Economic Development Newsletter
NOVEMBER 2025
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Give Back this Holiday Season
Volunteer to Deliver Meals for Seniors in Need!
| Juniper Homecare is looking for volunteers to deliver meals to seniors in need again this year. Juniper's Meals on Wheels department has reached their goal of over 100 meal orders for this year! Now they need help with distribution. Please consider volunteering. | | |
West Hartford Social Services and
Prevention Partnership Announce
Mini Grant Opportunity
West Hartford Social Services, in collaboration with the West Hartford Prevention Partnership (WHPP), is pleased to announce the opening of its Mini Grant Program to support local efforts addressing opioid remediation in the West Hartford community.
These mini grants, funded through national opioid settlement funds, are intended to strengthen prevention, harm reduction, treatment access, and recovery support initiatives.
Nonprofit organizations, schools, and faith-based institutions serving West Hartford residents are encouraged to submit proposals aimed at reducing substance use, decreasing opioid-related harm, reducing stigma, and supporting recovery.
“This funding opportunity is an important step in supporting our community’s ongoing efforts to prevent substance misuse and promote recovery,” said Gretchen Levitz, Prevention Coordinator for the Town of West Hartford.
“We encourage local organizations to bring forward creative, collaborative ideas that make a difference in the lives of West Hartford residents.”
Applications must be submitted online by November 28, 2025.
👉 Apply here: Click here for mini grant application
For questions or more information about the mini-grant program, please contact:
Gretchen Levitz, Prevention Coordinator, West Hartford Social Services
📧 gretchen.levitz@westhartfordct.gov
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SBA is now accepting nominations for the
2026 National Small Business Week Awards!
National Small Business Week 2026 will take place May 3-9, 2026. SBA will officially recognize these small businesses for their hard work, ingenuity, dedication, and their contributions to the economy.
Submission Deadline:
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Monday, December 8, 2025 at 7:00am ET
Basic Eligibility Requirements:
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Any legal resident of the United States or its Territories who owns 51% of a business and operates a small business for a minimum of three years and have received at least one type of SBA assistance
2026 Connecticut District Office Awards:
- Small Business Person of the Year
- Small Business Exporter of the Year
- Jeffrey Butland Family-Owned Small Business of the Year
- Manufacturer of the Year
- Microenterprise of the Year
- Veteran-Owned Small Business of the Year
- Woman-Owned Small Business of the Year
- Young Entrepreneur of the Year
SBA will make the above referenced awards to eligible small businesses at the Regional and Connecticut District level. Awards for Small Business Person of the Year and Exporter of the Year will be forwarded for National competition.
Nomination Guidelines & Forms:
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Say It So They Hear It
Communication That Builds Teams
Ivonne Zucco, People and Culture Consultant
Thursday, December 4th, 2025 1-2pm
Live Webinar | Free | Registration required
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Every workplace depends on communication—but not every message gets through. Leaders often believe they are being clear, yet their words may be misunderstood, ignored, or even resisted. The result? Missed opportunities, strained relationships, and teams that struggle to stay aligned.
Find out what gets in the way of effective communication and shows you how to turn everyday conversations into tools for trust, collaboration, and results. Through practical strategies and real-world examples, you’ll learn how to deliver messages that not only get heard—but acted on.
You’ll discover how to:
- Recognize different communication styles and adapt to your team’s dynamics.
- Build trust so your words carry weight and credibility.
- Listen in ways that prevent misunderstanding and strengthen connection.
- Manage the high-stakes moments when “we do our worst” — and turn them into opportunities.
- Apply proven strategies to lead conversations that inspire clarity, commitment, and action.
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Plan It. Do It. Grow It:
Smart Project Management Skills
Dr. Tamar Smith, Founder, ADIRA Enterprise LLC
Thursday, December 11th, 2025 1-2pm
Live Webinar | Free | Registration required
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Running a small business often means juggling many moving parts — customers, deadlines, finances, and new ideas. Find out how to bring order to the chaos through simple, effective project management strategies grounded in recognized principles. Learn how to plan projects that stay on schedule through confident progress tracking and deliver results that strengthen your business foundations and fuel growth.
You’ll discover how you can:
- Create clear project plans that align with your business goals, timelines, and available resources.
- Apply practical tools to organize work, manage priorities, and track performance.
- Communicate effectively with team members, clients, and partners to maintain alignment.
- Evaluate results and use lessons learned to strengthen future projects and business processes.
- Use project management frameworks to support business growth and day-to-day decision-making.
| | Julian Grant MSN-Ed, RN, Owner FemCare MedSpa | | |
FemCare MedSpa recently expanded from their first location in Sola Salons a mere 18 months ago and moved to a bigger space at 20 Jefferson Avenue.
