News from our members

Paid Internship Opportunities at UMass Memorial HealthAlliance-Clinton Hospital

ATTENTION INTERNSHIP SEEKERS: UMass Memorial HealthAlliance-Clinton Hospital is looking for college students who are interested in paid internship opportunities for the summer season! Please see the form below for details and then send to Christopher Hendry, Sr. Dir. of External Affairs, at chendry@healthalliance.com.

Other Details:

The program is 10-weeks long (June through August), 20-hours/week and pays $12/hour totaling $2,400. We currently have as many as 27 vacancies available. Students must be enrolled in college.

Fitchburg Public Library Hosts Local Reading of Children’s Book I Am Jazz in Support of Transgender Youth February 28, 2019 – 6-7:30 PM – Garden Room

Parents, teachers and community members here and across the country are standing up to state legislative efforts targeting transgender people on February 28, 2019 from 6-7:30 PM with readings of  I Am Jazz, a book by transgender teen and Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation Youth Ambassador Jazz Jennings.

 

The book reading, held at and sponsored by the Fitchburg Public Library will be held from 6-7:30 PM on Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019 in the Garden Room.  We will begin with a Community Read of I AM JAZZ, a book co-written by Jazz Jennings about her experiences as a transgender girl.  From 6:30 to 7:30 – Renee Manning, a trans activist and educator will present: Transgender 101: Everything you wanted to know, but were afraid to ask!  This is a free program.  Free parking is available in the lot at the corner of Boulder Drive and Newton Place.  For information about this or other Library programs call 978-829-1780 or visit our website: www.FitchburgPublicLibrary.org.

 

The fourth annual Jazz and Friends National Day of School and Community Readings is sponsored by the Welcoming Schools Program at the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation, the educational arm of the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) civil rights organization, and the National Educational Association (NEA), the country’s largest professional employee organization, representing 3 million educators across the U.S.  This year, participants will have the option of reading from several books about transgender and non-binary youth of color, including Julián Is a Mermaid by Jessica Love and They She He Me: Free to Be! by Maya and Matthew Smith Gonzalez.

 

The nationwide action is inspired by the more than 600 residents of tiny Mount Horeb, WI., who unequivocally rebuked bigotry and censorship in 2015, showing up at a public reading of I Am Jazz.  The reading was organized by a caring parent after legal threats by an anti-LGBTQ hate group forced a local school to cancel plans to support a transgender student by reading the book in class.

 

Days later, the Mount Horeb school board adopted inclusive measures fully accommodating transgender students.  Said one board member: “We will not be intimidated, and we will teach tolerance and will be accepting to everyone.”

 

The national reading effort is sponsored by HRC Foundation’s Welcoming Schools program and the National Education Association (NEA).  It unites in action youth, educators, and allies across the country who are hosting readings of I Am Jazz in dozens of schools, churches, bookstores, homes, and community centers in states across the country.

 

HRC Foundation’s Welcoming Schools is the nation’s premier resource for professional development tools, lessons and resources that help elementary schools across the nation  embrace family diversity, be LGBTQ-inclusive, prevent bias-based bullying and gender stereotyping, and support transgender and gender expansive students. HRC’s Welcoming Schools has created a guideto help organizers of I Am Jazz reading events build more affirming and supportive spaces for transgender and gender-expansive youth across the country.

 

The Human Rights Campaign Foundation is the educational arm of America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work and in every community.

Nashoba Valley Tech: Enroll in Winter 2019 Adult Classes Today

Attention: Business Owners, employees and community members
Evening adult Career Training and Personal Enrichment classes are starting soon at NCTI (at Nashoba Tech).
  • Unrestricted Construction Supervisor License Test Prep (starts Jan 28)
  • Hoisting License Test Prep, 2A/1C (starts Feb 27)
  • Floral Design Class (starts Feb 27)
  • Cake Decorating (starts March 4)

For more details: nashobatech.net/community_ed

Fitchburg Public Library: Harry Potter Book Night

Fitchburg Public Library presents…

Harry Potter Book Night!  February 6, 2019, 6-7:30 pm – Garden Room, Fitchburg Youth Library

Join us on February 6, 2019, from 6-7:30 pm for our 3rd Annual Harry Potter Book Night! This year’s theme is “Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry”!  There will opportunities to make magical crafts like origami sorting hats, personalized bookmarks, and glitter wands to help you in “school”.  There will be tests of your knowledge – from a Table Top Quidditch Tournament to Harry Potter trivia, and even special classes you can take in slime potion creation!  Make sure to take a picture at our photo booth of all of your enchantments and stop by our refreshment table to keep you alert!

