I gotta say, there’s really something to this content campaign thing.

Ever since I started storytelling to raise awareness about my work, my business has gotten a significant boost, and I am as busy now as I was pre-COVID-19. In addition to reconnecting with clients who could not offer assignments during the pandemic for various reasons, I also heard from new clients. All of them were reading what I was writing. They were listening. 

Hail to marketing strategy!

The lesson here is that if you create your own campaign, your prospects will listen to you, too. And they will respond by reaching out.

If you are looking for new business or want to raise awareness about new programs and services—or if you’d like to inspire new donors and volunteers to your nonprofit—I highly recommend you create a strategy and start telling stories. 

Prepare and post blogs about your work, staff, and customer successes. Take and post photographs and videos that show your products and interactions with clients and staff. Provide infographics on the benefits of your products or services, and offer resources to your customers and prospects, too.

The people you cater to are hungry for information. They will be grateful to you if you provide it. 

Creating content for your website and social media platforms allows you an economical way to reach your audience and stay relevant. It brings fresh material to your website, which improves your Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, and makes it easier for your prospects to find you.

Telling stories keeps your audience informed about what you do, how you do it, why you do it, and how you can help. It keeps you engaged with your clients and prospects and ensures when they need what you do, you are top of mind. 

I have proof.

Over the past six to eight weeks, a contact on my enewsletter list who I’d never had the pleasure to work with reached out because she was hosting an art event. I did a press release for her and helped her get exposure in BusinessWest and the Springfield Republican.

A client who is a marketing director at a premier retirement community circled back to me for help during a staff transition, and I reconnected with several other former clients and took on assignments from them. 

My days are full and fulfilling!

Check out the press releases I have been writing for clients and look at other client content as well.

I would be happy to help you plan your own content campaign and tell stories about your work. 

If your business changed as a result of COVID-19, or if you had to pivot in some new way and now have new programs or services, I can help you tell your customers and prospects how you might be able to better serve them.

Reach out to start a conversation today! I guarantee if you start promoting yourself with fresh content, you’ll see promising results.

Stories are important in business. 

Storytelling sells.

The post Proof That Content Sells appeared first on Beetle Press.

Effort to benefit Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce, local merchants, and area consumers

FLORENCE—Keiter Corporation has donated $10,000 to the Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce for a promotion that will allow consumers to purchase a $25 Northampton gift card and receive $50 in actual spending power.

This investment by Keiter, aimed at helping to continue to boost the local economy in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, will be supplemented by a $2,500 contribution from the Chamber’s Community Revitalization Fund, allowing for 250 of the double-valued, $25 Northampton gift cards to be sold.

Billed as a “Kickstart the Community with a Keiter Card” campaign, the promotion will launch on Aug. 12. The $25 Keiter Cards will be sold exclusively at the Chamber offices at 99 Pleasant St., Northampton during the hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Consumers must mention that they want a Keiter Card, and the promotion applies only to $25 Northampton gift card purchases. (A $50 gift card would not be valued at $100, for instance.)

There is a limit of one card per customer, per transaction.

“We care about our community and where we live,” said Scott Keiter, founder and president of the Keiter Corporation with his wife, Jill, director of finance. “Our families are here. Our business is here. We saw this as an opportunity to raise awareness about our business in a way that benefits the local business community and consumers. We’re trying to reinvest in a different way.

“COVID-19 was not fair,” he added. “Some industries, people, and families were hit significantly harder than others. We see this as a way to help people get back out there and feel better about having a nice meal and spending some time in downtown Northampton. Let’s continue to build the positive energy downtown and support our business community.”

Based in Florence, Keiter has provided general contracting and construction management services in the Valley since 2010 for its commercial and residential projects.

Scott Keiter is a member of the Chamber’s Board of Directors and its Finance Committee, so he is personally aware of the financial hit that local merchants took during the pandemic.

Knowing the gift card program has been successful, he thought an investment focused on it would be a win-win-win for his business, the Chamber, and shoppers around the region who have also been hard-hit.

“We see this as a positive way to invest in our community,” Keiter added. “Things are coming back to life. It’s another little piece of the puzzle. Another piece of forward movement. We hope this is very successful and triggers a cascade of other organizations getting involved in doing similar things.”

