Deadline Extended to May 15, 2020!
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Thank you to everyone that has already purchased we have sold 550 shirts and sent checks to 46 area businesses and organizations!
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Please visit our
COVID-19 Page
which includes links to area resources for both individuals and businesses as well as a listing of area businesses hours of operation.
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From our Friends at The Ink Factory
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COVID-19 BUSINESS SURVEY
To assist with re-opening the state’s economy, the Department of Business and Economic Affairs is conducting a confidential survey of New Hampshire businesses to see how they are meeting the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. The information provided will assist efforts to help businesses, and the state’s economy, recover in the weeks and months to come. The survey is available
here
.
The Department of Business and Economic Affairs is working with its state and federal partners to provide resources to New Hampshire businesses affected by COVID-19. For information, visit
www.nheconomy.com/covid19
or email us at
info@nheconomy.com
.
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Bar Harbor Bank & Trust Employrees Donate More than $11,000 to Local Non-Profits Helping People Impacted by COVID-19
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Bar Harbor Bank & Trust is donating the proceeds collected in Q1 2020 from its employee-driven charitable giving program, Casual for a Cause, to ten non-profits providing assistance to those impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. More than $11,000 is being donated through the program, which pools employee contributions collected each quarter and distributes them to non-profits selected by and voted on by the employees.
The Casual for a Cause program typically supports nonprofits focused on education and workforce development. Because of COVID-19, Bank employees choose to focus the first quarter proceeds on the increasing needs of individuals and families who have been impacted by the crisis.
“All of us at Bar Harbor Bank & Trust recognize the importance of doing all we can in this time of uncertainty and economic hardship to help our friends and neighbors,” said Jack Frost, VP Director of Community Giving at Bar Harbor Bank & Trust. “We are honored to donate this quarter’s proceeds from Casual for a Cause to these outstanding organizations and to support the essential services they are providing during the pandemic.”
With the Casual for a Cause program, Bank employees dress casually on Fridays in exchange for a contribution to a pool of funds collected during each quarter. The employees then select and vote on the nonprofits to receive their contributions. Since the program began in 2018, employees have donated nearly $75,000 to nonprofits across Northern New England.
Q1 2020 Grant Recipients
Maine
Food Pantries in Central Maine
Proceeds from Casual for a Cause has been distributed to:
- OHI Inc - Brewer Area Food Pantry
- Community Christmas Project in Pittsfield
- Newport Community Food Bank
- Maine Mental Health Connection’s Together Place Food Pantry in Bangor
- Waterville Area Food Pantry
Downeast Community Partners
The mission of Downeast Community Partners is to improve the quality of life and reduce the impact of poverty in Downeast communities. Proceeds from Casual for a Cause will provide support for families in need of emergency assistance.
New Hampshire
Granite United Way
Proceeds from Casual for a Cause is being directed to the Granite United Way’s COVID-19 Relief Fund to aid families who are struggling to afford their basic needs. The gift supports deployment of services to community-based organizations that are offering emergency relief to those in need.
Vermont
Food Pantries in Vermont
Proceeds from Casual for a Cause has been distributed to:
- Brandon Emergency Food Shelf
- BROC Community Food Shelf
- Randolph Area Food Shelf
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Financial Assistance Options
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NH Nonprofit Response Fund
The NH CDFA is working with the Business Finance Authority and the NH Center for Nonprofits to create the NH Nonprofit Response Fund to help NH’s nonprofit sector respond to COVID-19. Funds to nonprofits to fund working capital, equipment and program delivery and expansion with a maximum award of $100,000 for working capital, equipment purchases and programming expenses. The NH Nonprofit Response Fund will rapidly deploy resources to community-based organizations at the front lines of the outbreak and nonprofits supporting the most vulnerable individuals and families directly impacted. The CDFA and BFA will administer loans including deferred loans to qualified nonprofits. The application
is available here
. Funds will be released on a rolling basis as funds are raised, continuing throughout the outbreak and recovery phases of the crisis. More information can be found
here
.
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Sam Adams/Greg Hill Foundation Restaurant Strong Grants
Full time (30 hours or more, can be multiple restaurants) restaurant employees who are currently out of work are eligible to apply for the Sam Adams/Greg Hill Foundation Restaurant Strong grants.
Qualifications:
- Completed Application Form
- Full-time employees (Minimum of 30 hours total per week, can be multiple restaurants)
- Employed for 3 months or longer at the same location
- Worked in a restaurant, bar, cafe or nightclub located in; (Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont)
- Submit the last two full-time (30 hour) pay stubs
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Attention COVID-19 Impacted Organizations in the Greater Sullivan County NH Area:
At a special meeting of the Sullivan County Board of Commissioners (BOC), BOC members approved the receipt of a generous $30,000 grant award from Dartmouth-Hitchcock (Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital). Sullivan County will act as fiscal agent for these funds and is committed to an expedited release process to support community organizations struggling with new constraints due to pandemic response. These monies, under the oversight of the Greater Sullivan County COVID-19 Community Response Coalition, a newly formed multi-stakeholder group comprised of membership from numerous Sullivan county based community organizations, county and municipal governance administrators and others.
