News

WCAC hosted its 11th Annual Action Hero Celebration on Wednesday, May 24, 2017 at Mechanics Hall, 321 Main Street, Worcester. Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito was a special guest, along with keynote speaker Noah Berger, President of the Mass Budget & Policy Center. This year’s honorees included UMass Memorial Health Care, Charlton Oil, Biodun Akande and the agency’s own Head Start program. Read additional details about the event and the 2017 honorees here.

WCAC’s Head Start will host a free performance of The Fairy Circus by the Tanglewood Marionettes on Tuesday, May 23rd at 5 p.m. at 25 Cole Avenue, Southbridge. This is the third of three performances funded by a grant from the Southbridge Cultural Council, a local agency supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency, as part of WCAC Head Start’s 25th anniversary. Learn more here.

Worcester Community Action Council, Inc. will host its 11th Annual Action Hero Awards on Wednesday, May 24, 2017 from 7:30- 9 a.m. at Mechanics Hall in Worcester. We are pleased to welcome Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito and Mass Budget & Policy Office President Noah Berger as our special guests. Read more about this year’s honorees here.

Worcester Community Action Council, Inc. was among eight partnerships funded through the Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund and the Health Care Workforce Transformation Fund as announced recently by the Baker-Polito Administration. WCAC was awarded $25,000 to design training programs to prepare individuals for positions as Certified Nursing Assistants.

For this initiative WCAC has partnered with the Central MA Workforce Investment Board, WorkForce Central, Ascentria Care Alliance, Quinsigamond Community College (QCC), Worcester Community Connections Coalition/YOU, Inc., Christopher House, Veteran’s Inc., Salmon Health Care, the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Central Massachusetts Housing Alliance. Over a three-month period, the partnership will develop occupationally-specific training and placement programs designed to support individuals with limited attachment to the labor force in making a successful transition to employment in occupations in demand by local employers. These grants will be followed by Program Implementation grants of up to two years.

Read full story here.

The deadline to apply for Fuel Assistance has been extended until May 12th. The program can provide benefits to households for heating expenses incurred between November 1st and April 30th. Click here for further details.

Worcester Community Action Council’s Head Start program will host a free family-friendly performance by the Pumpernickel Puppets at its 25 Cole Avenue, Southbridge site on Thursday, March 23rd at 4 p.m. as part of a year long celebration of its 25th anniversary. Pumpernickel Puppets will perform Three Billy Goats Gruff and The Lion & the Mouse. Doors open at 3:30 p.m., show will begin at 4 p.m. The program is supported in part by a grant from the Southbridge Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency. Read more here.

At its recent annual meeting, WCAC welcomed five new faces to its Board of Directors. “We are pleased to welcome such a diverse and talented group of individuals to our Board of Directors,” noted Executive Director Jill Dagilis. “Their individual strengths within the community will serve the agency well as we continue our efforts to help people move to economic self-sufficiency.” As directed by the agency’s bylaws, WCAC’s Board of Directors is a tripartite board comprised equally of representatives of the public sector, private sector and community. Read more here.

Special thanks to our good friends at UniBank who made a generous donation to support WCAC’s Emergency Fuel Fund! Pictured here (L-R), UniBank President & CEO William Mahoney, WCAC Director of Energy Resources Mary Mary Herlihy Knittle, WCAC Executive Director Jill Dagilis and UniBank Vice President of Government & Community Affairs Matthew Wally. The funds will be available for vulnerable households struggling to meet the cost of keeping their home warm.

WCAC was pleased to welcome a variety of our community partners to our Head Start program to celebrate the 20th annual Read Across America Day. We appreciate the strong support for our program and those willing to lend their voices to stress the importance of early education literacy. Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss! View additional images from the day here.