Keiter Corporation’s tagline is “Develop. Build. Manage.” “We believe our tagline reflects what we are doing in the community through this investment,” Keiter said.

The Northampton Gift Card is currently accepted at 65 restaurants, shops, and other establishments. Additionally, twenty-five Keiter Cards will be given away via an online promotion on the Daily Hampshire Gazette’s website gazettenet.com.

To learn more, visit Keiter.com or call the Chamber at 413-584-1900.

The post Keiter Corporation Donates $10,000 for Northampton Gift Card Promotion to Kickstart the Community after the Pandemic Year appeared first on Beetle Press.

I write blogs and craft press releases for Thornes Marketplace in Northampton to help raise awareness about events and individual shop owners. This month, I got to help the popular shopping center spread some great news via both blog and PR: On May 10, Thornes returned to its pre-pandemic hours and three restaurants were regrouping, with two reopening in June.

The pandemic hit business owners hard—restaurants especially—so the leaders of Thornes Marketplace were thrilled to announce the return to an early morning opening of 8:30 a.m. as of May 10, allowing Share Coffee on the main floor to once again serve morning commuters, and two other Thornes restaurants expect to reopen in June.

In addition, the main marketplace is also poised to continue to follow the commonwealth’s requirements regarding mask-wearing and social distancing indoors. Door monitors and staff will continue to enforce this requirement, and when Massachusetts lifts the indoor mask requirement on May 29 for all, or just those who are vaccinated, they plan to eliminate the door monitor position.

Mask-wearing will not be enforced inside the building; individual shop owners may enforce their own rules, however. The majority of shop owners and staff have been vaccinated.

The last year has been a very difficult one. Thornes leaders appreciate the continued support and understanding from shop owners, their staff, and customers as Thornes navigates what is hoped to be the final hurdle in reopening.

Paul and Elizabeth’s will reopen on June 3, and Patria—a new business on the lowest level of Thornes that opened shortly before COVID-19 forced closures—will begin serving in early to mid-June from a new six-course tasting menu.

Since Thornes reopened for business on June 8 last year, following a lengthy closure brought about by the pandemic, it has opened its doors at 11 a.m. The earlier opening allows Share Coffee to serve customers once again during its busiest time of day.

“We’ve been affected by the limited building hours,” says Ken Majka, owner of Share Coffee in Thornes and in Hadley and Amherst, and in Montague, where Ken has a café and pub. “That was definitely impactful, and we’re looking forward to getting open earlier.”

Share is now open Monday through Saturday at 8:30 a.m., and on Sundays, at 10 a.m.; the cafe serves coffees, teas, breakfast sandwiches made to order, fresh bakery items, salads, and other light fare. 

Ken is working to get his tables and standing bar set back up inside Thornes; in the meantime, orders are served to go. 

Nate Sustick, the son of Paul and Elizabeth’s longtime owners, Paul and Elizabeth Sustick, and the restaurant’s general manager, says their restaurant was closed for about a month last spring and reopened in April for takeout only. He’s pleased to be able to reopen for in-house dining on June 3.  

“It was a personal comfort level for me and the staff to wait until everyone was vaccinated,” he explains. “All will be fully vaccinated by mid-May. I’m looking forward to the next step. This has been a long road, and it is almost like starting anew.”

The closure and downsizing led to a loss of regular staff, so Paul and Elizabeth’s reopens with a new team, with some former employees at the core. Nate says, “This pandemic’s been survivable with the support from the local community and government funding. It’s been amazing.”

Paul and Elizabeth’s will reopen with 50 percent of its seating—about 40 to 50 seats, and Nate will encourage diners to make reservations using the app, Resy.com; walk-ins will also be welcome. 

He says he is both refreshing and trimming the menu, keeping classic items and locally produced food, such as produce and seafood from Berkshore, which will soon provide striped bass, bluefish, and scallops as they become available. 

The restaurant will be open Thursday through Saturday in June from 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., and online ordering and curbside pick-up will continue Monday through Saturday.

Patria was a brand-new restaurant located on the basement level of Thornes in the space formerly occupied by ConVino when Thornes was closed in March due to the pandemic.  

Aaron Thayer, who owns Patria with his wife, Abby Fuhrman, is pleased to reopen in early to mid-June with a new six-course tasting menu in the dining room; small bites will be featured at the bar and in the lounge, and the cocktail menu has also been revamped.

