T-minus 33 Days Until NH Gives 2022!

We are ramping up for NH Gives over here at Friends of Mascoma!

This year, our friends at the New Hampshire Center for Nonprofits have added a new giving incentive: a bonus pool!

What's a Bonus Pool you ask?

A bonus pool is a proportionate match that is determined by the overall amount that you raise online. We believe that this will result in a more equitable distribution of funds. Site-wide matching dollars will be distributed as a bonus pool this year.

How does the Bonus Pool work?

Every organization that raises $300 or more between 5pm June 7 and 5pm June 8 will receive a proportionate amount of the bonus pool. FOM's portion of the bonus pool depends on a few things.

• Final total of the bonus pool.

• Final total of online donations by organization raising $300 or more

• The amount that your organization raises online

The formula for the bonus pool is: (FOM’s Amount Raised online / Total Amount Raised online by all organizations raising $300 or more) x Total Amount in Bonus Pool = FOM's Share of Bonus Pool.

What does this mean for you, our loyal friends, and donors?

It means that every donation really counts this year. EVERY. SINGLE. DONATION. COUNTS. The higher FOM’s total online donations, the higher percentage of the bonus pool FOM will receive.

How you can help NOW: We are hard at work trying to secure internal matches, fundraising champions, and we’ve initiated a friendly rivalry amongst MVRHS alumni classes to raise money.  If you are interested in providing a match, becoming a fundraising champion, or helping your class compete please email Info@friendsofmascoma.org

Save the Date: Mini-Grant Celebration on May 13th

Join us on Friday May 13th from 3:00pm to 5:30pm as we recognize recipients from the first six years of our mini-grant program. We will host a short program to celebrate past mini-grants and to highlight past recipients. Light refreshments and food will be served.

What: Mini-Grant Celebration 2022

Where: Mascoma Valley Regional High School Cafeteria

When: Friday May 13th from 3:00pm to 5:30pm

Who: Past recipients, District staff, Community partners, friends of the organization

We want YOU for NH Gives 2022!

As you may know, the Friends of Mascoma Foundation is once again participating in NH Gives. NH Gives – an initiative of the NH Center for Nonprofits - is a powerful, statewide 24-hour online fundraising event that is designed to build community, connect donors to local nonprofits and generate excitement about the nonprofit sector.

Our friends at the NH Center for Nonprofits have changed things up once again. This year they are using a Bonus Pool incentive. A bonus pool is a proportionate match that is determined not by how fast your donors can click through the donation form, but by the overall amount that you raise online. Every organization that raises $300 or more between 5pm June 7 and 5pm June 8 will receive a proportionate amount of the bonus pool.

While we don’t know the size of the pool quite yet we do know that every donation matters! The higher our total online donations, the higher percentage of the pool FOM will receive!

WE NEED YOUR HELP NOW: We are hard at work trying to secure internal matches, fundraising champions, and we’ve initiated a friendly rivalry amongst MVRHS alumni classes to raise money. If you are interested in providing a match, becoming a fundraising champion or helping your class compete please email Bridget at bmlabrie@friendsofmascoma.org.

Mark your Calendars: April Food Box Distribution

The Friends of Mascoma and the Mascoma Valley Regional School District have partnered to distribute food boxes for the April school break.  Students from the high school will be volunteering to assemble and pack the boxes. We will also be partnering with our friends at Yankee Farmer’s Market to offer some special protein for spring holidays (or just because!). These items will be available during our regular pantries as well. This purchase was made possible in part by a NH Feeding NH Grant via the NH Food Bank.

We will have approximately 60 boxes to distribute on a first come, first served basis. No registration is required and boxes are available for all Mascoma Valley residents.

Pick up will be on MONDAY April 11th from 3:00pm to 5:30pm at

9 On The Common Way in Canaan

Right behind Canaan Hardware Store

QUESTIONS?

Reach out to Eula Lee Kozma at elkozma@friendsofmascoma.org

Sign up for UNH's Master Wellness Volunteer Program

As you may know, Friends of Mascoma, has been working with UNH Extension to improve communication and address issues related to social isolation in the Mascoma region through our Mascoma Matters initiative.  As a part of that work, we wanted to share with you a related opportunity being offered through UNH Extension, their Master Wellness Volunteer program.  Have you ever wanted to take your volunteerism and community involvement to the next level?  Would you like to improve your public speaking skills and learn more about building healthy communities? Are you looking to make connections and build on your professional development? If yes, this may be the learning opportunity for you.

