MWCC's weekly e-newsletter

Friday, March 17, 2006

MWCC’S WHAT’S NEXT SPEAKER SERIES TO FEATURE
ADVOCATES FOR OFFICE OF NATIONAL NURSE

By Kimberly B. Caisse

The What’s Next Speaker Series continues Friday, March 31 with the appearance of two advocates for an Office of the National Nurse. Starting at 10 a.m. in the college’s auditorium, nurses Teri Mills and Alisa Schneider will make their case for the creation of this new position in the federal government.

	Teri Mills (left) and Alisa Schneider

Mills began the campaign in May 2005 after The New York Times published her appeal for an Office of the National Nurse. With millions of Americans without health insurance, health care costs climbing each year and preventable diseases and chronic diseases escalating at alarming rates, Mills and Schneider believe a National Nurse would ensure nurses play an important part in the search for solutions. They envision the National Nurse working with the Surgeon General to develop educational programs about prevention and wellness.

Mills is the second-year nursing program coordinator at Portland Community College in Oregon and a registered nurse and nurse practitioner for the Multnomah and Washington County’s health departments. Schneider is a nurse educator at Portland Community College and a registered nurse for 16 years, specializing in pediatrics. Joining them on March 31 will be New Hampshire state Rep. Marcia Moody, D-Newmarket, who has submitted the Fair Care Health Care Bill to the New Hampshire Legislature.

The What’s Next Speaker Series features noted experts who not only provoke discussion, but also inspire action. The speakers lead participants in exploring future solutions to common challenges.

The free event is co-sponsored by MWCC, the Molly Bish Institute for Child Health and Safety and the Deans of Health Programs in Massachusetts Community Colleges. For more information, or to register, contact Gayle Jaillet at (978) 630-9265 or gjaillet@mwcc.mass.edu.

UNITED WAY YOUTH VENTURE PARTNERS WITH MWCC

The United Way of North Central Massachusetts and MWCC’s Center for Democracy and Humanity announce they have partnered on the highly successful Youth Venture program, which encourages young people to start new community-serving ventures to benefit schools, neighborhoods, or the larger community.

There are currently seven area schools participating in Youth Venture, a national program that provides schools with all the tools necessary to create civic-minded organizations, clubs or businesses: Leominster Public Schools, Shirley Public Schools, Fitchburg Public Schools, Ayer Public Schools, North Middlesex Public Schools, Parker Charter Essential School and North Central Charter Essential School.

“We have been impressed with the growth of United Way Youth Venture and are eager to do everything we can to foster the entrepreneurial spirit of the region’s youth,” said MWCC President Daniel M. Asquino.

“This is a perfect partnership given the college’s relationship with secondary schools,” noted Phil Grzewinski, president of United Way of North Central Massachusetts.

The program office will be located at the college’s Leominster campus, Erdman Way, and be called United Way Youth Venture, a program of Mount Wachusett Community College’s Center for Democracy and the Humanity. To contact the office, call (978) 840-3221 ext. 203.

Tara Perks, a 6th-grader at Gardner Middle School, works a broadcasting camera during the annual Kids to College visit to MWCC. Kids to College is an event sponsored by the College Access and Preparation Programs.

Other MWCC News:

• The Institute for Nonprofit Development at MWCC announces that applications for its second round of capacity building mini-grants are due Friday, April 28. The mini-grants aim to support activities that will lead to long-term organizational health by improving an organization’s effectiveness. Only INPD members that hold 501(c)(3) status are eligible for the awards. Up to seven grants—each between $1,000 and $3,000—will be awarded. Details and application guidelines are available at http://inpd.mwcc.edu. There will be an informational workshop Monday, March 20 from 8:30 to 10 a.m. at MWCC’s Gardner campus. To register, contact Andrea Hart at (978) 840-3221, ext. 197 or ahart@mwcc.mass.edu.