Aaron says the new menu allows people to order the six courses, which will be tailored for those with allergies or other dietary restrictions, and the items arrive one at a time. “This well-curated and creative tasting menu shouldn’t leave you feeling engorged at the end,” he says.

Inside Patria, roughly 24 seats will be available in the main dining room, with 20 in the bar and lounge. Some seating will also be available outside on the patio. 

Aaron is a chef with experience at exclusive, fine dining establishments in Boston and San Francisco—and at Coco & the Cellar Bar in Easthampton.

Bon appetit!

The post Helping a Client Get the Good News Out appeared first on Beetle Press.

Grants to organizations in 2021 at $40,000, with total pandemic donations at $140,000 thus far

FLORENCE—Since the start of the new year, Florence Bank has donated $40,000 to organizations in the region that support food insecurity, bringing its total giving in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to $140,000.

As restrictions are starting to lift, President and CEO Kevin R. Day also reiterated the bank’s commitment to the cause, saying a return to pre-pandemic economics in the region is likely not imminent. 

“People have been impacted significantly. Their jobs haven’t returned. They’re not making ends meet, and they need food,” Day said. “There’s still a need. We’re here to support the needs, and they’re continuing.”

So far in 2021, Florence Bank has granted $5,000 to the Chesterfield Community Cupboard, its second donation to that organization since the pandemic began; $20,000 to the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts to support its Brown Bag: Food for Elders Program; $10,000 to Grow Food Northampton, also a second gift, to support the Community Food Distribution Project created last year for emergency food distribution. Most recently, the Florence Bank Board of Directors approved a $5,000 gift for Manna Community Kitchen. 

Day said the consideration of gifts to support food insecurity is an ongoing item on the Florence Bank Board of Director’s meeting agenda. 

John Ebbets, chair of the 11-member board and a member for nearly a decade, said the bank aptly prioritized supporting access to food as a basic human need. 

“There was no hesitation whatsoever,” said Ebbets. “Florence Bank has consistently been a major player in supporting the community. It has always been incredibly supportive.”

As the former executive director of United Way of Hampshire County from 2015 to 2019, Ebbets knows about community need, and he said he feels grateful to be able to sit on the bank board and indirectly provide assistance. “It feels good,” he said. 

Day said Florence Bank began responding to the problem of hunger soon after COVID-19 forced closures and caused wide-scale job loss. “We said, ‘We need to be here and help these nonprofits get food out,’” he said.

In 2020, the bank donated nearly $100,000 to the Community Food Distribution Project, Grow Food Northampton, the Northampton Survival Center, and Lorraine’s Soup Kitchen & Pantry in Chicopee.

“There was an outpouring of need,” Day said. “The shutdowns hit every city and town. We made an effort to ensure our assistance covered the breadth of our whole service area, with gifts to date made in Hampden and Hampshire counties.”

Ebbets said the board is also looking ahead. “Not everybody will emerge from the pandemic at the same time. The projection was that there could be continued significant need. Food insecurity does not go away,” he said. “It’s a continuing cycle and a continuing challenge.”

About Florence Bank

Florence Bank is a mutually-owned savings bank chartered in 1873. Currently, the Bank serves the Pioneer Valley through 12 full-service branch locations in Florence, Northampton, Easthampton, Williamsburg, Amherst, Hadley, Belchertown, Granby, Chicopee, West Springfield, and Springfield. Additionally, it offers 25 ATMs and a wide range of financial services, including investment management through FSB Financial Group (FSBFG) to consumers and businesses.  Florence Bank is consistently voted best local bank by the readers of the Valley Advocate and the Daily Hampshire Gazette. 

The post Florence Bank Reiterates Pledge to Support Food Insecurity in the Valley appeared first on Beetle Press.

Marketplace in general is poised to continue following state guidelines on mask-wearing and social distancing

NORTHAMPTON—Thornes Marketplace returned to an early morning opening of 8:30 a.m. as of May 10, allowing Share Coffee on the main floor to once again serve morning commuters, and two other Thornes restaurants expect to reopen in June.

In addition, the main marketplace is also poised to continue to follow the commonwealth’s requirements regarding mask-wearing and social distancing indoors. “Our door monitors and staff will continue to enforce this requirement,” said Thornes Marketing Manager Jody Doele. “If Massachusetts lifts the indoor mask requirement for all, or just those who are vaccinated, we plan to eliminate the door monitor position.”

