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A once rich agricultural community, the country of Haiti has faced environmental devastation for decades. Here, outdoor lifestyle brand Timberland* saw an opportunity to make an impact.

Last week at the Sustainable Brands Conference in San Diego, Timberland screened “KOMBIT: The Cooperative,” a documentary film chronicling a five-year project to reforest Haiti in partnership with the Smallholder Farmers Alliance (SFA), a Haitian nonprofit farmer cooperative dedicated to reforesting the country. Farmers volunteer to tend to a network of nurseries producing one million trees annually, and in turn they receive training, seeds, seedlings and tools to restore their own crops yields.

To read more, click here.

*Cone client

Greater Worcester Community Foundation announces health fund recipients – News – MetroWest Daily News, Framingham, MA – Framingham, MA Greater Worcester Community Foundation announces health fund recipients MetroWest Daily News, Framingham, MA WORCESTER Greater Worcester Community Foundation recently announced the recipients of its 2016 Fallon/OrNda Community Health Fund, an endowment created by the Fallon Clinic upon its sale of Saint Vincent Hospital 20 years ago.The total granting of $183,500 was disbursed to 13 organizations for projects that will help Worcester area residents improve their health. Several of the programs will bring health services directly to people who need them; others will remove barriers that prevent people from receiving services such as lack of transportation, cultural competency of providers, language differences or other factors.The 2016 funded projects are: Community Health Connections, pediatric screening equipment. Family Health Center of Worcester, health care for homeless families. MetroWest Daily News, Framingham, MA

The Appomattox River and those that enjoy one of the key recreational resources in our region got some great news last month.The Cameron Foundation announced that it is awarding a $100,000 grant to Friends of the Lower Appomattox River or FOLAR to help the group develop a master plan that will help link and enhance the parks along the Appomattox River.The project will generate two detailed and interconnected regional planning documents – one to guide completion of linear park and trail development, and the other to guide development of branding and interpretive signage along the Lower Appomattox River. FOLAR already has secured other commitments to begin implementation of trail improvements once the master plans have been finalized.The grant will be a major boost to enhance the trails along the Appomattox River and increase access to the river.FOLAR Chair K. “FOLAR and communities along the river will work with a consultant team to develop engineering, planning, transportation, trail design, branding, and signage design to prepare the plans.Improving the recreational opportunities along the Appomattox River makes sense on a variety of levels, including health, recreation and economic development. Also, a multi-use trail brings increased awareness of the river while improving water quality, increasing habitat for native species, and protecting areas of historical, cultural and ecological significance.This push to improve the trail system along the Appomattox River will be a major benefit to the health of the communities along the river and the quality of life to all who live in the region.

Vermont Tech Receives $4 Million Federal Grant for Manufacturing Training | VTDigger

Vermont news: Breaking, in-depth and investigative coverage of politics, business and public affairs

Vermont Tech Receives $4 Million Federal Grant for Manufacturing Training

News Release Vermont Technical College
June 16, 2016

Contact:
Amanda Chaulk
Vermont Tech
802-879-2373
[email protected]

Vermont Tech Receives $4,000,000 Federal Grant to Support Working Families’ Access to Skills Training in Advanced Manufacturing

RANDOLPH CENTER, VT Vermont Technical College (Vermont Tech) has received a $4 million US Labor Department grant to provide training and education to prepare low- to middle-skilled Vermonters to enter the workforce with better-paying jobs in industries relevant to Vermont’s growth. Partners include: Vermont Department of Labor (VDOL), Vermont’s Statewide Workforce Development Board (SWDB), Community College of Vermont (CCV), Vermont Adult Basic Education agencies, Vermont Adult Learning, GW Plastics, GE Aviation, Global Foundries, G.S. Precision, Vermont Child Development Division, Vermont Head Start State Collaboration Office, Vermont Head Start Association, Parent Child Centers, private care providers, Vermont Birth to Five, Child Care Resources, Vermont Association for the Education of Young Children, and Vermont Child Care Industry and Careers Council. Strategic partners include: Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development, Permanent Fund, VocRehab Vermont, Vermont Works for Women, United Way of Chittenden County, Vermont Regional Planning Commissions, Vermont Regional Development Corporations, Reach Up, and Vermont Office of Economic Opportunity.