Here is a link to the site and some information below. Link with complete description: https://extension.unh.edu/health-well-being/master-wellness-volunteers

Program Overview:

Are you interested in helping build a culture of health in your community? The UNH Extension Master Wellness Volunteer Program is an opportunity for adults to engage in learning sessions focused on creating community change for health.

First begun as part of the UNH Extension Well Connected Communities initiative, this unique program will allow you to connect with others as you build your toolbox for impacting individual and community health factors, environments, and systems.

 Topics covered include:

• nutrition

• physical activity

• disease prevention

• health equity

• public speaking skills

• and so much more!

The next training series will begin on March 8, 2022. The program will consist of:

• Six general training sessions held over Zoom on Tuesday evenings from 6-7:15 p.m. with independent learning requirements (time commitment: 20 hours)

• Specialized training and volunteer service in one of three areas: nutrition education with food pantries, building community resilience or older adults and movement (time commitment: 10-20 hours)

We are currently seeking applications from adults from across New Hampshire. If you are interested in becoming a Master Wellness Volunteer, please apply below!

Questions? Please contact Zeanny Egea at (603) 600-8237 ext. 208 or zeanny.egea@unh.edu

Adults who want to volunteer in New Hampshire are invited to apply. Volunteers will undergo a standard background screening before admission. For persons with disabilities requiring accommodations, please contact Zeanny Egea. Given ample time, we will make any reasonable effort to make accommodations.

Mascoma Matters Recap

We had our Mascoma Matters meeting on Thursday 2/17 and discussed ways we can continue to address the key issue we've identified, 'Social Isolation', in the Mascoma Valley region.  We also heard from Bridget Labrie about the Enfield Recreation Department and the Mascoma Lake Skating Association. One of our goals for these meetings is to network and share information about existing programming in the region. If you know of or are associated with an organization or town department that would like to present during our meetings, please let us know. Our March meeting will be on Thursday March 24th at 6:00pm.  The zoom link is below.  We are still crafting the agenda for this meeting, but we will have a short visit from Nadine at Unite Us (more info here: https://uniteus.com/how-it-works/) and will be discussing the recently released data from the Community Health Needs Assessment.  More information on our past meetings is available on the Padlet.

If you have any questions about our project or future and past meetings, please don't hesitate to reach out.

Zoom link for Thursday March 24th is here: https://unh.zoom.us/j/95353842053

Save the Date: NH Gives June 7th-8th

We are pleased to report that we have once again signed up to participate in NH Gives!

NH Gives – an initiative of the NH Center for Nonprofits - is a powerful, statewide 24-hour online fundraising event that is designed to build community, connect donors to local nonprofits and generate excitement about the nonprofit sector.

The Friends of Mascoma Foundation is excited to participate in this day of giving. Funds raised during NH Gives support our scholarship program and general operations. If you are interested in being a fundraising champion, helping us secure matching dollars, or participating in other ways please reach out to us at info@friendsofmascoma.org.

New Year = New Round of FOM Mini-Grant Funding Available!

Did you know our mini-grants are considered on a rolling basis? Mini-Grants are modest awards that help educators make a positive difference in the learning experience of their students. Mini-grants support, encourage, and facilitate great teaching ideas that would not be possible within the existing school budget. Visit https://www.friendsofmascoma.org/fom-minigrants to learn more about our mini-grant program.

Mascoma Matters: January Meeting Recap

At our January meeting Beth Wheeler facilitated a wonderful session. Thank you, Beth, for leading us through the impact and feasibility discussion.  It was a very productive approach to considering what this group can accomplish. Beth’s slides and more detailed info are available on the Padlet. If you were not able to attend last month but are interested in serving on a subcommittee please let me know. The subcommittees are:

 Addressing Communication and Connections Subcommittee

Addressing Social Isolation Subcommittee

Save the Date for February: We are planning for our February meeting now on Thursday 2/17/22 at 6pm.  The zoom link is here: https://unh.zoom.us/j/96632763240

Here is a link to some upcoming training sessions provided by UNH: https://unh.app.box.com/s/hvzrj97r0mr5cco3bcl43l76wwvrq0fi

FOM Scholarship Application is Now Open!

The guiding principle of FOM’s scholarship program is to support both traditional four-year applicants as well as trade school and certificate program applicants. Friends of Mascoma celebrates the pursuit of all forms of higher education.

The number of scholarships and dollar amount awarded is dependent on available funds each year.

The Friends of Mascoma Foundation scholarship application period is from January 1st through April 15th 2022. Applications are ONLY accepted through this website.

