Day: April 8, 2024

Greater Springfield Habitat to Host One-day Build Event on April 13

By
Daily News

WEST SPRINGFIELD — In honor of March’s Women’s History Month and Habitat for Humanity’s Women Build event, Greater Springfield Habitat for Humanity (GSHFH) will host Spring into Action on Saturday, April 13. The event was rescheduled from March 23 due to poor weather.

From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., several teams of five to eight people will venture to GSHFH’s parking lot at 268 Cold Spring Ave., West Springfield, to build one of eight pieces of outdoor furniture or yard accessories. Their finished products will be auctioned off at a later date. Participants had to register before March 29.

“This event should be a lot of fun while also helping volunteers to become more comfortable working with power tools,” said Aimee Giroux, GSHFH executive director. “It will hopefully give them the confidence to join us out on a build suite.”

Participants will receive snacks and goody bags, and may win prizes. Following the build, a wrap party will be held at Two Weeks Notice Brewing Co. at 110 Bosworth St., West Springfield.

GSHFH is dedicated to strengthening communities by empowering low-income families to change their lives and the lives of future generations through homeownership and home-preservation opportunities. Since 1987, Greater Springfield Habitat has built or repaired 129 homes in Hampden County.

Tickets Now on Sale for Yidstock

By
Daily News

AMHERST — Tickets are now on sale for Yidstock: the Festival of New Yiddish Music, happening July 11-14 at the Yiddish Book Center. Now in its 12th year, Yidstock brings the best in klezmer and new Yiddish music to the Yiddish Book Center’s stage. Highlights this year will include the Klezmatics, Frank London, Eleanor Reissa, Judy Bressler, Daniel Kahn, and many more.

Concert passes are available and include admission to all concerts and the two dance workshops. Individual tickets are also available for purchase for those who can only attend for part of the weekend.

This year, livestream concert passes will allow friends from afar to experience Yidstock from the comfort of their homes. These passes only include access to the seven concerts; they do not include access to talks, workshops, or the film screening.

Visit yiddishbookcenter.org/yidstock for more information and to purchase tickets.

HCS Head Start Celebrates Week of the Young Child

By
Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — Holyoke, Chicopee, Springfield (HCS) Head Start is once again participating in the Week of the Young Child, the purpose of which is to focus public attention on the needs of young children and families and to recognize the early-childhood programs and services that meet those needs.

Originally created in 1971 by the National Assoc. for the Education of Young Children in an effort to recognize that the early-childhood years (birth through age 8) lay the foundation for children’s success in school and later life, this week continues as an annual event celebrating early learning.

HCS Head Start prepares preschool children not only for kindergarten, but for life. According to the Brookings Institute (2016), children who attend Head Start have a higher likelihood of graduating high school, attending college, and receiving a post-secondary degree, license, or certification. Since Head Start’s inception in 1965, the organization has improved the lives of more than 32 million children and their families.

“All the data reinforces how a child’s earliest years are fundamental in shaping their learning and development, yet never before have the needs of young children and their families in our community been more pressing,” said Nicole Blais, CEO of HCS Head Start.

In addition to early-education services, as a multi-service agency, HCS Head Start provides comprehensive programs, services, and support for children and their families, with programs including cooking, money management, parenting classes, a healthy relationships program, and more.

HCS Head Start has planned a fun-filled week of happenings celebrating early learning, young children, their teachers, families, and communities. Children enrolled in HCS Head Start will enjoy Week of the Young Child with hands-on, collaborative activities encouraging movement and healthy lifestyles through music, food, and art.

The festivities also include storytime guest readers. While some guest readers are still pending, confirmed guests include HCS Head Start board members, members of the organization’s health advisory board, and two area mayors: Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno today, April 8, at 9 a.m. at Carew Street Head Start Center, 65 Carew St., Springfield; and Chicopee Mayor John Vieau, Friday, April 12 at 10 a.m. at Lincoln Grove Early Learning Center, 216 Broadway St., Chicopee.

In addition, Head Start families are invited to Ride the Wellness Wave, a free health and safety resource fair hosted by HCS Head Start’s health team on Tuesday, April 9 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Carew Street Head Start Center at 65 Carew St., Springfield. Local community organizations will be on hand to provide information and resources to families in an effort to continue to promote the importance of overall health and wellness for young children and their families.

AIC Professor Co-leads Statewide Developmental Screening Effort

By
Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — Families with young children throughout Massachusetts are encouraged to participate in community events providing early screening for developmental delays and disabilities. Massachusetts will hold its second annual Developmental Monitoring and Screening Week at more than 40 sites across the Commonwealth, including several in Western Mass.

Students enrolled in the occupational therapy master’s program at American International College (AIC) will dedicate their expertise at one of these events on Wednesday, April 10 from 4 to 6:30 pm at the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) office in Mason Square, Springfield. During the event, the students will engage with families who are interested in learning more about their child’s development. Additionally, the students will provide complimentary books and fidget toys.

Additional locations hosting events in Western Mass. include the Central Berkshire Coordinated Family and Community Engagement in Dalton today, April 8; the Northampton Public School Early Childhood Center today and Tuesday, April 8-9; the West Springfield Community and Family Engagement, the ROCA Young Mothers Program in Springfield, and the Springfield North WIC on Wednesday, April 10; and the CFCE Gill Montague Regional School District in Turners Falls on Wednesday, April 17. All events are free of charge.

AIC Associate Professor of Occupational Therapy Kate Barlow co-leads Developmental Monitoring and Screening Week. Since 2019, Barlow has served as the state’s Act Early ambassador for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Massachusetts Act Early aims to educate parents and professionals about healthy childhood development, early indicators of autism and other developmental disorders, the importance of routine developmental monitoring and screening, and early intervention when concerns arise.

To identify children with delays, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends developmental screenings be held during pediatric wellness visits for infants and toddlers to identify children with delays. However, Barlow said, “more than half of the children who need early-intervention services are not receiving them, which is why developmental monitoring and screening in the community are so important. Early-intervention services are free to families in Massachusetts; however, children need to be identified first as having a delay to receive services.”

During the inaugural statewide Development Monitoring and Screening week held in April 2023, more than 500 children statewide either received a developmental screen or completed a developmental monitoring checklist. Those children who were identified as having a delay were referred for follow-up to their pediatrician and/or Family TIES of Massachusetts.

BusinessTalk with Parlor Room Collective Executive Director Chris Freeman

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Business Talk Podcast Special Coverage

We are excited to announce that BusinessWest has launched a new podcast series, BusinessTalk. Each episode will feature in-depth interviews and discussions with local industry leaders, providing thoughtful perspectives on the Western Massachuetts economy and the many business ventures that keep it running during these challenging times.

Go HERE to view all episodes

Episode 208: April 8, 2024

Joe Bednar talks with Chris Freeman, executive director of Parlor Room Collective

In 1979, the Iron Horse Music Hall opened inside a nondescript storefront on Center Street in Northampton — and launched four decades of music and memories. After it was shuttered a few years ago, the nonprofit Parlor Room Collective decided to not only reopen it, but fix what needed fixing while keeping its intimate model intact. On the next episode of BusinessTalk, Parlor Room Collective Executive Director Chris Freeman talks with BusinessWest Editor Joe Bednar about the challenge of this project, an ongoing campaign to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to complete it, and why live music — and the Iron Horse — are so critical to the cultural life of this city and region. It’s must listening, so tune in to BusinessTalk, a podcast presented by BusinessWest.

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