Thornes Marketplace would then not require masks inside the building; individual shop owners may enforce their own rules, however. Doele noted that the majority of shop owners and staff have been vaccinated.

“The last year has been a very, very difficult one for all of us,” she said. “We appreciate the continued support and understanding from our shop owners, their staff, and our customers as we navigate what we hope is our final hurdle.”

Paul and Elizabeth’s will reopen on June 3, and Patria—a new business on the lowest level of Thornes that opened shortly before COVID-19 forced closures—will begin serving in early to mid-June from a new six-course tasting menu.

Since Thornes reopened for business June 8, following a lengthy closure brought about by the pandemic, it has opened its doors at 11 a.m. The earlier opening will allow Share Coffee to serve customers once again during its busiest time of day.

“We’ve been affected by the limited building hours,” said Ken Majka, owner of Share Coffee in Thornes and in Hadley and Amherst, and in Montague, where Majka has a café and pub. “That was definitely impactful, and we’re looking forward to getting open earlier.”

Share is now open Monday through Saturday at 8:30 a.m., and on Sundays, at 10 a.m.; the cafe serves coffees, teas, breakfast sandwiches made to order, fresh bakery items, salads, and other light fare. 

Majka is working to get his tables and standing bar set back up inside Thornes; in the meantime, orders are served to go. 

Nate Sustick, the son of Paul and Elizabeth’s longtime owners, Paul and Elizabeth Sustick, and the restaurant’s general manager, said his business was closed for about a month last spring and reopened in April for takeout only. He’s excited to reopen for in-house dining on June 3.  

“It was a personal comfort level for me and the staff to wait until everyone was vaccinated,” he said. “All will be fully vaccinated by mid-May. I’m looking forward to the next step. This has been a long road, and it is almost like starting anew.”

The closure and downsizing led to a loss of regular staff, so Paul and Elizabeth’s reopens with a new team, with some former employees at the core. “This pandemic’s been survivable with the support from the local community and government funding. It’s been amazing.”

Paul and Elizabeth’s will reopen with 50 percent of its seating—about 40 to 50 seats, and Sustick will encourage diners to make reservations using an app called Resy.com; walk-ins will also be welcome. 

He said he is both refreshing and trimming the menu, keeping classic items and locally produced food, such as produce and seafood from Berkshore, which will soon provide striped bass, bluefish, and scallops as they become available. 

The restaurant will be open Thursday through Saturday in June from 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., and online ordering and curbside pick-up will continue Monday through Saturday.

Patria was a brand-new restaurant located on the basement level of Thornes in the space formerly occupied by ConVino when Thornes was closed in March due to the pandemic.  

Aaron Thayer, who owns Patria with his wife, Abby Fuhrman, is pleased to reopen in early to mid-June with a new six-course tasting menu in the dining room; small bites will be featured at the bar and in the lounge, and the cocktail menu has also been revamped.

Thayer said the new menu allows people to order the six courses, which will be tailored for those with allergies or other dietary restrictions, and the items arrive one at a time. “This well-curated and creative tasting menu shouldn’t leave you feeling engorged at the end,” he said.

Inside Patria, roughly 24 seats will be available in the main dining room, with 20 in the bar and lounge. Some seating will also be available outside on the patio. 

Thayer is a chef with experience at exclusive, fine dining establishments in Boston and San Francisco—and at Coco & the Cellar Bar in Easthampton.

To learn more about Thornes Marketplace, visit thornesmarketplace.com.

Thornes Marketplace has been the cornerstone of downtown Northampton and at the center of the Main Street shopping district for more than a century. Built in 1873, it holds 55,000 square feet of space for merchants and includes features like pressed tin ceilings and hardwood floors.

The post Two Restaurants in Thornes Marketplace to Reopen and a Third Returned to Regular Hours appeared first on Beetle Press.

I am still feeling the financial effects of COVID-19. 

While I continue to have new authors contact me to help them with a book project they have in mind—two contacted me just in the past week—the majority of my business clients with Beetle Press remain unable to use my PR and communications services for one reason or another.