On behalf of Vermont Tech, President Smith expressed his gratitude to the United States Congressional delegation from Vermont for their support in securing this grant.

For more information about Vermont Tech’s Continuing Education and Workforce Development initiatives, contact [email protected].

The US Department of Labor’s recent press release regarding this national initiative can be found on their website.

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(Source Comanche Nation Water Park/Facebook)

The Comanche Nation Water Park is trying to get its doors reopened after it had to close down due to flooding on Sunday.

The Comanche Nation Water Park is trying to get its doors reopened after it had to close down due to flooding on Sunday.

Cash-N-Carry hit by car, driver cites brake failureCash-N-Carry hit by car, driver cites brake failureFriday, June 17 2016 3:21 PM EDT2016-06-17 19:21:41 GMTThe driver said he’s glad no one was hurt when his brakes failed and he hit the gas station. (Source KSWO)

The Cash-N-Carry on Northwest Fort Sill Boulevard was damaged after a car drove into the storefront.

The Cash-N-Carry on Northwest Fort Sill Boulevard was damaged after a car drove into the storefront.

$25,000 awarded in grants through Operation Round Up$25,000 awarded in grants through Operation Round UpFriday, June 17 2016 2:14 PM EDT2016-06-17 18:14:59 GMTOperation Round Up (Source Cotton Electric Charitable Foundation)

The Cotton Electric Charitable Foundation will distribute more than $25,000 to various organizations with money raised by co-op members.

The Cotton Electric Charitable Foundation will distribute more than $25,000 to various organizations with money raised by co-op members.

LPD: Lock your vehicle, take valuables insideLPD: Lock your vehicle, take valuables insideFriday, June 17 2016 12:35 PM EDT2016-06-17 16:35:04 GMT

The Lawton Police Department is urging everyone to lock their car doors and take valuable and sensitive items inside with you.

The Lawton Police Department is urging everyone to lock their car doors and take valuable and sensitive items inside with you.

100 join search for Damion100 join search for DamionFriday, June 17 2016 12:18 PM EDT2016-06-17 16:18:30 GMTOne hundred trained searchers are out looking for Damion.

Grant supports ESL students – News – Dodge City Daily Globe – Dodge City, KS – Dodge City, KS By Gloria Tucker / Dodge City Daily Globe Dodge City Daily Globe – Dodge City, KS By Gloria Tucker / Dodge City Daily Globe The 21st Century Learning Center, a federal grant program, awarded Dodge City Schools a $449,831 grant for its English as a Second Language and migrant programs.The district sought the grant to replace and enhance current after school services and learning opportunities for ESL proficiency and in response to ESL/migrant funding reductions.Over the course of five years, the grant will give students an opportunity to work on subject improvement, homework and STEM activities — science, technology, engineering and mathematics.”The emphasis is going to be on ESL learners,” Robert Vinton, director of the migrant program, said in a press release. “But although the focus of the grant was to work with those students that need the second language piece, it’s open to all kids, as long as we have space available.”Vinton said he hopes to have 30 participants at the high school, 50 from both middle schools and growth over time.”The biggest benefit to students is that we’re going to be working on language acquisition and they have the opportunity to explore, through enrichment, the opportunities that exist out there in relation to technology and careers,” he saidThe program will meet after school at each participating school for 45 minutes of academic work and 45 minutes of activities.”It will also include opportunities for post-secondary exploration,” organizer Bianca Alvarez said in a press release. Dodge City Daily Globe – Dodge City, KS

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Billings Senior High School’s Save Our Murals Committee was awarded a grant of $1,000 by The Mathews-Dousman Memorial Endowment Fund of the Montana Community Foundation, in partnership with Billings Community Foundation grant recommendations.

The money will be used for signage for the 110 student-created murals on Senior High’s hallway walls.

MERIDEN With the deadline fast approaching, city officials say they expect to complete the application for the Choice Neighborhood Implementation Grant this week.

The Choice Neighborhood Initiative is a housing and development partnership between the Meriden Housing Authority and the city.

