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Hi all!
The 2016 Worksite Wellness Award Application is now open. It can accessed at the link below. Please distribute through your networks!
The deadline for award applications is 11:59 pm October 31st, 2016.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2016WorksiteWellnessAward
2017 Worksite Wellness Conference is scheduled for March 23, 2017 at the Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center in South Burlington.
Thank you!
Ashwinee Kulkarni
Public Health Specialist \ (802) 859-5916
Vermont Department of Health
Health Promotion and Disease Prevention
108 Cherry Street
Burlington, VT 05401
Please note that my email address has changed to Ashwinee.Kulkarni@vermont.gov
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Tue, 08/23/2016 – 4:30pm
Vermont Business Magazine Green Mountain Power and Efficiency Vermont are partnering on a community-wide rapid energy transformation project in Panton to reduce energy costs, lower fossil fuel use and improve comfort. Known as eVolve Panton, the effort will put Panton at the forefront of energy innovation in Vermont as the first town to know its total energy use, cost and carbon impact, giving it the ability to track energy and carbon-saving improvements.
“When communities and energy providers work together, powerful things can happen,” said Mary Powell, President and CEO of Green Mountain Power. “We will accomplish in 12 months what would otherwise take 20 years, and when we are done, the people of Panton will have transformed their energy system into one that is more reliable, efficient and affordable.”
“This partnership will show that we are stronger working together to benefit Vermonters,” said Scott Johnstone, the Executive Director of the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation. “We are so excited to begin this innovative work in Panton, and to bring it to other communities across Vermont.”
Green Mountain Power and Efficiency Vermont will work with local residents and businesses to get baseline data about energy use, cost and carbon and use the data to measure improvements. Residents will be offered technical assistance, financial incentives and financing to spur a dramatic and comprehensive energy transformation in Panton.
“Vermonters have long embraced energy efficiency,” said Liz Gamache, Director of Efficiency Vermont. “But never before has there been such an intensive effort to help everyone in the community save energy and save money, helping to reduce carbon throughout the community and transform our energy future.”
GMP and Efficiency Vermont will also partner with contractors to offer deep energy retrofits for homes and businesses, the addition of efficient heating and cooling systems like cold climate heat pumps, innovative technologies like battery storage, installation of renewable energy generation, and adoption of efficient transportation solutions. Both organizations say this program is the first of its kind in Vermont and Panton will serve as the pilot where strategies are tested to create rapid and lasting change.
“This is an exciting opportunity that Green Mountain Power and Efficiency Vermont have brought to our town,” said Howard Hall, a Selectboard member in Panton. “Helping to transform energy use and saving money for everyone in town is energizing our community to get involved and make a difference.”
About Green Mountain Power Green Mountain Power (GMP) serves approximately 265,000 residential and business customers in Vermont and has a vision to be the best small company in America by partnering with Vermonters to improve lives and transform communities. GMP is focused on a new way of doing business to meet the needs of customers with integrated energy services that help people use less energy and save money, while continuing to generate clean, cost-effective and reliable power in Vermont. GMP is the first utility in the world to get a B Corp certification, meeting rigorous social, environmental, accountability and transparency standards and committing to use business as a force for good. In 2014, Vote Solar named GMP a Solar Champion. More information at: www.greenmountainpower.com (link is external). Connect with GMP on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @GreenMtnPower.
About Efficiency Vermont Efficiency Vermont is a statewide energy efficiency utility that helps all Vermonters to reduce energy costs, strengthen the local economy, and protect the environment by making homes and business energy efficient. Efficiency Vermont provides technical assistance, rebates, and other financial incentives to help Vermont households and businesses reduce their energy costs with energy efficient equipment, lighting, and approaches to construction and major renovation. For more information, contact Efficiency Vermont at 888-921-5990 or visit www.efficiencyvermont.com (link is external).
Source: GMP. 8.23.2016. For more information or to sign up if you are a Panton resident call: 802-770-4088 or visit the eVolve Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/evolvepanton/
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All Price Chopper supermarkets hold what they call a Pin-Up Campaign for the benefit of local United Ways every August, where cashiers ask their customers if they would like to buy a “pin-up” for just $1.00.
Last year, Green Mountain United Way received approximately $1,800 from just the 3 stores in our five counties.
When you are out shopping at Price Chopper, please consider donating that $1.00 (or more!!) to help our local efforts at assisting children to have a strong start in school, at helping families to become more financially stable and at encouraging people to live healthier lives. Every thing we can do TOGETHER will make our communities stronger.
Madeleine C. Roy I Community Development & Marketing Director
Green Mountain United Way
P.O. Box 33, 69 Main Street, Derby Line, VT 05830
802-647-2148 GIVE. | ADVOCATE. | VOLUNTEER. | LIVE UNITED™ www.gmunitedway.org
Here’s the crew this week gathered at new smooth turnpiking which replaces a muddy/rocky section of trail.
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Recently, the Monday Girls, a group of the North Country Quilters in Orleans County, heard about the Tatum’s Totes Program for foster children and were impressed with its mission. They immediately decided to donate some quilts for children moving into foster care.
Tatum’s Totes is a statewide program that provides backpacks of essential items for foster children and teens who many times arrive at foster homes with just the clothes on their backs. The backpacks are filled with age and gender appropriate items such as basic clothing, hygiene items, a fuzzy blanket and stuffed animal, activity and reading books and a game.
In its five-county service area, Green Mountain United Way is the coordinator of this program and collaborates with the State of Vermont’s Dept. for Children and Families (DCF) to make sure they have the necessary backpacks needed.
Betsy McDonald of Derby Line, a member of the Monday Girls, earlier this month presented 13 beautiful handmade quilts to Tammy Lalime, Resource Coordinator for the Newport DCF office, to be given to foster kids.
For more information about the Tatum’s Totes Program and to see a list of items needed to fill backpacks, please visit www.gmunitedway.org/blog/green-mountain-united-way-leads-tatums-totes-effort/ or email any one of the GMUW offices in central Vermont at pbailey@gmunitedway.org, in St. Johnsbury at nbaker@gmunitedway.org, or in Derby Line at mroy@gmunitedway.org.
GMUW is proud to be a key member of the Cal-Essex Accountable Health Community team which is committed to working collectively towards improving the health and well-being of the people in Caledonia and southern Essex Counties with emphasis on reducing poverty in our region. As a member of CAHC, GMUW Executive Director Tawnya Kristen has been asked to participate in the FEED Leadership Program through Feeding America and The Annie E. Casey Foundation. This 15-month leadership program is designed to accelerate improved outcomes for communities working to improve outcomes for families with children through a collective impact model. The FEED Leadership Program will support teams with leadership skills necessary to move from talk to action to advance progress on a locally-identified result, including: Developing and executing an action plan with clearly identified strategies; addressing adaptive and technical leadership challenges that arise when managing the competing interests among diverse, cross-sector partners; building the capacity of leaders to use data for continuous improvement of action plan strategies; making mid-course corrections as the landscape shifts and new priorities emerge; and building the organizational and community capacity needed for sustaining results work over the long-term.