Day: September 21, 2021

Massachusetts Community Colleges Announce Vaccine Requirement

By
Daily News

BOSTON — The presidents of the 15 Massachusetts community colleges announced that students, faculty, and staff at the colleges must be fully vaccinated by January 2022.

“During the last 18 months, the Massachusetts community colleges have prioritized the health and safety of our communities while also recognizing that many of our students have been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic,” the presidents said in a statement shared with their campuses. “While a significant number of students, faculty, and staff are already vaccinated or are in the process of becoming vaccinated, the 15 colleges are seeking to increase the health and safety of the learning and working environment in light of the ongoing public health concerns and current guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The Massachusetts community colleges are committed to ensuring vaccination status is not a barrier to students and will continue offering a range of virtual learning opportunities and services.”

The announcement comes amid a rise in the number of new cases of COVID-19 across the Commonwealth, the increased access and availability of vaccines, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration’s full and pending approval of available vaccines, and CDC guidance that the COVID-19 vaccine has been proven to be extremely safe and highly effective at preventing infection, severe disease, hospitalization, and death. The requirement is aimed at ensuring the safest learning and working environment possible for the more than 135,000 students served by the community colleges each year.

“The 15 community colleges across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts decided that this requirement was necessary given the changing conditions of COVID-19 and the Delta variant,” Holyoke Community College (HCC) President Christina Royal said in a message to the HCC community. “While there is no ironclad defense against coronavirus, extensive public-health research has shown that vaccination greatly reduces the risk of hospitalization and death.”

All Massachusetts community colleges will continue to make vaccine clinics available on their campuses for students, faculty, and staff.

HCC will continue to offer free COVID-19 vaccinations for the foreseeable future on its Homestead Avenue campus every Tuesday from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. The college also offers COVID-19 testing six days a week on campus through the Holyoke Board of Health. Both vaccinations clinics and testing are available in parking lot N outside the Bartley Center for Athletics and Recreation.

Further, the colleges are committed to ensuring vaccination status is not a barrier to students and will continue offering a range of virtual learning opportunities and services, the statement said.

Students who seek to register for courses that do not include any in-person component, and who do not plan to come on campus for any reason for the spring 2022 semester, will not be required to provide documentation of vaccination. All employees will be required to be vaccinated.

Western New England University to Host NEACAC Regional College Fair on Oct. 5

By
Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — Western New England University (WNE) will host a college fair sponsored by the New England Assoc. for College Admission Counseling on Tuesday, Oct. 5 from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Caprio Alumni Healthful Living Center located at 1215 Wilbraham Road, Springfield.

Representatives from more than 100 colleges and universities will be available to speak with high-school students and their parents about their respective institutions and the college-admission process. The event is free and open to the public. Masks are currently required.

Prior to the start of the fair, the university will host a free 45-minute College and Financial Aid Awareness workshop beginning at 5 p.m. in the Center for the Sciences and Pharmacy. “This workshop will give parents and students a great introduction into the entire college-search and financial-aid process — a process that can get confusing,” said Bryan Gross, vice president for Enrollment Management and Marketing at WNE. No registration is required to attend the free workshop.

All high-school students are encouraged to attend this college fair, the largest to be held in Western Mass. this fall. An up-to-date list of the colleges that have confirmed attendance can be found at www1.wne.edu/become-a-student/visit/college-fair.cfm.

American Eagle Financial Credit Union Donates $5,000 to Hampden County Organizations

By
Daily News

EAST HARTFORD, Conn. — American Eagle Financial Credit Union (AEFCU) announced $5,000 in total donations for two organizations based in Hampden County — American Eagle’s first service area outside of Connecticut. The Ronald McDonald House of Springfield and Springfield Partners for Community Action have each been selected to receive $2,500 grants from American Eagle’s donor-advised fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving.

“A few short years ago, American Eagle became the first Connecticut credit union to expand into Massachusetts, and we made a commitment to play the same active role within this community as we do in the rest of our member service area,” said Dean Marchessault, president and CEO of AEFCU. “The Ronald McDonald House of Springfield and Springfield Partners for Community Action provide tremendous assistance, care, and resources to Hampden County families. It’s our hope these grants will bolster their efforts and serve as a reminder of our team’s admiration for the organizations.”

Michelle D’Amore, executive director of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Connecticut & Western Massachusetts, noted that “we are deeply grateful to American Eagle Financial Credit Union for their support of the programs at the Ronald McDonald House of Springfield. This gift will truly make a difference for our children and their families who will need our ‘home away from home’ while being treated at area children’s hospitals.”

Added Paul Bailey, executive director of Springfield Partners for Community Action, “on behalf of the low-income residents that we serve in Springfield, we would like to thank American Eagle Financial Credit Union for their generous donation. The funds will be used to support our scholarship-program efforts, where for the past 18 years we have awarded 12 $1,000 scholarships to low-income high-school seniors and adult learners.”

Funding Secured for Dress for Success Workforce-development Program

By
Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — State Sen. Eric Lesser recently joined state Sen. Adam Gomez, state Reps. Carlos Gonzalez and Orlando Ramos, and Margaret Tantillo, executive director of Dress for Success Western Massachusetts, to announce $25,000 in funding for the organization’s workforce-development program. As lead budget sponsor, Lesser secured this earmark in the FY22 budget that was passed by the Senate and House and signed into law by Gov. Charlie Baker in July.

Dress for Success’ workforce-development programs and services improve the employability, employment placement, and self-sufficiency of women who are unemployed and seeking to enter or re-enter the workforce.

“The pandemic has had a massive economic impact on women, and in particular, women of color. This past year, female workforce participation dropped to 56% — the lowest it’s been in over 30 years,” Lesser said. “Dress for Success Western Mass. helps women prepare for interviews, outfits them in professional attire, trains in digital literacy, and develops soft skills — things that we take for granted. The demand has never been greater. This funding will help them continue their mission, a mission that has never been more urgent.”

This funding will aid workforce-development programs that include employment suitings to provide applicants and newly employed women with professional attire; career-coaching and digital-mentoring programs that are designed to bridge access and knowledge gaps for each individual woman served based on her specific needs and obstacles preventing her from joining the workforce; and workforce-readiness curriculum that includes soft-skill development, professional and personal brand, social-media presence, task management and goal setting, interviewing techniques, and more.

“Dress for Success helps women in our community who are unemployed or looking to enter or re-enter the workforce. Since the start of the pandemic, we’ve shifted to a virtual format and added innovative ways to help our women gain access to technology and connectivity so they can succeed in our new digital world,” Tantillo said. “We are grateful for Senator Lesser’s continued support and for championing our women and helping to secure state funding to support our programs.”

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