The MHA and city are applying for $20 million from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development to be used for widespread development of the city’s downtown that would include more accessible preschool for families in the Choice Neighborhood; more readily available employment opportunities and services; a newly-designed street and sidewalk plan; and the addition of 494 housing units to be complete by the end of 2020. Of those, 140 are designated as replacement housing units for residents of the Mills Memorial Apartment complex, an aging and outdated housing block that’s in the process of being emptied and demolished in favor of a more modern housing plan.

At a meeting earlier this week to update Choice Neighborhood residents on the status of the application, Woo Kim a representative from Wallace Roberts & Todd LLC said the application was due June 28, a deadline less than two weeks away.

While the city’s application is for $20 million, up to $30 million is available through the grant. Kim said the MHA and city were applying for less than the full amount offered by the grant “not because we don’t need the other $10 million, but the $20 million amount makes us as competitive as the big cities like Boston, Detroit, and Philadelphia.”

According to information Kim presented at the meeting, since 2010, only 55 communities have received Choice planning grants, and only 12 received Choice implementation grants.

The city was awarded a Choice Neighborhood Planning Grant in 2013, the money used to ensure the subsequent 300-page implementation grant application was as thorough as possible, and to develop a course of action that could be completed even without receiving the $20 million implementation grant. “To that end, the city has been very successful in acquiring state funding” in the form of brownfield remediation funds, and funds from other philanthropic organizations.

“The plan wasn’t just to go for the implementation grant, but we’re pursuing it because we have all these projects lined up and it looks really good when we apply to HUD,” Kim said. “If there’s ever a time that a community of Meriden’s size should apply for this grant, now is the time.”

Kim and Burdelski said they expect to hear back from HUD about three months after the grant application is submitted.

mcallahan@record-journal.com 203-317-2279 Twitter: @MollCal

Education foundation names scholarship winners | www.simivalleyacorn.com | Simi Valley Acorn

Each year, the Simi Valley Education Foundation grants six students $1,000 scholarships so that they can attend college, technical or vocational schools.

One student is chosen from each of the five local high schools as well as from Moorpark College.

The 2016 scholarship recipients and their schools are: Desiree Hernandez, Apollo; Sarah Chaffin, Monte Vista; Robert Ota, Royal; Andrea Magat, Santa Susana; Allison Gillies, Simi Valley, and Noelle Chodek, Moorpark College.

The 2016 endowment recipients are: Yasmin Alvizo of Apollo, Maria Valdez of Royal and Emma Mills of Santa Susana.

In addition, the foundation awards three, two-year community college scholarships of $1,000 per year to students enrolled in a local community college.

This endowment program was established to honor the wishes of the original donor to provide community college scholarships for students who cannot afford to fund their own education.

Igwe Alfred Achebe70 youths to benefit from Obi of Onitsha’s N35m empowerment grant Seventy youths are to benefit from the N35 million empowerment grant of the Obi of Onitsha, under the monarch’s Entrepreneurship Development and Skill Acquisition (EDSA) programme for Onitsha youths.

The monarch, Igwe Alfred Achebe, announced this on Thursday in Onitsha while presenting certificates of graduation to youths who graduated from skills acquisition centre.

He said that with the experience they garnered during their training in various fields, “they can now comfortably fix into the society and fend for themselves.”

According to him, the project would keep them busy and prevent them from indulging in the use of illicit drugs and other criminal acts.

The monarch, who expressed satisfaction with the completion of this first batch, said that the programme would be a continuous exercise.

Mr Ernest Aninweruka, the Senior Special Adviser to Anambra Governor on Financial Institutions, commended Achebe for the initiative and urged other well-meaning individuals to emulate the monarch.

The President of Onitsha Ado Youth Council, Mr Patrick Agha-Mba, described EDSA as a youth engagement and empowerment initiative, being coordinated under pragmatic supervision of Achebe.

“The aim is to pull the youth of our community into a vision of self-confidence and self-belief in their ability and capabilities.

“It is hoped that they will release their innate capabilities and strength, in contributing to the overall interest of the community and the state,” he said.