Many of my clients had to close a year ago; some reopened quickly but with severe restrictions that didn’t allow them to offer events, for instance. Without events, my clients don’t need me to help them with promotion via a press release sent to the media or a blog they’d post on their websites. 

Those who are open for business don’t know what to plan or what to promote because the pandemic continues to see them tap dancing around ever-changing protocols and processes.

In addition, many of my clients were also hurt financially, and they don’t have the funds now for communications.

Now and again, the effects of the pandemic drop me back into the year 2010, when my late husband, Ed, died four days after I lost my full-time job. 

When I get my credit card bill, and the balance is daunting—bam, I’m back in the wounded, grieving place.

When I want to do something I once wouldn’t think twice about, such as planning a trip, and I can’t—bam, I’m back there.

Yet, the past 10 years of my life were a willful evolution that took me from grieving to great. I worked hard to survive and transform my life. I learned how to make more money. I got physically stronger. I learned about patience, the perspectives of others, and I learned a whole lot about perseverance. 

I use these superpowers now as I cope with COVID. 

When I have a little session where I knock myself down, I rouse myself. “Hey, it’s going to be okay. Get up. Do your thing. Knock on doors. It’ll all be good.”

I also tell myself this: “Really? You are fine. You have first-world problems. Get over yourself. Make something happen.”

So, I’m over here getting over myself and trying to make things happen. 

I’m reaching out to lots of people. I’m checking in with clients to see how they are and if they need my help.

I’ve partnered with another writer in the area, and we are working on new creative projects. We’re sharing passages with one another and trading feedback. My project is my first work of fiction, and I’m pleased with how it’s going.

I’ve also had the time to work on transforming my Poem Pods into a children’s coloring book. I will have a draft soon, and I’m looking for 20 children between the ages of 6-10 to get a free copy of the book with a four-pack of crayons in exchange for feedback from the parents on how to make the book better. Interested? Please email me!

I’m also trying to figure out how to promote my new book, “Willful Evolution,” during a pandemic when I can’t be out there reading from it live.

“Willful Evolution” tells the story of the past decade, and it shows the ways in which I grew and got stronger over the past 10 years. I wrote the book in hopes it might help others take a fresh look at their own lives to consider if they need inspiration for their own evolution. Because that’s what my book can do. It can inspire you, and it will also make you laugh.

If you have the COVID-19-oh-my-god-how-do-I-get-passed-this-shit blues, my book could help you now. 

The short advice is: Be patient and know that change will come. Be open to all the ways you might be able to bring that about.

The post Using My Relatively New Superpowers to Fight Against COVID-19 appeared first on Beetle Press.

Assistance across the country, and at home, has increased exponentially since 2019

NORTHAMPTON—United Ways work year-round to help people who are vulnerable, and in the past year, meeting increased needs in response to the COVID-19 pandemic has made agencies across the world far busier and even more relevant. 

United Way of Hampshire County regularly reports to United Way Worldwide, including its own efforts related to COVID. In meeting the needs of an additional, estimated 5,000 people in Hampshire County in the past year, the agency expanded its summer diaper drive into a year-long effort, rallied 300 volunteers for COVID-related tasks, and fielded 380 percent more calls for help via the 2-1-1 emergency line. 

“United Way has always fought for the health, education, and financial stability of every person in every community,” said John Bidwell, executive director of the Hampshire County agency. “In particular, that means we focus on the thorniest issues related to poverty and near poverty. Too many of our neighbors have to decide between diapers and food, or medicine or gas for our car. Things that most of us don’t think twice about. As the pandemic continues, so does our critical work helping the most vulnerable in these tough times.”

Bidwell said increased support for the agency would allow it to continue to provide a higher level of help. To make a donation, visit https://www.uwhampshire.org/give.

In the region

In a more typical year, United Way of Hampshire County provides support that touches roughly 20,000 lives. With the financial devastation wrought by COVID, the agency has reached an estimated 5,000 additional people, greatly ramping up the assistance it provides. It has:

• Responded to 4,930 calls for help to the 2-1-1 emergency line over the past year, up from 1,297 in 2019, with top needs reported as rent assistance and childcare.
• Expanded the summer diaper drive into a year-long effort, increasing diaper donations by 250 percent and offering busy partner agencies relief in knowing they can relax their own diaper-gathering.
• Rallied roughly 300 volunteers for COVID-specific efforts, including preparing and running shelters, delivering food, and making hats and masks.
• Collected and dispersed a high volume of donated items for the homeless, including tents, jackets, hats, gloves, food, chairs, water bottles, hand-washing stations, hand sanitizer, and masks.
• Provided logistical and strategic support, such as in opening shelters in Amherst and Northampton as well as supporting a recovery center in Ware. 

