25th Anniversary BVCC

Home & Community Expo

Early Bird Registration NOW OPEN!

Business Resource Open Office Hours; Free & Open to the public.

November 6, 10:45AM-12:00PM, 30 minute sessions at BVCC.

Here’s who will be here:

MGCC (Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation)

Offers financial solutions to businesses that struggle to obtain traditional financing, focusing on job creation, retention, and promoting economic development.

MassHire BizWorks

Aligns workforce development, economic growth, and education resources to help businesses expand and thrive.

MassDevelopment

Provides flexible financing and real estate solutions for projects that create jobs, expand the tax base, or revitalize communities.

MOBD (Massachusetts Office of Business Development)

Assists businesses relocating or expanding in Massachusetts by providing access to resources, expertise, and incentive programs.

How to get an appointment? Contact Kristen Kearnan kkearnan@blackstonevalley.org with your full name, address, contact information, business name and primary reason for your appointment will be very helpful.

BV Hub for Workforce Development Honored at Game Changers Conference

On Friday, October 11^th, the BV Hub was honored at the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce Game Changers conference held at Mechanics Hall. They were presented the award for “outstanding work to empower innovation, promote an integrative workforce development for all, and addressing regional workforce demands by expanding training opportunities for all ages.” We couldn’t be prouder!

The Blackstone Valley Hub for Workforce Development is the non-profit arm of the Blackstone Valley Chamber of Commerce (BVCC). Established in 2018, they are dedicated to serving the workforce training needs of our community, schools, and businesses.

Pictured left to right: MA Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development, Lauren Jones, BV Hub Vice President, Joscelyn Young, WRCC President, Tim Murray.

The FinFit Fair, is a financial literacy education fair for Hopedale’s juniors and seniors. The fair is a simulation of students’ financial realities at the age of 25, and features a variety of different booths where students are able to allot their “salary”: housing, transportation, pets, etc. Juniors and seniors have separate fair sessions, between which keynote speakers from the local government will present to students on the vitality of financial literacy. Real world experience is all that is required of volunteers! Training materials will be shared with volunteers to prepare for running booths.

The Career Fair, is a career-focused fair for grades 7-10 that features interactive booths in several different career clusters, a Q&A panel with industry professionals, and classroom “career talks” for 7th and 8th graders. The Career Fair team is looking for volunteers in a wide range of professions to run booths and speak about their careers to students.

If you or your business would like to volunteer, please fill out the attached Google Form. If you have any questions or would like to reach out to the organizers of either fair, please direct all emails to deca@hopedaleschools.org . Thank you for your support of Hopedale’s FinFit and Career Fairs - we look forward to hopefully working together in the future!

Willard House & Clock Museum

3rd Annual David Gow Scholarship 

$5000 will be given to an individual wanting to establish/continue a career in clockmaking.

Last year's recipient, Patrick Mont, is a MA resident.

Read more here!

EANE and our law partner Skoler, Abbott & Presser have joined together to present the 2024 MA Employment Law Virtual Summit. In today’s workplace regulations are constantly evolving – this half-day summit will keep you informed on new and revised initiatives that impact your business. Stay up to date on Federal and state laws, immigration, work-related injuries, sexual harassment, diversity initiatives and much more. Protect your organization with the latest updates and information on law and regulation changes.

November 12 | 8:30am Virtual

Massachusetts Sick Leave Law Expanded New Reason Added

With relatively little fanfare, Governor Healey signed into law a bill entitled:  “An Act Promoting Access to Midwifery Care and Out-of-Hospital Birth Options.”

While the measure is focused on providing greater access to health care for pregnancy and reproductive needs, one of the little-known provisions within the new law expands the Massachusetts Sick Leave Law by adding a new covered reason. 

Specifically, the law adds the following new reason for using Massachusetts Sick Leave - to:

• Address the employee’s own physical and mental health needs, and those of their spouse, if the employee or the employee’s spouse experiences pregnancy loss or a failed assisted reproduction, adoption or surrogacy.

As a result of the change, Massachusetts employers should review and update their existing Sick Leave policies and practices to ensure that this additional reason is covered prior to the change taking effect – which is on November 21st, 2024.

As of press time, Massachusetts has yet to update its model sick leave poster to account for this change (though we expect them to do so prior to the November 21st date).

If you have questions pertaining to this or any of your policy-related needs, please feel free to contact our hotline toll-free at (877) 662-6444.

Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources

The 2024 Organic Cost Share Reimbursement application period is now open!

The deadline to submit applications is December 16, 2024.

MDAR is authorized by the USDA – Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) to reimburse certified Organic Crop and Livestock Producers and Handlers (processors) for the Federal 2024 Fiscal Year. Reimbursements are limited to 75% (seventy-five percent) of an operation’s certification costs, up to a maximum of $750 (seven hundred fifty dollars) of certification, for the program year. Organic operations certified for crops, wild crops, livestock and handlers are eligible to participate.

Click here to apply!

• Fidelity Bank promotes Deborah Sendrowski to Executive Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer.

• Fidelity Bank appoints Michael Archambeault to Banking Center Manager for Front Street Banking Center in Worcester

• Fidelity Bank Launches Growth Spending Account, Geared to Teaching Children About Money Management

• Fidelity Bank promotes Brad A. Kirlin to Executive Vice President, Chief Technology Officer

• Veterinary Urgent Care Center Begins Construction of New Worcester Hospital. The new urgent care hospital in downtown Worcester will provide important veterinary services to central Massachusetts 

• Fidelity Bank’s Lemonade Learning Club Drives New Level of Youth Financial Literacy in North Central Massachusetts