THE COUNCIL OF SOCIAL AGENCIES OF HAMPSHIRE COUNTY
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3 County Continuum of Care 
Coordinated Entry

The Three County Continuum of Care (CoC) is in the process of implementing a Coordinated Entry System.  Attached are a basic description and a flyer to be posted.  

The 3 County Rural CoC is a collaborative effort to reduce and end homelessness.  It brings together organizations that provide services and housing to people who are homeless in Berkshire, Franklin and Hampshire Counties.  The Western Mass Network to End Homelessness, also provides region-wide coordination, facilitation and capacity to the CoCs and to community stakeholders.

HUD defines Coordinated entry  as a process developed to ensure that all people experiencing a housing crisis have fair and equal access and are quickly identified, assessed for, referred, and connected to housing and assistance based on their strengths and needs.   Coordinated Entry System  (CES) streamlines the process of finding housing for those who are chronically homeless - with the goal of housing the most vulnerable people first.

If you would like more information, contact Lisa Goldsmith at DIAL/SELF.

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Join the Amherst Survival Center and guests as they discuss threats to basic needs programs (like SNAP, fuel assistance, Medicaid, Medicare, community health centers, housing) and what we can do about it. 

Panelists: 
Keith Barnicle, Regional Mgr. for Congressman Jim McGovern
Michelle Geoffroy, Advocacy, the Food Bank of Western MA 
Moderator:
The Honorable Ellen Story, former State Representative

Co-sponsored with the Amherst League of Women Voters

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Abortion Rights Fund of Western MA
Roe v. Wade 
45th Anniversary Lecture


Dr. Liza Fuentes will be the featured speaker at an event by the Abortion Rights Fund of Western Massachusetts to celebrate and commemorate Roe v. Wade. Dr. Fuentes is a senior research scientist at the Guttmacher Institute - a leading research and policy organization committed to advancing reproductive and sexual health and rights in the United States and globally.  

ARFWM will honor Dr. Fuentes through a donation to La Frontera Fund, which provides practical support to people seeking abortions in the Rio Grande Valley. 

Red Barn at Hampshire College 
Saturday, February 10, 2018, 4:00-6:00 p.m. 

Reception catered by Black Sheep Deli.Tickets are $35 and can be reserved by emailing  info@arfwm.org . Tickets are available at the door as space permits. Students are admitted for free with student identification.
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The Bridge 
Upcoming Groups





Teens in Action
Youth ages 13 to 18 will learn skills to better communicate,
make healthy choices, and build strong self-esteem. This group will run for six Tuesdays from 5:30 to 7:30pm, starting February 6th.   Dinner will be served.  Registration required, call  (413) 549-0297 ext. 6532 

Parenting Journey Group!!! 
For caregivers of all kinds!  The Parenting Journey is a 12-week group designed to help caregivers through a supportive sharing process in order to reflect on the past and plan for the future. The group helps caregivers feel supported on their journey.
Starting February 22nd,  Thursday evenings from 5:30 - 7:30pm

Breakfast will be served & childcare is available
Please call Sylvia at 413-549-0297 x6523 
to register and reserve childcare.

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Update on Community Action's Community Assessment Report and Strategic Plan
FY2018 - FY2020

Every three years, Community Action of the Franklin, Hampshire, and North Quabbin Regions conducts a comprehensive needs and internal assessment and develops a strategic plan based on those assessments. Community Action completed that planning process in the fall of 2017. Usually by this time, you would have had access to it on our website. However, the person who produces the assessment and plan document has had a health issue and is working only part-time at this point.
 
Community Action is aware that many people outside the agency use our needs assessment in grant writing and other aspects of their work. With that in mind, Community Action has created an excerpt that includes the community needs assessment and some details of our planning priorities. That excerpt is available here.  
 
If you have questions about the report please contact Ann Darling at  adarling@communityaction.us . We can make more detailed data from our surveys available to you or coach you on how to dig into some of the data sources we used. However, we can't provide you with survey data at anything below the county level; the sample size is not big enough.
 
We want to thank the many community partners who answered our survey and/or participated in focus groups! Your contributions were invaluable! We apologize for not being able to make the full report and plan available in the usual timeframe.