• MWCC will host the first Community Connections Fair for students on Wednesday, March 22 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the south dining area. Organized by the Spectrum Club and AmeriCorp S.C.H.O.L.A.R.S., the fair aims to inform students of the area’s social services resources. Local agencies and organizations that will be at the fair include Child Care Resources, Fuel Assistance Program, HeadStart Program, Montachusett Opportunity Council agencies, ProHealth’s GHAP Program, Spanish American Center of Leominster and RCAP Housing Program. For more information, contact Associate Director of Academic Success Services Gail Kaddy at (978) 630-9138 or gkaddy@mwcc.mass.edu.

• Professor Martha Ackmann of Mount Holyoke College will visit MWCC Thursday, March 23 to speak about her book “The Mercury 13: The True Story of Thirteen Women and the Dream of Space Flight.” Her talk is sponsored by the college's Division of Mathematics, Science and Technology and is held in recognition of National Women's History Month. She will make two presentations, one at 9:40 a.m. and one at 11:20 a.m., in Room 127. For more information, contact Heidi McCann at (978) 630-9255 or hmccann@mwcc.mass.edu.

• Community Builders’ Project Volunteer presents North Central Massachusetts’ first Volunteer Management Training Series on Thursday, March 23 from 8:30 a.m. to noon at the Longview Corporate Center, 80 Erdman Way, Leominster. This is the first session in a six-part series designed to build your nonprofit organization’s volunteer base. Learn from a nationally accredited Points of Light Foundation trainer to build and effectively maintain an efficient, energetic volunteer program. This series is designed for nonprofit executives or board members, program staff and others in the organization responsible for the recruitment, retention and supervision of volunteers. This series also applies to those in human resources interested in volunteer programs in the infrastructure of a business. The cost is only $25 per session or $100 for all six sessions. The other session dates are Thursdays April 6, April 20, May 4, May 18 and June 1. For more information, or to register, contact Karin Oliveira at koliveira@mwcc.mass.edu. Community Builders is a partnership between MWCC and the United Way of North Central Massachusetts.

• The First Connections Mothers Group’s weekly meetings are held Fridays in the Children’s Room at Levi Heywood Memorial Library from 10:30 a.m. to noon. All mothers and their babies are invited. At the gatherings, attendees discuss topics such as feeding, sibling rivalry, temper tantrums, appropriate toys, traveling with children and how to choose a daycare provider. For more information, contact MWCC Professor Nancy Duphily, the meeting facilitator, at nduphily@mwcc.mass.edu or (978) 630-9233. Duphily will be assisted by MWCC nursing students as part of their service-learning project.

• Alice LeBlanc, assistant director of the Healthcare Pathway Program, is selling calendars, priced at $5 each, with 30 chances to win a donated home-baked or other gift item. All proceeds will go toward the Southeast Mississippi Rural Health Initiative, a network of health clinics recovering from Hurricane Katrina. For more information, contact LeBlanc at (978) 630-9220 or aleblanc@mwcc.mass.edu.

• Area residents, including MWCC students and alumni, interested in a career in health care are invited to the second annual Health Care Job Fair at MWCC Monday, March 27 from 1 to 5 p.m. at the college’s Gardner campus. Attendees are strongly encouraged to bring copies of their resumes. For more information, contact MWCC’s Healthcare Pathways Program Director Robin Duncan at rduncan@mwcc.mass.edu or (978) 840-3221, ext. 199.

• MWCC students and alumni are also invited to the 2006 Job Fair Wednesday, March 29 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. sponsored by the college’s Career Placement Office. Attendees are strongly encouraged to bring copies of their resumes. For more information, contact Career Development Counselor Patricia Brewerton at (978) 630-9254 or pbrewerton@mwcc.mass.edu.

• The Entrepreneurial Resource Center at MWCC will present a free seminar “Am I An Entrepreneur?” Thursday, April 6 from 6:30 to 9 pm in room 127 at the Gardner campus. Participants will learn what got these experts started as an entrepreneur, what is the down side of starting a business, the advice they would give you starting out and more. This seminar is free, but pre-registration is requested. To pre-register, contact MWCC Enrollment Services at (978) 630-9123. For more information, contact Denise Whitney at (978) 630-9124.

To receive weekly updates via e-mail, subscribe to our listserv by sending an email to: publications-on@listserv.mwcc.edu.

top of page