Initial available funds will be used to support organizations addressing 3 major areas of concern in the Greater Sullivan County service region due to COVID-19 response:
1. Access and Expansion of Technology/ Telecommuting Needs for Organizations and Schools
2. Medical Supplies for First Responders and Healthcare
3. Essential Worker
We are encouraging all community support organizations in need to complete a request and apply regardless if the needs requested fall outside of the major areas of concern noted above. The Community Response Coalition is working to determine the broader needs of the community to access additional funds.
DONATIONS & VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
! If you would like to make a financial donation or volunteer during this time, please contact me via email or phone info below, and let us know how you’d like to help. Thank you!
Sharon Callum | Administrative Assistant
County Manager & Board of Commissioners Offices
Sullivan County NH, 14 Main Street, Newport NH 03773
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NH BFA Loan Programs
The NH Business Finance Authority (BFA) has loan programs that support Granite State organizations.
CAP Program
Providing banks the ability to lend up to $200,000 to small businesses and non-profits across the state. CAP loans can be used for working capital, temporary needs, lines of credit, or long-term assets. These loans have rapid approval times and can be deployed in situations when banks normally could not lend.
Temporary Loans to Businesses
A direct loan program from the BFA in an amount up to $2,000,000. These loans are designed to be temporary in nature with a maximum three year term. The amortization rate is flexible, and the BFA can take a subordinate position to the bank.
In addition to the above programs the BFA is developing new resources that will be helpful during these challenging times. Stay tuned and click
HERE
for more information on these and other programs the BFA offers.
Go eGlobal Fund
The NH Office of International Commerce invites eligible New Hampshire companies to apply for the Go eGlobal Fund, funded through the SBA STEP Grant, to help directly cover all costs towards digital strategy development in global trade.
An eligible company can apply for up to a maximum of $6,000. This is a limited time program and will be available until funds are exhausted!
Click
HERE
for more information
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Effective March 24, 2020 the Valley Regional COVID Hotline phones,
603-542-7850, will be answered from 8a-12p. Any patient that meets the criteria for testing will be given a testing time slot between 12p-4p.
This will be 7 days per week.
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West Central Behavior Health
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What We’re Doing To Help
These are unsettling times for our clients, our staff, and all of us involved in healthcare service delivery. Given our focus on mental health, our present objectives are to protect the health and safety of our staff and our clients. This means our Senior Leadership Team is meeting regularly (via videoconferencing) to assess and respond to daily changes locally, state-wide, and at the national level. Our offices remain open at this time, but staffing is reduced due to our initiative to encourage people to work from home whenever possible. Clients, please consult with your clinician or team to talk about video conferencing or phone conferencing. We are here. Please call on us.
Our current agency goals in this time of COVID-19 include:
- Use of telehealth and telephone to deliver services to clients whenever possible and as soon as possible.
- Minimizing face-to-face contact between work colleagues and between staff and clients.
- Working from home whenever possible to eliminate the spread of the virus.
- Increased cleaning of our facilities.
- Encouraging social distancing and good hygiene habits like frequent hand washing.
- Postponing events or activities for larger group gatherings.
- Posting regular updates on our website and on our Facebook page: @WestCentralBehavioralHealth
- Proactively reaching out to clients who need our help and support now, more than ever.
In a time where nothing feels normal or routine, we are striving to ensure that we continue our services to clients and implement, no matter how temporary, a creative and effective means to do so. The only way for us to remain available to our clients is to ensure our own staff's physical and emotional safety. Technology and tools for telehealth are being disseminated to establish as many options as possible for remote work.
West Central staff are pulling together to maintain their steadfast commitment to our mission. It is not easy in times like these when the landscape changes daily. Yet we’re making continual adjustments to be nimble, and to react quickly as information and resources change. Above all, staying healthy while delivering essential services to our clients drives our efforts.
How to Cope During This Stressful Time
Remain calm and know that the entire health system is working to respond and keep all of us safe.
Coping with stress and anxiety during the outbreak may be difficult.
To learn about Coronavirus symptoms and how to protect yourself, visit the CDC website at:
https://www.cdc.gov
.
For continuously updated local information, visit the NH DHHS website at:
We are all doing our best during this unprecedented and stressful time. We remain dedicated to our clients and our mission to provide mental illness and substance use disorder treatment to individuals, families, and our communities while helping to reduce the stigma associated with these conditions.
Thank you. Stay healthy. Practice social distancing. Please wash your hands often.
Our Emergency Services crisis team is taking calls at:
1-800-564-2578
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Message from the Chamber Director
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Like many of you I am working remotely in order to do my part of social distancing. I can be reached by phone (603-543-1296) or
email and will continue working to enhance, promote and support economic stability and growth in our community.
I invite you, individuals, businesses and organizations, to reach out to me with any questions, comments or concerns you might have. If I don't have the answers I will do my absolute best to find them for you.
In addition to standard phone service the Chamber also has Zoom video conferencing available if you'd like to connect face to face while maintaining social distancing.
While we all navigate these uncertain times lets all remember to be kind.
Elyse Crossman, Executive Director
Greater Claremont Chamber of Commerce
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If you'd like to have an item appear in the newsletter please
email it by noon on Monday to appear in that week's regular issue.
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Greater Claremont Chamber of Commerce | 24 Opera House Sq. Claremont, NH 03743
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