Community Connections

Core to our mission, the Eastern Panhandle Neighborhood Initiative strives to help build a community that trusts in others. We believe in lending a cup of sugar to our neighbor, and sharing that which we have the most of, whether time, resources, or knowledge.

To achieve this goal EPNI has been connecting schools, staff members, businesses, and individuals in the Eastern Panhandle region.

Working as educators in the Eastern Panhandle, Mr. Blom and Mrs. Kozak discovered one common trait in their students was an uncertainty of how or when to ask for help, and they have worked diligently to ensure their students know they will never get "in trouble" if they don't know what to do.

After creating classrooms and extracurricular communities where students feel safe to ask for help without fear of judgement, our founders realized that our students' adults and families also appreciated having other reliable members in the community they could depend on to help.