Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Berkshire Bank, a leading relationship-driven, community-focused bank with financial centers in New England, Southern Vermont and New York, has announced its foundation made $401,190 in philanthropic investments during the first quarter of 2024. The grants covered a wide range of projects that foster upward economic mobility, support overall well-being, and enhance opportunities for individual success in the communities the bank serves. The investments also support the company’s BEST Community Comeback program. In vermont, nonprofits include: Burr & Burton Academy and Southern Vermont Arts Center Inc.

Vermont Business Magazine The University of Vermont College of Nursing and Health Sciences announces the 2024 Zeigler Research Forum featuring the keynote “Make Labor Visible: Valuing Care Work in an AI Era” by Rachel “Rae” Walker, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, director of the Nursing Ph.D. program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The annual research forum highlights student and faculty research in biomedical and health sciences, communication sciences and disorders, nursing, and rehabilitation and movement science. The forum is scheduled for May 8 from 8 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. in UVM's Dudley H. Davis Center.

Vermont Business Magazine U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont) led eight of his colleagues, including Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) in calling on U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to address concerns regarding the U.S. government’s failure to apply the Leahy Law consistently to all recipients of U.S. security assistance, and to specifically outline the steps the Departments of State and Defense are taking to address these concerns.  

Vermont Business Magazine New England Federal Credit Union (NEFCU) is announcing a new scholarship program that will award five (5) $5,000 scholarships in support of members who have shown scholastic excellence and interest in advancing their education to achieve a stronger and sustainable financial future. Applications for the scholarship program are currently open to all members in good standing of NEFCU, Direct Financial, and VSECU (a division of NEFCU). 

Vermont Business Magazine Beth Salvas of Elmore, Francis Landrey of Hyde Park, and Jim Hodge of Stowe recently joined the Board of Trustees of Copley Hospital. Before joining the Board, Salvas, Landrey, and Hodge each served as members of Copley’s Friends of Copley Program. Deborah Pomeroy, Chair of the Copley Governance Committee, says: “The Copley Board of Trustees is always looking to increase community engagement and support by encouraging community members to become Friends of Copley. This group meets twice a year and is invited to participate in several hospital events. Hospital volunteers, community members on hospital committees and, ultimately, members of the Board of Trustees are drawn from the Friends of Copley. We are delighted to welcome Beth, Jim, and Francis as our newest Trustees.” Information about the Friends of Copley and the Board of Trustees can be found on the Copley website.

Devon Green, VP of Government Relations, VAHHS This is it. The whole session has been a steady click, click, click of a rising car on a track. Now we’re over the apex and hurtling towards the end of the session. And, sure, sometimes that feels less like the wind in your face and more like sitting around waiting for your issue to happen, but what makes it a rush is that things can change in an instant.

Vermont Business Magazine The Bowse Health Trust Grant application process has officially opened for the 2024 grant cycle. The Bowse Health Trust provides grants to non-profit organizations that are considering the development or expansion of a program or a project that will address the wellbeing of Rutland County residents. The Bowse Health Trust (BHT) will start its 2024 grant cycle with Letters of Intent (LOI) due on June 15, 2024. The required documents and all information about how to submit a LOI can be found on the Rutland Regional Medical Center website. The BHT grant funds are focused on new initiatives that provide residents in the Rutland Region an opportunity to live a healthy life. Specifically, the BHT grants support projects that address health equity within the priority needs identified in the Community Health Needs Assessment, which include housing, childcare and parenting, supporting the aging community, and mental health. 

Vermont Business Magazine Amidst a galaxy of flavors and great cosmic weather, the Southern Vermont Homebrew Festival celebrated its fourteenth edition on Saturday, May 4th, 2024, at Depot Street in Bennington, Vermont. The festival, celebrating a Star Wars-themed May The Fourth Be With You Day, brought together over 500 attendees, brewers, vendors, sponsors, and volunteers for a day filled with cosmic brews, live music, epic culinary delights, and Star Wars-inspired revelry. The festival commenced under sunny skies and great, early May weather. From noon onwards, exclusive VIP ticket holders embarked on a journey through regional delicacies and brews, setting the tone for a great afternoon for all. General ticket holders joined the festivities from 1 pm to 4 pm, immersing themselves in the galaxy's finest libations. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Mental Health (DMH), in collaboration with the Vermont Department of Health (VDH), have been granted a one-year no-cost extension for the CCBHC Planning Grant until March 2025. In March of 2023, DMH and VDH secured federal funding through Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to support the planning of Certified Community-Based Integrated Health Centers (CCBHC) programs in Vermont communities. CCBHCs provide comprehensive, whole-person services by integrating mental health, substance use and some physical health screenings within existing community health provider locations. Additionally, CCBHCs offer mobile crisis, care coordination, and peer support services. These community-based programs serve individuals regardless of diagnosis or insurance status. 

Vermont Business Magazine Burlington-South Burlington-Barre, Vermont, was ranked among the cleanest in the nation for ozone pollution for its 10th consecutive year, according to the American Lung Association’s 2024 “State of the Air” report, which was released in April. The Lung Association’s 25th annual “State of the Air” report grades exposure to unhealthy levels of ground-level ozone air pollution, annual particle pollution and short-term spikes in particle pollution over a three-year period. This year’s report includes air quality data from 2020-2022 and is updated to reflect the new annual particle pollution standard that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized in February.

Vermont Business Magazine Utilizing grant funds from Vermont Community Foundation’s Spark Connecting Community Grant and Hunger Mountain Co-op, Central Vermont Council on Aging (CVCOA) has launched a pilot volunteer Garden Companion Program to connect avid gardeners with homebound older adults who need assistance growing a small garden at their homes. This program will allow older adults who may be unable to establish and/or maintain a small garden due to limited mobility or finances to benefit from growing food and flowers and the social connection that comes from working alongside another person, in this case, a volunteer garden companion. Garden Companions can help clean up an existing small garden bed or container garden or establish a new one.  

Vermont Business Magazine Walmart customers in Berlin may be seeing some construction work in progress both inside and outside the Supercenter located at 282 Berlin Mall Rd as the store undergoes a major remodel. The remodel is one of many scheduled for Vermont in 2024 as part of Walmart’s continuing commitment to invest in the communities it serves. Upon completion, Berlin Walmart store associates will host a community celebration to mark the delivery of all the new customer-focused features and amenities that will be available.