Week of June 29th
Earlier this week, we blogged about Robert Chambers, Co-founder of Bonnie CLAC (Claremont, NH), joining other social innovators at the White House. The event has been covered by the Chronicle of Philanthropy, the Nonprofit Times, the Las Vegas Sun, PRWeb, and YouthToday, among other media outlets. You can read President Obama’s remarks here. Andrew Wolk, founder of Root Cause, was in attendance and posted this update to his blog.
The Hannah Grimes Marketplace, a project of the Hannah Grimes Center (Keene, NH), is selling t-shirts as part of an initiative to encourage people to buy locally.
ReCycle North (Burlington, VT) has received $10,000 from the Jan and David Blittersdorf Foundation. The funds are in support of ReCycle North’s YouthBuild program and weatherization social enterprise. … The organization has also received $12,000 in funding from the Vermont Community Change Program for an energy efficiency project in Barre, VT.
Today President Obama delivered remarks at a White House event highlighting innovative programs that are making a difference in communities across the country. The event gave the President an opportunity to address his plan for the Social Innovation Fund. Great Bay Foundation grantee Robert Chambers, co-founder of Bonnie CLAC (Car Loans and Counseling), was among a group of social entrepreneurs featured.
President Obama stated, “We’ve got young-at-heart people like Robert Chambers, who finish out careers in business or health care or education, and instead of transitioning into retirement, they’re just too busy, they’re too restless, so they come back for an encore, plowing a lifetime of experience into helping people in need. We’ve got people from all backgrounds, all walks of life succeeding where others have failed; getting real, measurable results; changing the way we think about some of our toughest problems.”
Later, the President commented, “If Bonnie Clac can help working people purchase cars and manage their finances in New Hampshire, then they can probably do it in Vermont or all across New England, or all across America.”
Bonnie CLAC provides car loans at low-interest rates to low-income buyers, offers financial management courses, and helps people get a leg up on a middle-class life. The organization works out agreements with car dealers and banks, and guarantees the loans. Since 2001, Bonnie CLAC has facilitated over $10 million in loans for its clients, and has helped over 1,000 people buy new cars.
We want to congratulate Robert and all the social entrepreneurs featured at the White House today.
Today at 1:30 pm, President Obama will deliver remarks at an event in the East Room of the White House highlighting innovative programs that are making a difference in communities across the country. Great Bay Foundation grantee Robert Chambers, co-founder of Bonnie CLAC (Car Loans and Counseling), along with three other social entrepreneurs, will be delivering a brief statement.
Bonnie CLAC provides car loans at low-interest rates to low-income buyers, offers financial management courses, and helps people get a leg up on a middle-class life. The organization works out agreements with car dealers and banks, and guarantees the loans. Since 2001, Bonnie CLAC has facilitated over $10 million in loans for its clients, and has helped over 1,000 people buy new cars.
The White House website will be streaming the event from approximately 1:30 eastern time at www.whitehouse.gov/live.
June 22nd to June 26th
Amos House (Providence, RI) received $130,000 in grant funds from the United Way of Rhode Island.
The “BeanTown Breakdown: Breakdancing Event and Competition” will take place tomorrow (June 27th) at the Epicenter at Artists for Humanity (Boston, MA).
Crossroads Rhode Island (Providence, RI) received $150,000 in grant funds from the United Way of Rhode Island.
Hardy Girls Healthy Women (Waterville, ME) is selling “Girls Rock!” collector t-shirts at its online store. … And here’s a Maine Women’s Lobby blog post about a recent HGHW “Girls Advisory Board” meeting.
Here’s a Hartford Advocate article about Liberty Mutual insurance company’s simulated senior driving test. The company is a partner of ITNAmerica (Westbrook, ME), which is providing input on the project.
The Maine Crafts Association (Dover-Foxcroft, ME) is partnering with Maine Woods Discovery host properties, Northern Forest Canoe Trail, and Bethel Outdoor Adventure “to create a set of nature-based vacation packages for travelers visiting a section of inland Maine from Bethel to Millinocket.”
Great Lakes (MI) Friends of Safe Passage, an affiliate of Safe Passage (Guatemala City & Antigua, Guatemala; Yarmouth, ME), is hosting a benefit concert tonight (June 26th) in honor of Safe Passage’s ten years of helping children living in the Guatemala City garbage dump.
June 15th to June 19th
Amos House’s (Providence, RI) Spring Gala will take place tonight.
For those unfamiliar with Artists for Humanity (Boston, MA), we highly recommend this short film.
Aroostook Shredding, a division of Central Aroostook ARC, received its NAID certification last month and was profiled in this news video.
ITNAmerica’s (Westbrook, ME) partnership with Liberty Mutual is discussed in this article.
The Center for Maine Craft (West Gardiner, ME), a project of the Maine Crafts Association (Dover-Foxcroft, ME), is seeking a full-time sales associate.
The Nezinscot Guild (Turner, ME) has launched a new blog.
Vermont Works for Women (Winooski, VT), in partnership with the Vermont Department of Labor and Efficiency Vermont, is sponsoring a “free home energy visit” program this summer.