They offer advanced treatments and provide specialized care tailored to the unique health and beauty goals of women.
Congratulations Julian! Enjoy your new bright and spacious medspa!
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Viking Athletics also moved - right down the street from 635 to 433 New Park Avenue. They provide results based fitness through regular goal reviews with members, premier coaching and a supportive community.
Owner and Head Coach, Erik Castiglione started his journey as a property owner almost three years ago! He is up and running in his new space offering online training, nutrition, personal and group training and kids programs.
Congratulations to Erik and his team! It was definitely worth the wait :)
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BEST Chance Program
Providing Industry-Recognized Credentials for Employment Placement
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The BEST (Basic Education Skills Training) Chance program provides job training, career counseling, and retention services to persons with criminal backgrounds and or general justice involvement, in order to reduce recidivism and increase employment and earnings.
They strive to do this by offering FREE occupational training in the fields of Masonry, Pre-manufacturing, Construction, Carpentry and Culinary to returning citizens and justice-involved youth ages 18-24.
The program provides coaching, stipends, and supportive services to remove barriers to employment and ensure participants complete training and retain jobs. After placement, graduates transition to Free to Succeed, a two-year follow-up program that supports long-term career success.
| | Capital Workforce Partners (CWP), in partnership with the American Job Center, helps businesses Find, Retain, and Grow a qualified workforce. Their team of business solutions consultants and industry sector experts draw on a large and diverse talent pool and variety of training resources to help you meet today’s hiring needs and maximize your recruitment and training strategy. All of the programs and services are available at no cost. | |
Employer Sponsored Insurance Resources
NOTICE FROM THE CONNECTICUT OFFICE OF HEALTH STRATEGY:
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Dear Colleague,
As we prepare for changes to federal health assistance, I am sharing some recent resources on employer-sponsored insurance. As the cost of health coverage rises and the subsidies on Access Health CT erode, I thought you might like to learn a bit more about the Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangements (ICHRA), which were briefly mentioned in a forum convened by the Office of Health Strategy about a year ago.
ICHRAs are plans which allow employers to reimburse workers to buy their own health insurance instead of offering a traditional group health plan. You can find more information about ICHRAs and compare them to other options, or get more information about how they work in Connecticut.
We look forward to working with you on affordability, access, and equity to healthcare in the future.
LISA P. SEMENTILLI, M.A.
Lead Planning Analyst
Connecticut Office of Health Strategy
Phone: 860-418-7031
Mobile: 860-305-5402
Lisa.Sementilli@ct.gov
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ATTENTION RESTAURANT OWNERS
Outdoor Dining - Town of West Hartford
April 1st to November 15th, 2025
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A notice from the Town has been sent to restaurant owners as a reminder that outdoor dining in West Hartford is permitted between April 1st to November 15th. If you haven't already done so, please break it down ASAP.
Thank you for your cooperation!
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Business Incentive for Weatherization
Covering up to 100% of Installation Cost!
Through the End of this Year.
| | Now through the end of the year, all business customers can receive an incentive covering 100% of install cost of weatherization measures including air sealing, duct sealing, insulation, and window and sliding glass door replacements, up to $20,000! | |
CT Business Matchmaker
SAVE THE DATE!
March 5th, 2026 | 9:00am - 4pm | CT Convention Center, Hartford
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The CT Business Matchmaker is a high-impact networking event designed to connect businesses with government buyers and prime contractors to strengthen our national/local supply chains and open opportunities of procurement for CT businesses.
One-on-one prescheduled matchmaking meetings are at the heart of the CT Business Matchmaker. Businesses will have an opportunity to meet one-on-one with buyers from federal, state and local agencies as well as prime contractors.
The event will also include a dynamic networking Business Expo featuring key resource providers, lenders, prime contractors and government agencies. In addition to a full day of training sessions facilitated by SBA employees, resource partners and contracting experts.
The SBA is committed to opening the doors of procurement so more businesses can grow and thrive by doing business with the federal government - the world's largest customer who buys all types of products and services.
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West Hartford Center Infrastructure
Project Updates
| | STORAGE IN MECHANICAL ROOMS | | |
As the weather turns colder, business owners may need to store outdoor furniture or planters inside.
It is important to remember that storage in mechanical and electrical rooms is never allowed under the fire code. The equipment in these rooms can generate a lot of heat and if combustible materials are stored too close, they could catch fire. Items necessary for the maintenance of the equipment such as filters can be kept in the room but should always be kept at least 3 feet away from the equipment.
Deputy Fire Marshal Chris Wilcox – Chris.Wilcox@westhartfordct.gov 860-561-8362
Deputy Fire Marshal James Paul Jr. – James.Paul@westhartfordct.gov 860-561-8308
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