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Hola Amigas y Amigos- REGISTER

Early childhood is a wonderful time to introduce young children to other cultures.  This special event introduces the Spanish and Latin American culture, and it includes children's music, stories, games and art activity and special snack.
Dates and Location
  • February 7, 9am - 12pm Amherst Family Center (Register by Jan 31)
  • February 13, 9:30am - 11:30am, Easthampton Family Center (Register by Feb 6)
  • February 19,  10:00am - 12:00pm, Belchertown Family Center (Register by Feb 12)
  • March 9, 10:00am - 12:00pm, Belchertown Family Center (Register by Mar 2)
  • March 15, 10:00am - 11:30am, Palmer/Monson Family Network, Three Rivers (Register by Mar 18)
  • March 21, 10:30am  - 11:30am, Southampton Library (Register by Mar 14)
  • March 23, 10:00am - 11:00am, Chesterfield Community Center (Register by Mar 16)
Positive Solutions - Session 3   Teach ME What to Do!
In this session we will d efine the concept of emotional vocabulary, i dentify feeling words and identify effective ways to teach feeling vocabulary, d emonstrate the use of books to support emotional vocabulary and social-emotional development, i dentify how the turtle technique can be used to cope with feelings of anger and disappointment and l earn how to teach problem-solving skills.
Dates and Location
  • February 15, 2018, 10:00am - 11:30am, Belchertown Family Center (Register by Feb 8).    REGISTER
In this session we will e xamine specific strategies that can be used to promote positive adult and child behavior in home and community settings, i dentify that problem behavior has meaning, i dentify the meaning of behavior by examining what happens before and after the problem behavior, i dentify the three parts of a behavior plan: preventions, new skills to teach, and new responses and l earn to use the Family Routine Guide to identify supports for use with children during daily routines.
Dates and Location
  • March 1, 2018, 10:00am - 11:30am, Belchertown Family Center (Register by Feb 8).   REGISTER
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  Human Service Forum
February Breakfast
Feb. 28  7:30am - 9:30 am

Come join HSF in welcoming Secretary Heffernan back to Western MA. We look forward to his update on our state budget as it pertains to the human service sector. There will be time for your questions so come prepared.
Michael J. Heffernan joined Governor Charlie Baker's cabinet as Secretary of the Executive Office for Administration and Finance in August 2017.  In his role, Secretary Heffernan is in charge of formulating the governor's budget plan, providing guidance on the economy, and implementing the state government's $40 billion operating and $2 billion capital budgets.  

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Do you need a quick and easy donor thank you template?

A thank you note is often a nonprofits first opportunity to genuinely engage with a new donor. While we don't want to distract from your fundraising efforts, we created a thank you template to help nonprofits write quick, easy, and impactful thank you letters to donors. Don't give this a second thought - use our   Donor Thank You Letter template to make your donors feel appreciated.
 
Show donors how their donations will make a difference, and reinforce that their decision to support your organization was a great  one.

Happy Fundraising,
Network for Good


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What Your Nonprofit Needs to Know about Facebook's New Algorithm
by: Steven Jackson TechSoup

             
If one of your favorite pastimes is mindlessly scrolling through viral videos on Facebook, your days of doing so are numbered. On January 11, the global social media giant  announced some sweeping changes to its most central product - the News Feed.

In the coming months, Facebook will be granting less priority to Pages from businesses and publications and begin favoring posts its ranking algorithm finds to be more engaging - namely those that spark debate and discussion among a user's friends and family.
Although this is a noble cause, it potentially leaves nonprofits and other mission-driven organizations in a tight spot, because they are considered businesses in the eyes of Facebook.

Truthfully, we don't know a whole lot. In his post announcing the change, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the new policy will take months before users will see the full effects. However, early indications show that, in general, Pages (like the one you may have set up for your organization with  Facebook's encouragement) will be affected. They will not be given the same amount of priority as things like pictures from your vacation or an open question to your group of friends.

Zuckerberg writes:
"As we roll this out, you'll see less public content like posts from businesses, brands, and media. And the public content you see more will be held to the same standard - it should encourage meaningful interactions between people. For example, there are many tight-knit communities around TV shows and sports teams. We've seen people interact way more around live videos than regular ones. Some news helps start conversations on important issues. But too often today, watching video, reading news, or getting a page update is just a passive experience."
Continue Reading


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Advanced Manufacturing 
CNC Training 


The Advanced Manufacturing CNC Training partnership is conducted by Greenfield Community College, the Franklin Hampshire Regional Employment Board, Franklin County Technical School, the Franklin Hampshire Career Center, area manufacturing employers and other partners including the Center for New Americans and The Literacy Project.  