Each year, United Way of Hampshire County provides funding in three-year grant commitments to its partner agencies with direction that the funds must be spent in one of three specific categories: Children, Youth, and Families; Economic Security; and Health and Safety. 

“We continue providing support to 35 programs across Hampshire County,” Bidwell said, adding, “This year, we have unrestricted funding, allowing the partners to use the funds in the ways they need during COVID. This flexibility has been critical for them in responding to increased needs.”

Supporting justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion 

The COVID-19 crisis has corresponded with a rising awareness of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion—referred to as (JEDI) issues. As a result, United Way of Hampshire County created a standing JEDI committee, was involved with the crafting of several racial solidarity statements for nonprofits and has helped underwrite JEDI trainings for nonprofits through the Council of Service Agencies (COSA) and Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce.

Assists across the globe

United Way Worldwide has also seen exponential demand for help. “United Way is the largest nonprofit in the world, and the scope of what the organization has been able to do has been huge,” Bidwell said. “Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit one year ago, United Way has been working overtime to help communities respond, recover, reimagine, and rebuild.”

The United Way network has raised and distributed more than $1 billion and helped more than 27 million people cope with the impact on their lives and livelihoods. 

“The human response has been heartening,” Bidwell said. “The COVID-crisis helps us remember that we are all part of a larger community.” 

One supporter of United Way Worldwide’s efforts is Amanda Gorman, America’s youth poet laureate who captivated many in the recent Superbowl and during President Biden’s inauguration. Gorman wrote a poem for United Way last year, titled “Live United,” to motivate people during dark times. 

Said Bidwell, “Her words elevate the importance of taking care of each other. She captures the promise, possibility, and potential of galvanizing the caring power of communities. Amanda’s clarion call ‘to be hope-sighted’ is uplifting.”

To read the poem in its entirety, visit https://www.uwhampshire.org/news. To learn more, donate or volunteer, visit https://www.uwhampshire.org/.

The post United Ways Rise to the Challenge of the Pandemic appeared first on Beetle Press.

Funds have aided nonprofits that have seen tremendous growth due to COVID-19

FLORENCE—Florence Bank donated nearly $100,000 in 2020 to support a new food distribution collaborative and nine other longtime nonprofits with a mission to feed people who are battling food insecurity in the Valley.

The gifts have been made since March to organizations in all corners of the region, including the Hilltowns, to help ease the economic strain brought on by COVID-19.

“We are so grateful. Without the support of donors, we would not have been able to continue our mission,” said Ruben Reyes, executive director of Lorraine’s Soup Kitchen & Pantry in Chicopee, one of the recipients of bank funds. “COVID has affected us very hard. All of our fundraisers were canceled, and we were very worried about how to fund our programs.”

Compounding the problem, COVID-19 has also affected Lorraine’s clientele. Reyes said he is seeing an additional 200-300 families each month, providing a month’s supply of groceries and dinners five nights a week to a total of 600-700 families. 

“We’re seeing a lot more families who typically would not need pantry services,” Reyes said. “They are coming to our doors for the very first time.”

In the spring, Florence Bank donated $50,000 to the Community Food Distribution Project (CFDP) created jointly by the Northampton Survival Center and Grow Food Northampton to help fund emergency food distribution in the early months of the pandemic. 

The new collaborative makes food staples available through on-site distributions at nearly a dozen local sites. Northampton Survival Center and Grow Food Northampton established the organization in partnership with Community Action Pioneer Valley, the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, the city of Northampton, and Northampton Public Schools. 

Grow Food Northampton and the Northampton Survival Center each received $25,000 from the bank.

Since May, Florence Bank has made the following gifts to these local nonprofits:

Easthampton Community Center, $7,500; Easthampton Congregational Church, $2,500; Open Pantry Community Services Inc., of Springfield, $1,000; Chesterfield Community Cupboard, $5,000; Amherst Survival Center, $10,000; The Gray House Market, of Springfield, $5,000; The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, as part of Monte’s March, $1,000; Springfield Rescue Mission, $10,000; and Lorraine’s, which received $1,000.

