You can't go anywhere at this time of the year and not see chocolate at every turn! So I say we should all embrace what has been put before us and just enjoy. Even a tiny little Hershey's kiss can make a treat of a long afternoon in the office. | |
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Professional Development
Taking care of our business community!
As part of the lead-up to this year's Health & Wellness Fair, we are launching two professional development courses, facilitated by Riveredge Hospital. These courses are open to all members of the community and the topics have been carefully chosen to apply to the greater business community.
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Wednesday April 12, 9:00 - 10:00am - Race & Trauma in the Workplace via Zoom
In this evidence based workshop, you will learn to understand and identify racial trauma or race-based traumatic stress, and discuss how this is same/different from other non-racially based traumas. You will also be able to identify strategies to support staff and co-workers in addressing racial trauma in a work-based setting. This will help you to access tangible resilience and coping strategies that can be enacted in the workplace, or accessed through available community resources.
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Wednesday April 19, 9:00 - 10:00am - Stress Management & Coping Strategies in the Workplace via Zoom
This workshop will prioritize learning self-care strategies to reduce stress and improve physical and mental health and well-being. Specifically, you will learn to identify ways to reduce stress both during and after a specific stressful situation, as well as managing consistent, longer-term stress. You will also learn ways to advocate for yourself and others and access tips on how to talk to managers/bosses/coworkers about the stress people feel without fear of repercussions. This will help you to put in place healthy workplace practices to foster a stress-reduced (or stress free!) work environment.
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Plan Your Week!
What is coming up this week?
We know you are busy. To help make it easier and help you to join us at as many things as you would like, we have gathered our events for this week.
We look forward to seeing you there!
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Tuesday April 11, 5:00 - 7:00pm - Business After Hours at Jeffrey Hines State Farm
Our April Business After Hours (BAH) will be hosted by Jeffrey Hines State Farm and will also feature Leadership Lab, the local leadership development program of the Oak Park-River Forest Community Foundation. Join us for your chance to connect with business owners from all over the Oak Park and River Forest areas.
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Wednesday April 12, 11:00am - 7:00pm - Stop & Shop at Civinte Candle Bar
Join us for our new monthly program, Stop & Shop, this time at Civinte Candle Bar. At Civinte, their overall mission is to help you redefine elegant living, by bringing the essence of opulence safely into your home. Stop by this Oak Park gem and get your safely made candles or sprays. Make sure to mention the Chamber to get your discount!
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Friday April 14, 9:00 - 10:30am - Women in Business Affinity Group Meeting
The 2023 Women in Business programs continue at The Sheridan at River Forest with a double feature in April! We are launching our annual WIB Tampon & Diaper Drive and we are celebrating National Gardening Day & Earth Month. You don't want to miss this! Stay tuned for more details, coming soon!
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Plan Your Month!
Like to plan ahead?
Here are some events we have coming up over the next month so you can register now and receive a reminder right before the event.
Join us for these wonderful networking opportunities and
continue to grow your business!
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Wednesday April 19, 2:00 - 3:00pm - Chamber 101 via Zoom
In this seminar we will go over all of your digital benefits that come with your membership, including:
- how to significantly increase your SEO
- how to leverage your Member Profile to boost traffic to your own website
- how to track your Member Profile statistics
- how to be sure that your website is linked to your membership
This event is perfect for new members, or those who need a refresher!
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Thursday April 20, 9:30 - 11:00am - #ChamberLOVE Call Campaign!
Love the OPRF Chamber and eager to share your story? Looking for ways to connect with potential referrals and likeminded people? Join us at Grachan Agency for our quarterly Membership Call Campaign!
Haven't done this before or unsure what to say? Don't worry, we will have a script for you.
This is a great way to connect with our members and help them to feel seen, valued and heard!
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Friday April 21, 12:00 - 12:30pm - Takeout Stakeout and Ribbon Cutting at Smoothie King
Join your fellow Chamber members for our next Takeout Stakeout, this time with a ribbon cutting too at the new Smoothie King Oak Park! Come grab your lunch, meet the team, and do some networking all while welcoming this new business into the community. This time, our Takeout Stakeout location is partnering with Fiore to provide a full lunch with a smoothie and a salad!
