NEWS

Fallon Community Health Plan recently awarded WCAC’s Healthy Families of Southern Worcester County program $1,000 through its Pay It Forward program, where Fallon employees select an area charity to support. The resources will be used to support Healthy Families outreach,  home visits, education and community referrals for first-time parents. Pictured at the check presentation are Cheryl Schmaltz, Sharon Nolli, Christine Taylor and Christine Cassidy all of Fallon, along with Mimi Shea, Jilma Valdes and Charlotte Operach of Healthy Families.

In celebration of Earned Income Tax Credit Awareness Day, WCAC was pleased to join its partners in the Worcester Free Tax Service Coalition to kick off the 12th year of free tax preparation services for income eligible households. Read more here.

A look back, a look ahead. Free tax preparation services, fuel assistance at the ready and celebrating the season of generosity. Read more HERE in the latest edition of WCAC’s Enewsletter.

Community Generosity Keeps Children Warm

The Worcester Community Action Council, Inc. extends its heartfelt thanks for incredible community support demonstrated for its annual coat drive. This year’s drive provided nearly 450 new winter coats to children – infants through age 5 – enrolled in the agency’s Early Head Start, Head Start and Healthy Families programs, as well as to the children of young parents enrolled in WCAC’s Job & Education Center. Some 381 individual coats were donated as well as $3,200 in contributions by area corporations to support the effort. Read full story here.

The Greater Worcester Community Foundation has awarded the Worcester Community Action Council, Inc.  a $15,000 grant to support a collaboration with Apple Tree Arts of Grafton, MA, to provide weekly music sessions in each of the agency’s fourteen Head Start preschool classrooms. Click here for full story.

$15K grant to help to address area unemployment

At a ceremony held in the Hall of Flags at the Massachusetts State House recently, the City of Worcester was named one of ten communities in the Commonwealth selected to receive funds through a second round of the Working Cities Challenge. Governor Charlie Baker and Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Eric Rosengren announced the $15,000 design grant awards for ten communities including partners for the Worcester project -Worcester Community Action Council, Inc., the City of Worcester, Clark University, Regional Environmental Council and Sodexo. WCAC and Clark are the co-lead applicants for Worcester’s effort.  Read more here.

As summertime dwindles down, WCAC is gearing up for a busy fall and winter season… help out with our annual Coat Drive for Kids, join us for a special performance at The Hanover Theatre and more. Read all about it here.

As the summer of 2015 draws to a close, so too does the YouthWorks Summer Jobs Program, which provided more than 300 youth a meaningful paid employment experience in a variety of settings throughout the city. Funded by the commonwealth Corporation, Greater Worcester Community Foundation, the City of Worcester as well as Community Service Block Grant funds, YouthWorks provided 349 youth jobs for the summer of 2015. Click here to read more.