Florence Bank also nominated Lorraine’s Soup Kitchen to receive a $5,000 award from the Massachusetts Bankers Association Charitable Foundation, which the nonprofit has accepted.

“Florence Bank cares about its community, and in these unprecedented times, there’s nothing more important than helping our neighbors,” said Florence Bank President Kevin R. Day. “The pandemic has heightened food insecurity and has prompted many people who never before needed assistance to reach out for help.”

Day added, “Florence Bank was founded on the idea of neighbors helping neighbors. What better way to display that principle than to contribute to the organizations that are meeting the needs of our most vulnerable neighbors?”

Florence Bank has branches in Amherst, Belchertown, Easthampton, Granby, Hadley, Northampton, Williamsburg, West Springfield, and Springfield, and it is headquartered in Florence. 

Florence Bank is a mutually-owned savings bank chartered in 1873. Currently, the bank serves the Pioneer Valley through 11 full-service branch locations in Florence, Northampton, Easthampton, Williamsburg, Amherst, Hadley, Belchertown, Granby, West Springfield, and Springfield. Additionally, they offer 24 ATMs and a wide range of financial services including investment management through FSB Financial Group (FSBFG) to consumers and businesses.  Florence Bank is consistently voted best local bank by the readers of the Valley Advocate and the Daily Hampshire Gazette.

The post Florence Bank Donated Nearly $100,000 in 2020 to Ease Food Insecurity in the Valley appeared first on Beetle Press.

I write blogs for Thornes Marketplace in Northampton to help raise awareness about events and individual shop owners. This month, I wrote a blog for Thornes about its extensive COVID-19 protocols, as area shoppers might be interested to know how Thornes is working to promote safety during a busy holiday season.

We know that our otherwise hearty Valley residents might be too frightened this year to venture out for holiday shopping during the COVID-19 pandemic. We completely understand.

We have worked tirelessly, and at great expense, to promote safety at Thornes Marketplace—for shop owners, shoppers, and employees. So that you can make an informed decision about whether it feels comfortable for you to visit Thornes this season, we are outlining the measures we have taken in this blog.

Since June, we have:

• Invested heavily in many new protocols, putting equipment in place, including air filters that heighten air quality and foggers that sanitize the building nightly.
• Created a station for door monitors at each of the three open entrances to ensure that people entering Thornes wear masks and sanitize their hands.
• Asked anyone who refuses to wear a mask in the Thornes building to leave, also threatening trespass charges.
• Posted signage asserting that people wear a mask at all times and social distance. These signs are in place at over 50 locations within our popular shopping center.
• Installed hands-free door openers on bathroom doors.
• Installed touch-free sanitizer stations to minimize exposure.
• Reduced our standard holiday hours during the month of December by 35 percent. This allows more frequent cleanings during our off-hours.
• Replaced all common-space ceiling fans with UV fans designed to kill airborne pathogens.
• Added plexi-partitions at door-monitor stations to protect the monitors inside as they greet visitors and answer their questions.
• Placed a high-efficiency particulate air—or HEPA—filter in the passenger elevator fan. It forces air through a fine mesh that traps harmful particles.
• Counted visitors by floor throughout the day to ensure we are managing our capacity counts and that social distancing requirements are being followed. Our counters move through the building every two hours Monday through Friday; on Saturdays, we are in the marketplace virtually all day long, monitoring the number of shoppers.
• Asked our shop owners to also count visitors to their stores, ensuring capacity counts are managed.

Many of the measures taken to ensure the safety of shoppers, shop owners, and their staff have gone beyond what is required by law and recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Thornes Co-Owner Richard Madowitz said.

During a recent, impromptu walk through with a member of the Board of Health, we were told that Thornes is doing an outstanding job complying with city and state COVID-19 guidelines.

Also, many customers have offered positive feedback about Thornes’ protocols.

Nate Clifford, co-owner of Cornucopia with his wife, Jade Jump, who has been in the Thornes building continually since March—because Cornucopia is a grocery store and was not required to shut its doors in March.

“I’ve personally been here the whole time,” he said. “I’ve seen the evolution and the plethora of emails from Thornes management on the plan. I’m feeling blessed to be here with management that is spending tens of thousands of dollars, if not more, to make it a safe place to be.”

