March2010

VCW Community Partner for Green Mountain Film Festival
The Vermont Commission on Women will be the Community Partner for the films Bliss, Don't Know, Heretics, and The Maid at the 2010 Green Mountain Film Festival (GMFF). GMFF takes place March 19-28th in Montpelier – more info at: www.greenmountainfilmfestival.org


YWCA Camp Hochelaga Scholarship YWCA Camp Hochelaga Scholarship Deadline is March 19th
The YWCA Camp Hochelaga scholarship program is accepting applications for girls’ overnight and day camps. One and two-week sessions beginning June 27th and running through August 14h provide opportunities for girls ages 6-17 to develop new skills, explore interests, build leadership, and develop environmental awareness. Activities include archery, swimming, sailing, canoeing, kayaking, soccer, tennis, arts & crafts, and drama programs. Camp Hochelaga is ACA accredited, and is now taking registrations for its girls’ residential and day camps for the 2009 summer season. Full and partial scholarships are available. Scholarship deadline is March 19, 2010. To learn more and download a scholarship packet and registration materials, please visit www.ywca.org/vermont, or contact our winter office at (802) 862-7520.


February 2010

Helping out at Hope Lodge BPW members have been cooking at Hope Lodge.
Lisa Heald and Barb Swinton cooking

BPW Members Helping out at Hope Lodge

More photos of members helping out at Hope Lodge/Kelly Circe

January 2010

Young Careerist Calling all women between
the ages of 21 and 35! The
Burlington chapter of the
Business and Professional
Women Organization is now
taking applications for the 2009-
2010 Young Careerist
Competition.
The competition includes an
interview, impromptu group
interactions, writing sample, and
two minute speech.
Participating in the
event provides a great
opportunity to practice
interviewing and public
speaking skill. It offers a
chance to meet and
network with many of
Chittenden County’s
leading businesswomen, and can
result in a free membership to the
Burlington BPW and a chance to
speak at the State Level. All of
Outstanding Young Professionals Needed
this while sharing your
knowledge and
passion about an issue
specific to women.
The competition will
take place in February
of 2010. For more
specific information
about the application and dates,
please email Kimberley
Odachowski at klegg@uvm.edu.

December 2009

Looking for support for JUMP Kelly Circe is asking for your support of JUMP (Joint Urban Ministry Project) – a coalition of churches (founded in 1988) which helps people in crisis. The interfaith ministry is largely driven by volunteers and has a very limited budget. Kelly has offered to act as a collection point for anyone who would like to contribute money or items for this important program.
JUMP financial assistance includes help with food, medication, Laundromat use, transportation (gasoline and bus passes), identification (birth certificates and ID cards), and utilities. JUMP offers thrift shop vouchers for quality used clothing and household goods. JUMP makes appropriate referrals to other organizations for additional assistance. JUMP also offers spiritual care, which involves meeting clients where they are, hearing their concerns, and talking about life’s bigger questions. Clients often share stories of struggles with grief, illness, addiction, or isolation. JUMP is an important bridge linking people living in poverty to faith communities in Chittenden County.
On days when the JUMP cupboards are full, grateful clients leave not only with vouchers for things such as groceries or transportation but also with one or more bags of food, toiletries, household items, and baby care items. JUMP depends on donations to keep its cupboards stocked with these basic necessities. In 2008, the total value of goods donated by supporting congregations was nearly $50,000!
Believe it or not, despite such generous giving, JUMP still runs out of these items. So your contributions of any of the following items would be graciously accepted:
Toiletries:
__ Adult diapers
__ Bar soap
__ Deodorant
__ Feminine napkins
__ Razors
__ Shampoo
__ Shaving cream
__ Tampons
__ Toilet paper
__ Toothbrushes
__ Toothpaste
Household items:
__ Dish detergent
__ Household cleaner
__ Laundry detergent
Baby items:
__ Baby food
__ Baby formula
__ Diapers (sizes 3, 4, and 5)

If you would like to learn more about JUMP, please visit jumpvt.org or talk with Kelly Circe. Kelly would be delighted to collect any donations of materials or cash at the December 9th meeting.



women and water Women and water

In the Dominican Republic, Rotarians have helped bring 19,000 bio-sand filters to about 300 communities, reaching 100,000 residents. The simple and inexpensive filters have been found to reduce diarrhea by up to 45 percent. But it’s not only individuals’ health that the filters are improving, says Sara Lucena, a member of the Rotary Club of Puerto Plata Isabel de Torres, Puerto Plata. It’s the lives of entire families. Lucena says that because children are not getting sick as often, she sees mothers having the time to work or go to school, which will help them lift themselves and their families out of poverty. “It’s a circle. It’s not just health,” she says. “The filter is a tool for changing their lives. If I can control the health of my family, I can control the life of my family.”
In their traditional roles in many parts of the world, women use water for preparing food, bathing, and washing. It’s up to them to find and collect the water they use daily, even when it’s scarce. Women in northern Ghana walk more than 3 miles round trip to rivers or other sources, then carry 45-65 pounds of water on their heads back to their homes, according to Lamisi Mbillah, who spoke at a water conference in March hosted by District 6290 (Ontario, Canada; Michigan, USA).
Collectively, women in sub-Saharan Africa spend 40 billion hours a year collecting water – equivalent to a year’s worth of work for all of France, according to a United Nations report. “If women are half of the world’s population, we have to step up and do something about it,” says Mbillah, who was Miss Ghana in 2005 and was honored with Miss World’s Beauty with a Purpose award for her activism. “It is a basic human right.”
– Diana Schoberg printed in Rotarian Magazine November 2009
For full text, visit rotary.org/go




November 2009

Lake Champlain Chamber Seminars Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce Seminar Series continues. Upcoming programs:
What your Employee Handbook Should Include, Thursday, November 5, 2009
All businesses with employees can benefit from having an employee handbook. Learn how to formally explain your policies and provide clear guidelines, and spend less time answering questions and explaining the rules and regulations of the office. Presenters are: Jeff Nolan, Esq. and Amy McLaughlin, Esq., Dinse Knapp & McAndrew.
Who’s Looking at My Site? An Introduction to Web Analytics, Thursday, January 7, 2010. Web analytics gives you insights into your website traffic and how to effectively marketing your business. If you’re interested in learning how to look at your traffic data in a new way, this seminar will talk about how analytics can help you achieve that goal. This information will help you strengthen your marketing efforts. Learn how to choose an analytics package, collect data, build demographic profiles, and interpret data. Presenters are: Efe Cimrin, Burlington Free Press and Sarah Spencer, GotClicks.
Great Customer Service Comes from the Heart, Thursday, February 4, 2010. Good customer service is the lifeblood of any business. Learn how to send customers away happy and ensure that they come back. Learn the importance of being empathetic and putting yourself in your customer’s shoes. Set yourself apart from your competition. Presenters are: Craig Stimmel, Strategic Planning & Implementation Associates and Heather Paine, Spirited Living, dba Candles & Creations
All seminars are held in the Chamber Boardroom starting at 7:30 a.m. Bagels and Coffee Available. 8-10 a.m. Workshop. Visit http://www.vermont.org/business/symposium.aspx to register.
For more information on local events and information about the Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce visit www.vermont.org