Service grants ranging from $100 to $2,000 are awarded biannually by the Zonta Club of Quaboag Valley, as part of its mission to make a better world for women and girls.
Service Committee Chairs Dr. Mary Ann Rubis, of Chicopee, and Liz Reeves, of Ludlow, have announced that the spring grants have been awarded to four organizations: Girls on the Run Western Massachusetts, Ware River Valley Domestic Violence Task Force, YWCA of Western Massachusetts and Girls Inc. of the Valley.
The next round of service grants will be announced in November. Grant applications are available at www.zontaqv.org/service-grant or by emailing info@zontaqv.org.
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Through the Springfield Thunderbirds “Together We Can” Community Partnership with M&T Bank, the Thunderbirds made more than 400 player and mascot visits in the area during the season while also raising more than $100,000 for charity.
There was an average of more than one visit per day by players, staff, and team mascot Boomer. The team’s Community Caravan, with support from MassMutual, made stops in three neighboring towns throughout the summer of 2024. The program made its mark on the towns they visited, as each Caravan benefited a local nonprofit organization. The team collected food, baby supplies, and school supplies and generated over 400 pounds of food donations and more than $500 of donated goods.
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Three students from Pathfinder Regional Vocational Technical High School competed at the Business Professionals of America National Leadership Conference and Competition in Orlando, Florida.
Brayden Mega, senior from Palmer, Tanasia Gray, senior from Belchertown, and Howard Wichert, senior from Belchertown, qualified for the national competition after placing in the top three for their events at the BPA State Leadership Competition in Norwood.
The three students are graduating from the Business Technology program at Pathfinder Tech and are attending college in the fall. Mega will be attending Monroe University in New York, Gray will be attending UMass Dartmouth and Wichert will be attending UMass Amherst.
Additionally, the students received certifications from Microsoft Office recently for their document processing and spreadsheet development skills.
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Allen Media & Associates in South Hadley is celebrating 20 years in business. David Allen opened the marketing firm back in 2005. He left a Atlanta-based corporate sales training position to launch the firm. Allen also expanded operations by opening a second office in Florida, allowing the firm to better serve its growing client base in the Southeast.
The firm has team of marketing professionals and offices in Western Massachusetts and Florida.
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Nyxie’s Whimsies, a boutique workshop space and retail shop specializing in aromatherapy-inspired art events and handcrafted products, is opening in Indian Orchard.
Nyxie’s Whimsies will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony on July 12 at 518 Main St. A VIP reception will be held from 10:30 am to 11 a.m., with the ribbon cutting at 11:11 a.m.
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For the fourth year in a row, Grow Food Northampton and Cedar Chest, the anchor store in Thornes Marketplace in downtown Northampton, announced their partnership to fight hunger in Northampton.
Cedar Chest is conducting the “Give $10, Get $10” campaign to raise funds for GFN’s SNAP Match program. At GFN’s year-round farmers markets, Tuesday market, and winter market, the SNAP Match program doubles SNAP users’ benefits so they are able to buy healthy local foods at the farmers markets.
Launched on June 15, the “Give $10, Get $10” promotion allows Cedar Chest customers to donate $10 to Grow Food Northampton’s SNAP Match program and, in turn, receive a $10 gift card to spend at Cedar Chest. Customers can stop in at Cedar Chest to make the donation and get a gift card in return.
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