This 12-week training program runs twice a year and helps unemployed and under-employed adults start on the pathway to becoming a precision machinist - a high-skill and high-wage career.  Since the training partnership launched this CNC training four years ago we have enrolled over 100 students and maintained a graduation rate over 95% and a job placement rate of 85%.  Graduates average a starting wage of over $15/hour and can expect to advance in or compete for jobs paying over $25/hour when they acquire more advanced machining skills with 3-5 years of work experience and further training.

Click here for a flyer for the next round of Information Sessions leading up to the next Manufacturing Training program starting in June. 
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Annual Black History Month Luncheon
Tuesday, Feb. 20, 12 - 1 PM
Join us for a delicious lunch and a fabulous performance by the Amherst Area Gospel Choir.  All are welcome for this special annual event.

Celebrating Black History Month featuring Moonlight Davis (vocals), Benny Kohn (keyboards), Bob Weiner (drums)
Friday, Feb. 23, 12 - 1 PM
Join us for wonderful live music & a delicious lunch! 
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FREE WEBINARS



QuickBooks: What's New in 2018
Tuesday, February 13,  2 pm - 3:30 pm 
Join us for a high-level overview of the new QuickBooks Premier Desktop 2018 with Gregg Bossen from QuickBooks Made Easy. Learn the latest and greatest features of QuickBooks to help your nonprofit with all its accounting needs.   REGISTER


QuickBooks Premier for New Desktop Users
Thursday, February 15,    2 pm - 3:30 pm
Are you brand new to using  Intuit QuickBooks or need a basic refresher to make sure you've got your nonprofit set up correctly? Join this free, 90-minute webinar with  QuickBooks Made Easy founder Gregg Bossen that focuses on a host of beginner topics.   REGISTER

AWS: Using Cloud Technology to Enhance Your Mission
Tuesday, February 27, 2018  2 pm - 3:30 pm
Get an overview of Amazon Web Services (AWS) for Nonprofits and review our combined support offerings, such as credit grants to subsidize your AWS spend, trainings to transform your workforce, and special offers to deliver on your vision.  REGISTER


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Opportunities
   
Behavioral Health Network, Inc.

Berkshire Children & Families
Click here to see all of our job listings

Center for New Americans

CHD
 Click here   to see all of our job listings

Collaborative for Educational Services
Click here to see all of our job listings

Community Action
Click here to see all of our job listings
Click here for the weekly job bulletin

Musante Health Center
Click here to see all of our job listings

Safe Passage

Service Net
Click Here to see all of our Job Listings

United Arc
Click Here to see all of our Job Listings

Mark Your Calendars!


HAPPENINGS IN 
HAMPSHIRE COUNTY



Feb. 10 - Charity Scrabble!
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COSA  MEMBERS
This list is being updated during our Membership Drive. 

A Positive Place
Amherst Community Connections
Amherst Education Foundation
Amherst Housing Authority
Amherst Survival Center
Behavioral Health Network, Inc.
Berkshire Children and Families
Center for New Americans
Central Hampshire Veterans Services
CHD
Child Care of the Berkshires, Inc.
Collaborative for Education
Community Action!
Community Foundation of Western MA
Cooley Dickinson Hospital
Community Legal Aid
Core Brilliance Academy
Craig's Doors
DIAL/SELF Youth and Community Services
Family Outreach of Amherst / CHD
Fitzpatrick, Pamela
Franklin Hampshire Career Center
Friends of Children
Human Service Forum
Klausner-Wise, Jan
Literacy Project, Inc.
Massachusetts Nonprofit Network
Northwestern District Attorney's Office
Pathlight, Inc.
Peterson, Kristin
Pioneer Valley Habitat for Humanity
Representative Solomon Goldstein Rose
Representative Steve Kulik
Roth-Howe, Jeffrey
RSVP of the Pioneer Valley
Safe Passage
ServiceNet, Inc.
Smith College
Stavros Center for Independent Living
Trauma Institute and Child Trauma Institute, Inc.
United Arc, Inc.
United Way of Hampshire County
Valley Community Development Corp. 
Wayfinders, Inc. 
Western MA Network to End Homelessness


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