A successful applicant will be/display the following:

·         A student in the MVRSD

·         Demonstrate authenticity and sincerity (Mean what you say, say what you mean. Be honest.)

·         Use clear and concise language (Simple, easy to read)

·         Craft focused and relevant answers (Straightforward answers)

·         Submit a compelling application (Shows passion or excitement for your next chapter)

·         Be service minded or show a love of community (Has demonstrated commitment to their community through volunteerism or other relevant activities.  Community can mean Mascoma, the school community, a faith-based community, a sports community, etc.…)

·         Your application will reflect that you’ve considered, identified, and worked towards your long-term educational and/or career goals and that you’ve begun to incorporate them into your educational and/or extracurricular activities either in or outside of school.

Please share with anyone you know who may be interested in applying. If you have questions reach out to Eula at elkozma@friendsofmascoma.org.

FOM Holiday Recap!

Enfield Residents Gary and Annette Hutchins helping sort, weigh, and bag potatoes for our holiday food boxes.

On Wednesday, December 22nd we distributed nearly 100 holiday food boxes. These boxes included items for a holiday feast, pantry staples for the week in between Christmas and New Year’s, and a ham from our friends at Green Mountain Smoke House. After owning and operating Green Mountain Smokehouse for 21+ years, Jake and Koreen Henne, announced their plans to retire at the end of 2021. We are happy to have partnered with them and are pleased that we were able to distribute their hams one last time.

A crew from the Canaan Fire Department helped pack the final boxes.

This season’s food box distribution would not have been possible without our team of regular volunteers and the crew from the Canaan Fire Department. Thank you all! Happy New Year from everyone at FOM!

Our 2020 Annual Report is Available Now!

Click below to review the Friends of Mascoma Foundation’s 2020 Annual Report.

Mascoma Matters: January Meeting

Save the date and time for our January Mascoma Matters meeting! We had a positive meeting in December and continued to work through some ideas of what we really want to accomplish as a coalition. We look forward to picking up the discussion in January.

If you want to catch up on our last few meetings head over to the Padlet here: https://padlet.com/sue_cagle/ikx1xq8i2xww69l2

When: Thursday January 13, 2022 at 6:00pm

Zoom link: https://unh.zoom.us/j/95123406052

Check out some wonderful online training opportunities that kick off in 2022 below. Learn more and register here: Building Community Resilience in New Hampshire | Extension (unh.edu).

Help FOM Unlock our #Giving Tuesday Matches!

Our first ever Text-to-Give Campaign is off to a great start! Textgiving kicked off on Thanksgiving Day and we over halfway to our goal! We have not one, but two matches. We unlocked one from an Enfield resident-let’s open the second from our friends at Tasco Security Inc for $500! ******** As of 11:59 PM , NOV. 29 we have unlocked both matches! Thank you, wonderful donors! Please keep the generosity rolling to support our great programs! We cant do it without YOU!

There is still time to give! Simply text the phrase “Giving Tuesday” to (541) 802-5802 anytime this week and you will be prompted to give a gift of your choice to the Friends of Mascoma Foundation. If we raise $1,500 it will be matched dollar for dollar by two generous local donors!

FOM is also thanking everyone who participates with video messages from our staff and Board of Directors! Give now to get a special message.

Your support helps the Friends of Mascoma foster educational advancements and nutritional well-being for students and families within the Mascoma Valley Regional School District.  We do this in three main ways:

• Our Scholarship program is for graduating seniors. Past scholarship recipients are eligible to renew scholarships up to three times. The average scholarship award is $1,000. In 2020 we gave away $17,000 in scholarships.

• Our Mini-grant program that offers district staff and teachers modest awards to offer additional educational programs and resources that make a positive difference in the learning experience of their students. past mini-grants include, field trips, books, musical instruments, farm-to-school projects and artist in residence projects.

• Our Friends Feeding Friends program that is designed to decrease food insecurity , increase food access and reduce food waste to all residents of the Mascoma Valley Regional School District. FFF offers two public food pantries every week, supports pantries, snack and backpack programs in all four district schools, and plans and executes four school and community food box distributions for holidays and school breaks throughout the year.

We hope you will consider supporting FOM this #GivingTuesday NOVEMBER 30 !

FOM: Supporting Positive Food Experiences this Holiday Season

The Friends of Mascoma Foundation just wrapped our Thanksgiving food distribution. Read on to learn about our partnerships and distribution efforts for Thanksgiving.

