Day: July 15, 2019

AMHERST — CHD’s Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hampshire County recently welcomed Katie Lipsmeyer as manager of Development and Marketing.

“We are thrilled to welcome Katie Lipsmeyer to our team in this critical position,” said Jessie Cooley, director of Big Brothers Big Sisters. “Katie has been involved as an event volunteer, an advisory board member, and an ambassador of ours for several years now, and she has demonstrated a deep commitment to the mission of our organization. We know the development and marketing team will be in good hands with her in this role.”

Lipsmeyer’s professional background is in event planning and coordination, marketing and communications, entrepreneurship, and business development. She is currently the founder and owner of Camp Glow It Up and a fitness instructor at 50/50 Fitness/Nutrition in Hadley. In her new position at Big Brothers Big Sisters, she will lead the planning and coordination for annual fundraising events such as the Daffodil Run/Walk and the Northampton Winter Craft Fair, manage the marketing and social-media operations for the organization, and work with the leadership team to create innovative strategies for mentor recruitment and donor stewardship.

“Big Brothers Big Sisters is all about building a better community for ourselves and others,” Lipsmeyer said. “I am elated to broaden its reach and bring fresh energy and ideas to this well-established organization.”

SPRINGFIELD — Big Y Foods Inc. announced it will eliminate single-use plastic bags at the checkouts from its more than 80 supermarket and specialty store locations in Massachusetts and Connecticut on Aug. 1. The grocer will offer discounts on reusable bags through the month of August as customers transition away from plastic.

Big Y has been complying with single-use plastic-bag bans in several Massachusetts communities since 2014. Coming off of recent changes to laws in various towns across the New England region, Big Y has moved up its 2020 timeline to eliminate single-use plastic at checkouts in all of its locations in order to streamline operations and to do its part to support sustainability.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, more than 380 billion plastic bags are used in the U.S. each year. When not disposed of properly, this plastic can end up in waterways and forests, where it can harm wildlife and local communities. By removing single-use plastic bags at checkout and encouraging shoppers to use reusable bags for their groceries, Big Y and its customers can work together to make a difference, eliminating the 100 million plastic bags that were previously distributed each year from the grocer.

“At Big Y, beyond providing great quality, great prices, and great customer service, we also try to be smart about the resources and energy we use,” said Richard Bossie, senior vice president of Operations and Customer Experience. “By working with our shoppers, we can further reduce consumption to make a difference in and around the tight-knit communities that we serve across New England.”

For those shoppers who do not bring their own shopping bags, beginning in August, a ten-cent charge per paper bag will be added to their bill. This fee is in an effort to promote the use of reusable bags instead of paper bags, which also cause harm to the environment.

WINDSOR LOCKS, Conn. — The Connecticut Airport Authority announced the launch of a new concession program at Bradley International Airport aimed at highlighting local specialty retail vendors and small businesses.

“We’re very thrilled to be launching this program,” said Kevin Dillon, executive director of the Connecticut Airport Authority. “As we continue to increase the sense of place at Bradley, we’re excited to open the doors to local vendors and small businesses and to introduce our passengers to everything our region has to offer.”

To roll out the program, the area commonly known as the food court in Terminal A is currently being redesigned to incorporate a row of dedicated kiosk units aimed at creating a walk-through marketplace that will showcase the local and small businesses.

Vendors and small businesses will have the opportunity to have a presence in the terminal by operating their businesses from one of the dedicated kiosks on a fixed-term, rotating basis. With a pre-set venue and short-term leases, the program has been designed to make the Bradley International Airport passenger market more easily accessible for businesses in the region. 

It is anticipated that four kiosk units will be available for occupancy in 2019, with up to three additional units anticipated for availability in 2020. The first kiosks will be introduced this fall. Small businesses who sell specialty retail items or fully prepared, prepackaged food are invited to apply.

An informational session will be held on Wednesday, July 24. Click here for the call for applications and here for the application form.

CHICOPEE — To prepare professionals in a variety of fields to manage culturally complex healthcare issues, Elms College has established a new certificate in global health program to launch this September. Using global health as a critical lens, students in this certificate program will study how the global burden of disease affects populations locally, nationally, and abroad.

Led by faculty in biology, nursing, psychology, and social work, the certificate program emphasizes diverse frameworks for identifying, understanding, and developing interventions for global health issues. Students will focus on developing an adaptable, interdisciplinary skill set that can be applied to multiple contexts, including clinical nursing, healthcare administration, social work, community activism, education, and mental health.

Coursework will challenge students to engage with global-health case studies, using epidemiological analysis, biostatistics, social determinants of health, and healthcare-management strategies to deepen their expertise and knowledge of the health continuum. 

Establishing a strong foundation in the principles of global health can pave the way for many career paths, including community health program coordinator, health researcher, nurse educator specializing in population health or public health, manager of health promotion and disease-prevention programs, or manager of international healthcare planning and delivery programs.

The certificate in global health includes 12 academic credits, made up of four courses from four majors at Elms: social work, biomedical studies, psychology, and nursing healthcare management. A final capstone project gives students the opportunity to synthesize the coursework and reflect on how they will apply global-health principles to their careers.

With the asynchronous online format, the certificate program can be completed in as little as four 11-week semesters, taking place over one academic year. The online course structure also gives students the option to complete the program at their own pace. The program can be started in either the fall or spring semester. 

Prospective students are encouraged to contact Cynthia Dakin, director of MSN programs at Elms, at (413) 265-2455 or [email protected] for more information.