Our new Teen Librarian, Colin Welch, will also be sharing the wonder of J.K. Rowling’s unforgettable stories and, most excitingly, introducing the next generation of readers to the unparalleled magic of Harry Potter.

Please check our calendar listing for more information.  All are free programs.  Free parking is available in the lot at the corner of Boulder Drive and Newton Place. For information about this or other Library programs call 978-829-1780 or visit our website: www.FitchburgPublicLibrary.org.

bankHometown donates $25,000 from 2018 Neighbors Helping Neighbors Campaign

OXFORD, Massachusetts: Matthew S. Sosik, President and CEO of bankHometown, announced that its 2018 Neighbors Helping Neighbors Campaign has resulted in total donations of $25,000. This is the 15th year that bankHometown has invited local residents and businesses to help support local food pantries as a way for the bank and its customers to reduce food insecurity in their communities.

Customers of the bank and community members were invited to be a “Hometown Hero” for a $1 donation or a “Hometown Superhero” for a $5 donation. In addition to the in-branch fund drive, bankHometown also invited business customers to support the campaign. bankHometown matched all of the donations dollar for dollar and split the funds among food pantries that serve the areas surrounding each of its thirteen offices in central Massachusetts and northeastern Connecticut. 

“Over the past 15 years, this campaign has evolved into a successful and collaborative effort from customers, community members and our employees, to support local food pantries that need help with inventory during the holidays. We are proud to be an example of Neighbors Helping Neighbors,” said Sosik.

Neighbors Helping Neighbors donations benefit (in MA) the Auburn Youth and Family Services, Inc. Food Pantry (Auburn), CARE Food Pantry (Clinton), Food Share (Southbridge, Charlton & Sturbridge), Ginny’s Helping Hand, Inc. (Leominster), Oxford Ecumenical Food Shelf (Oxford), Salvation Army (Athol), St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry (Webster); (in CT) Daily Bread (Putnam), Friends of Assisi (Killingly), and Thompson Ecumenical Empowerment Group (TEEG) (Thompson).  

To date, more than $167,500 has been distributed through this program.

bankHometown is a member of the Hometown Financial Group. Founded in 1889 as Hometown Bank, bankHometown is headquartered in Oxford, Massachusetts, bankHometown has 13 branches located throughout central Massachusetts and northeastern Connecticut. For more information, please visit www.hometowncoop.com. 

Hometown Financial Group, a $2.1 billion mutual holding company headquartered in Easthampton, Massachusetts, is the parent company of bankESB and bankHometown. Both banking franchises offer a complete line of commercial, business, and consumer banking and lending products and services to customers through its 24 branches located throughout western and central Massachusetts and northeastern Connecticut. For more information on Hometown Financial Group please visit www.bankhfg.com.

bankHometown Kicks off 16th Annual Pajama Drive for Local Children in need during the Holidays

OXFORD, MA:  bankHometown kicked off their 16th annual pajama drive on November 26th with a challenge to residents to help support local children in need of new pajamas or slippers. 

From now until December 15th, all 13 bankHometown branches will be accepting pajama donations for children sizes 4T and up, as well as small and medium sizes in men and women. Pajamas must be in complete sets (top and bottom) or an appropriate nightgown. The pajamas and slippers will go to local shelters throughout central Massachusetts and northern Connecticut.

“We believe in giving back to our community all year round, but especially for children during the winter and holiday season,” said Matthew Sosik, President and CEO of bankHometown. “This initiative is to give children in our communities the warmth and comfort they may need during the cold winter nights.”

The pajamas and slippers are sent to local schools in central Massachusetts and northern Connecticut, as well as the TEEG (Thompson Ecumenical Empowerment Group) in Thompson, Connecticut. 

bankHometown was founded in 1889 and is headquartered in Oxford, Massachusetts, bankHometown has 13 branches located throughout central Massachusetts and northeastern Connecticut. For more information, please visit www.hometowncoop.com. 

Hometown Financial Group (HFG), a $2.1 billion mutual holding company headquartered in Easthampton, Massachusetts, is the parent company of bankESB and bankHometown. Both banking franchises offer a complete line of commercial, business, and consumer products to customers throughout its 24 branches located throughout western and central Massachusetts and northeastern Connecticut. For more information on Hometown Financial Group, please visit www.bankhfg.com.