While some of you may still be eating pie for breakfast, we are already thinking ahead to December food boxes. FOM is pleased to announce that on Wednesday, December 22nd we will be offering 100 holiday food boxes on a first come first served basis at our Canaan location, 9 on the Common Way, from 3:00pm-5:30pm. These boxes will include items for a holiday feast, pantry staples for the week in between Christmas and New Years, and a ham from our friends at Green Mountain Smoke House.

Thanksgiving Round-up: We helped the MVRHS National Honor Society distribute 68 turkeys and food boxes in the days leading up to Thanksgiving! These boxes come with fresh items and holiday staples for a Thanksgiving meal as well as breakfast items like cereal and quick dinners like macaroni and cheese for folks to enjoy during the long weekend.

MVRSD high school students hard at work assembling boxes

We also worked with our friends at the Mascoma Valley Ecumencial Council to distribute 72 turkeys and 128 boxes of food for their annual Ingathering. These boxes include fresh items like squash, onions and potatoes as well pantry staples like soups, oatmeal or cereal, and pasta with tomato sauce. We also include a few personal care items like toothpaste and tooth brushes with each box.

Regular FOM Volunteer and Canaan Volunteer Fireman, Alan Ricard assisting with the Mascoma Valley Ecumenical 2021 Ingathering

Mascoma Valley Ecumenical Council Crew at the 2021 Ingathering

Do your Shopping and Support FOM this December!

You can support the Friends of Mascoma Foundation this December by shopping at two local stores!

For the ENTIRE month of December 2021, the Friends of Mascoma Foundation, has been selected to receive a $1 donation for every $12.00 Bloomin' 4 Good Bouquet with the red circle sticker sold at the Hannaford store located at 8 Market Street, West Lebanon NH.

FOM is pleased to announce we have been selected as one of the December 2021 Pennies for Change recipients at the Co-op Food Stores! Mark your calendars now! Don't for get to shop often and round up for Friends of Mascoma Foundation!

FOM is Distributing Coats and Warm Clothing

While we will not be hosting our traditional warm clothing/coat drive and distribution event we will still be distributing coats and warm clothing. FOM will make these items available to the public during our Canaan public food pantry hours during the month of November on Wednesdays from 4:000pm-6:00pm. All are welcome to stop by 9 On The Common Way, right behind Canaan Hardware Store.

Thank you to past FOM scholarship recipient, Liam Hemmerling, for helping out during our public pantry and coat giveaway!

FOM to Launch SMS Giving for #GivingTuesday

The Friends of Mascoma Foundation is trying something new this #GivingTuesday! Drum roll please….an SMS Giving Campaign! What is that you ask? Allow us to explain. Join FOM from Thursday November 25th thru Tuesday November 30th for TextGiving 2021! Simply text the phrase “Giving Tuesday” to (541) 802-5802 anytime during those days and you will be prompted to give a gift of your choice to the Friends of Mascoma Foundation.

FOM Partners with the Mascoma Valley Ecumenical Council for Thanksgiving Boxes

2021 Annual Thanksgiving Ingathering

The Friends of Mascoma Foundation will once again partner with the Mascoma Valley Ecumenical Council as a resource provider for their 2021 Thanksgiving Ingathering. Each year area churches, in combination with local youth organizations, hold an Annual Thanksgiving Ingathering. The Council puts together food boxes for members of the community who need some help with their Thanksgiving celebration. FOM is pleased to work with the Ecumenical Council on this event. Click here for more details and to fill out the sign up form.

Please fill out the form and return it by Friday, November 12th to:

Community Lutheran Church

Attn: Carol Brudnicki

PO Box 450

Enfield, NH 03748

Don't Forget to Join us This Thursday for MBCR

The Friends of Mascoma Foundation has been working with the UNH Extension on a project called Mascoma Builds Community Resilience since May of this year. Now is a great time to get involved! We have held monthly Zoom meetings since May and our next meeting will be on Thursday, September 30th.

Ways to get involved today—>

1. Review what we have worked on so far: Mascoma Builds Community Resilience (padlet.com) This site has the topics we’ve covered so far in our meetings, important community data, ways participants can brainstorm, and much more! We plan to brainstorm renaming the project at our September meeting.

2. Join us for our September meeting on Thursday , September 30th from 3pm to 4:30pm. Zoom link here: https://unh.zoom.us/j/97510061098

3. Help us decide the schedule for our Fall meetings (October, November and December)! We would like more of you to be able to join us so we are considering moving the time of the meeting. Please fill out this form and let us know what days/times work best for you: https://forms.gle/wKz6ehVwbmfqfT6n8

4. Help us spread the word! Share information about this project with your friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc… The more folks that know about this project and participate the better the results will be!