, March 9 from 4 to 7 p.m. 

Melinda, the Executive Director of the Brattleboro Area Drop-In Center for the homeless and hungry, died Sunday after a fatal heart attack.

The family requests that in keeping with Melinda's wishes, donations in lieu of flowers be made to the Brattleboro Area Drop-In Center, 60 South Main St., Brattleboro, VT 05301.   

The Champlain Housing Trust has been selected to receive a $130,000 grant from the Social Innovation Fund of the Corporation for National and Community Service  

The Crown Point Board of REALTORS® (CBPR) will be distributing a sizable donation from Okemo Mountain Resort's philanthropic Community Challenge fund to local residents still suffering as a result of Tropical Storm Irene.

Melinda Bussino, long-time advocate for homeless Vermonters, died Sunday after suffering a heart attack a week earlier. She was 65.

Melinda was the Executive Director of the Brattleboro Area Drop-In Center, a day center and community food shelf for the homeless and lonely, which she helped found in the late 1980s.

Her years of commitment and leadership providing comfort and shelter to homeless Vermonters, and her tireless advocacy on their behalf, was widely recognized. In 2008, Melinda won the Housing Hero award at VHFA's statewide, biennial Vermont Housing Conference.