Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Katie Irwin and Jim McGonigal don’t want any parent to go through what they did more than six years ago. Their daughter Scarlet Suzy McGonigal was stillborn and the Woodbridge, CT couple didn’t have the proper amount of time to spend with her and process their grief.

Following that experience, Katie and Jim created Scarlet’s Mission, donating CuddleCots to various hospitals, including Gifford Medical Center.

Vermont Business Magazine Howard Center will be connecting to the global world mental health movement and hosting its second annual community-wide recognition and celebration of World Mental Health Day (WMHD) with events throughout the month of October. This year WMHD is on October 10 and is an opportunity for community education and engagement to reduce stigma and raise awareness about topics related to mental health.

Vermont Business Magazine Following the close of a two-week collective effort, Attorney General TJ Donovan, the Vermont Bar Association (VBA), the Vermont Paralegal Organization (VPO), and the Vermont Foodbank announced the positive impact of the Vermont Legal Community Fighting Hunger Food Drive. For the past five years, legal professionals across the state have come together to run the food drive. After hosting last year’s food drive virtually in June, General Donovan, the VBA, VPO, and Foodbank returned to hosting the event during Hunger Action Month in September. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a steep increase in food insecurity for Vermonters and need has not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels.

Vermont Business Magazine Southwestern Vermont Health Care’s (SVHC) Medical Matters Weekly with Dr. Trey Dobson—a weekly interactive, multiplatform medical-themed talk show—will feature Southwestern Vermont Medical Center Registered Dietitian Rachel Rodney, RD, on its October 6 program. The show will air at 12 p.m. She will share services that are available for free for local patients who would like to improve their diets.

Vermont Business Magazine Saving for retirement is one of the primary underlying reasons for many personal finance decisions, from budgeting to investing. Like any money goal, however, saving for retirement — not to mention saving enough for retirement — is often easier said than done. Some states may offer a better environment for adults 65 and older to save and stay financially healthy. According to a recent MagnifyMoney study, Vermont ranked #1 for lowest share of older adults living below the poverty line with just 6.1% of older adults in poverty.

Vermont Business Magazine The Learning Tree Childcare Center at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC), part of Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC), has earned 5 stars from Vermont’s Step Ahead Recognition System (STARS). STARS participants include registered home providers, licensed children’s centers, school-based pre-kindergarten programs, and school-age programs whose practices and programming exceed the requirements for becoming licensed by the State of Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health today reported 192 cases of COVID-19 (up 68 from yesterday), and two more deaths for 323 statewide. There are 42 people hospitalized (down one) and 14 in the ICU (up three). Phil Scott announced Friday that starting October 1, many more Vermonters can now schedule and receive their Pfizer vaccine booster shots. "We've reflected on this," Scott said. "We're going to be quite lenient in terms of who should be included and if they'd like to have a booster we'd like to find a way for them to have it. So I expect that number is substantially higher at this point. So our interpretation of this will be, again, quite broad."

by Patrick Leahy As is often the way, Vermont boasts some of the most forward-leaning voter access laws in the country. Early voting, mail-in voting, and more are all initiatives that the state has undertaken to expand to all eligible voters their constitutional right to cast a ballot and lend their voice to their democracy. Vermont should be a model for states across the country. Unfortunately, voter suppression is the wave of the moment. It is an affront to democracy.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility (VBSR) is honoring three outstanding individuals and businesses who have demonstrated extraordinary leadership in socially responsible business: Cindy Turcot of Gardener’s Supply Company with the 2021 Terry Ehrich Award for Lifetime Achievement, HELM Construction Solutions with the VBSR Innovation and Inspiration Award, and Ashley Reynolds of Elmore Mountain Therapeutics with the VBSR Young Changemaker Award.

Vermont Business Magazine Today Vermont Electric Co-operative announced the public launch of a home battery storage incentive program designed to save the co-op on power supply costs and support member resiliency. With several flexible load initiatives underway, including a water heater partnership with Burlington-based Packetized Energy, and incentives for off-peak electric vehicle charging, VEC continues to deploy innovative solutions in an effort to save the co-op money, add resilience, and manage the integration of cleaner power supplies that are coming onto the grid.

Vermont Business Magazine Woodchuck Hard Cider, the brand that started the American cider revolution in 1991, celebrates its 30th anniversary this Fall. To mark the momentous occasion, the brand has unveiled a variety of initiatives. Woodchuck is pleased to announce that it has brought back several ‘Fan Favorite’ ciders from the last 30 years, all now available for sale via Woodchuck.com and across the United States. Woodchuck’s limited-edition ‘Fan Favorite’ releases include Blueberry, Dark & Dry 802 and Barrel Select.

Vermont Agency of Agriculture Food & Markets Are you producer association, agriculture business or forestry business that's looking for financial assistance to take your operation to the next level? Well lucky for you the Working Lands Enterprise Board is currently accepting applications for numerous grant opportunities. These opportunities can help your organization with everything from infrastructure, marketing, meat processing, professional development projects and more.