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Monday April 24, 5:30 - 7:00pm - Stress Management with the BIPOC Affinity Group
Chené Weems of Riveredge Hospital will be speaking on Stress Management. Learn self-care strategies to reduce stress and improve your mental health & well-being while using mindfulness tools and techniques. Chené will be discussing how to identify stressors, how stress affects the body and ways to reduce the stress in your life.
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Friday April 28, 6:00 - 7:00pm - Young Professionals Tacos & Peer Problem Solving
Join us this month to dive into a discussion over tacos about the big challenges we are facing as young professionals. Hear how your peers are dealing with similar issues and gain insight from those with more experience.
The young professionals meetings are open to everyone, whether young, or young at heart. We would love to see you this month and be able to pull from your experience!
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Health & Wellness Fair!
Invite your friends & come along!
This year, we have nearly 90 vendors participating in this annual event. Many of the major hospitals are committed to being at the event, including the Presenting Sponsor, RUSH Oak Park Hospital.
The vendors are offering blood pressure checks, comprehensive cardiac screenings, diabetes A1C screenings, Dexa screenings, hearing & vision tests, mental health screenings, genetic cancer screenings, sports medicine and orthopedic screenings, physical therapy consults and so much more!
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Help us to get the word out by hanging a poster in your location!
CLICK HERE to download the poster.
You can also pick up a poster at FFC Oak Park or Mosiac Counseling & Wellness!
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A Healthy Sunday Afternoon in Oak Park
Still unsure if you will be attending? Check out this great blog, written by our Director of Membership, Diane Cranford. It is shaping up to be a really wonderful day, filled with lots of activities for the entire family.
See you on April 23rd at FFC Oak Park!
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In case you missed it...
We've Moved!!!
But, don't worry. We just went upstairs.
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Our New Address:
141 S. Oak Park Ave, Suite 3, Oak Park, IL 60302
Make sure to change this in your accounting software and address book so your checks and notes don't get lost in the mail! Please tell your Accounts Payable Department as soon as possible so there are no issues.
Also, for those of you who need to drop off gift cards, there is a new, locked, dropbox just outside our door. No more sliding your gift cards through a slot in the bottom of the door!
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The State of Illinois, working in partnership with the NCRC Community Development Fund (NCRC CDF), will open applications for the B2B Restaurants, B2B Hotels, and B2B Creative Arts grant programs.
Eligible existing small businesses who experienced business interruption or adverse conditions due to COVID-19 may apply. Award amounts will vary and are subject to review and adjustment pending application volume, reported losses, and take into account previous grant awards received.
Deadline: May 10
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Are you a business, nonprofit organization, or sole proprietor in the creative sector that suffered losses because of the COVID-19 pandemic? Thanks to advocacy efforts by @Arts Alliance Illinois, the @Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity will distribute $50 million in grant money to those eligible.
Applications for Illinois Creative Recovery (B2B Arts) Grants must be submitted to the DCEO for consideration by May 10 at www.Illinois.gov/B2B. Additional resources from @Arts Alliance Illinois, including access to a help desk and webinars, are available at artsalliance.org/creativerecovery/.
Deadline: May 10
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As you may know, Women Leaders in Philanthropy (WLIP), a giving group of the Oak Park-River Forest Community Foundation, is now offering a new Seed Grant program and the deadline is quickly approaching! For 2023, WLIP is awarding up to 2 grant(s) of $5,000 each for a one-year grant period to an organization or group that is addressing food insecurity and/or “food deserts”. This cause area is inspired and derived from the Community Voices report, published by the Oak Park-River Forest Community Foundation last summer.
If your organization wants to learn more or is interested in applying, click the following link: https://forms.gle/kcJJkDGwwuqqzf539.
Deadline April 14.
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This eBlast was sent out by the OPRF Chamber of Commerce on behalf of a member in good standing as a member benefit. For information about the event described please contact the host. For information about joining the Chamber, click our website below.
STAY CONNECTED TO THE OPRF CHAMBER
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