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In past years, I have written the stories that appear in United Way of Hampshire County’s annual campaign report. This year, the agency is telling its tales in blog form to raise awareness. United Way of Hampshire County funds 34 programs that deliver 21,687 acts of service per year. Over 250 volunteers give over 5,000 hours of their time. I am proud to be able to help spread the word about this trusted, important organization. What follows is a recent blog I penned.

There is a deep need to get diapers into the hands of parents and onto the bottoms of newborns and toddlers. 

People cannot use food stamps or support from WIC to purchase diapers, and let’s face it, they are not a luxury item, even though they come with a steep price. Diapers can cost up to 50 cents apiece—or $4 or $5 per day—and that is more than some families can manage without making difficult choices, such as whether to buy diapers or their child’s next meal. 

More than an economic issue, the lack of affordable diapers is a health matter for infants, as they are exposed to more health risks without frequent, clean changes. The problem also poses mental health dangers: Stressed out parents raise stressed out children. 

Barbara Black, formerly the early childhood coordinator for Northampton Public Schools, is passionate about meeting the need for affordable diapers, and she came to United Way of Hampshire County five years ago to encourage us to start a diaper drive. In that first year, we gathered roughly 33,000 diapers to give away to parents. We later teamed with Amherst Survival Center to fundraise and provide diapers through annual drives.

The demand continued to exceed our supplies, though, as it did in Franklin County, where the United Way had established a diaper bank and was donating 6,000 to 10,000 diapers per month to parents, continuously fundraising to replenish.

Now, all involved individuals and organizations have banded together. Bolstered by a grant from the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts, we are collaborating with the United Way of Franklin County on a single United Way Diaper Bank that is a member of the National Diaper Bank Network. We provide 14 partner agencies with diapers to disperse to parents.

In July, the new bank distributed 9,100 diapers to families in need. We are thrilled with the program’s success and relieved to be able to meet the need. As we explore a merger with United Way of Franklin County, we are excited to have a model program that so well showcases the success and growth we can achieve together. 

We have worked in unison with United Way of Franklin County for decades. A merger will better serve the region through shared programs like the diaper bank, increased capacities like with fundraising, and allow new efficiencies, such as grant processing, which we’ve already begun to meld. 

The diaper bank was the first and most defined collaboration to date, and it was made possible in March through a $35,000 grant from the Community Foundation’s COVID-19 Relief Fund. As the pandemic cost people their jobs, buying diapers became more out of reach for some and out of reach for the first time for others. Need increased quite a bit.

We are excited that the grant funding helped us purchase just over 190,000 diapers, which we received at a discounted price of 18 cents per because of our new membership in the National Diaper Bank. 

Parents who need affordable diapers don’t need to worry about where they will get them. Through the new diaper bank, diapers are available at Community Action’s Family Center, Franklin County Community Meals Program’s Orange Food Pantry, The Center for Self-Reliance Food Pantry, Montague Catholic Social Ministries, Leyden Woods, It Takes a Village, The Children’s Closet in North Leverett, Greenfield Community College’s Food Pantry, the Good Neighbors Food Pantry in Charlemont and the West County Food Pantry in Shelburne Falls, Amherst Survival Center, Easthampton Community Center, and Jubilee Diaper Ministry.

At least for now, our regional United Ways don’t need to worry about where the funding will come from to provide. The grant, the partnership, and the diaper bank membership offer us all a huge, collective sigh of relief. 

State Rep. Mindy Domb, D-Amherst, who led the Amherst Survival Center for many years and was a critical part of the diaper drive efforts in Hampshire County, is now working to meet diaper need on a larger scale.

With Rep. William “Smitty” Pignatelli, D-Lenox, and Sen. Joan Lovely, D-Salem, she has filed a bill that, if passed, would create a new fund offering grants to nonprofits that distribute free diapers. The trio hopes that an initial, one-year pilot program could provide funds for up to 12 organizations in the state. 

While this kind of effort will also provide relief, we know the need will continue, and we will need to assess it, and fundraise, continually. And you can help.

Funds can be earmarked for the diaper bank, and we also accept in-kind donations throughout the year. Please contact our office before dropping off as our hours have changed due to COVID-19. 

Click here to make a gift or learn more. 

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