Community Action Pioneer Valley's resource website, Look 4 Help will be shutting down at the end of February. Here's the update from CAPV: "Our strengths are in connecting people and building community, not building technology platforms. We were able to sustain Look 4 Help with mostly our own resources for the last five years, but due to pandemic-era funding ending and other pressures on agency resources, we are not able to continue to fund the project.

In its place, we encourage people to use 413Cares, another website with local resources. We will be offering trainings to help people learn how to use 413Cares, similar to the ones we offered for Look4Help."

Last week's favorite click?

Forbes Library February Toiletries Drive

You can find it HERE.

Here's a link to a spreadsheet that anyone can view that lists all the Hampshire County federal and state legislators. The full text of this link is available here if you need it: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1xFMF4jT2hLc0A6Um-1CJuPLLwY9M5t-JkXs6t4BnOI8/edit?usp=sharing

Choose your view - by legislator name or by Hampshire County city/town name. Fabulous info to help you and your agency communicate with legislators about topics that matter to your clients and the community. Hey, be sure to bookmark this info for future use. A huge shout-out to Sam Hopper, Community Engagement Manager for the Women's Funding Network and COSA Board Member, for creating these resources!

Thank you to new and returning COSA members!

Your generous support makes all of our work possible.

Pioneer Valley Habitat for Humanity

Amherst Survival Center

United Way of the Franklin & Hampshire Region

Rep. Mindy Domb

Collaborative for Educational Services

Center for Human Development

Human Service Forum

The Truth School

Safe Passage

Behavioral Health Network

Samantha Hopper

Central Hampshire Veterans Services

Roger Anderson

Northampton Recovery Center

The Literacy Project

Amherst College Center for Community Engagement

Northwestern District Attorney's Office

A Positive Place

Forbes Library

William Benson

CLICK HERE to renew online in a flash.

Want to make your voice heard on key issues? Sen. Jo Comerford will be holding four town halls on legislation filed this session – each focused on one of the following issue areas: education; climate; health, health care, and child welfare; and farming, food systems, and agriculture. They're also planning a “kitchen sink” town hall focused on the legislative timeline, process, budget, economic development, housing, and transportation.

Mark your calendars and sign up here and they'll send you information:

Feb. 14 @ 5 p.m.: Pre-K through public higher education
Feb. 17 @ noon: Climate
Feb. 21 @ 5 p.m.: Health, Health Care, and Child Welfare
Feb. 27 @ noon: Farming, food systems, and agriculture (This town hall will be hosted by the great folks at Grow Food Northampton.)
March 8 @ 5:30 p.m.: Kitchen sink

Funding for Housing

Regional funding opportunity: Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA). The HOPWA program provides funds to non-profit agencies to provide housing assistance and related supportive services for low-income people living with HIV (PLWH) and their families.

Details HERE. Applications due by noon March 2, 2023.

Country Bank gives over $1.3 million

Country Bank, a full-service financial institution serving Central and Western MA, proudly reported donations and sponsorships for 2022 totaling more than $1.3M dollars. The bank's philanthropic efforts supported more than 350 organizations. In addition, team members volunteered 1,091 hours of service and served on 33 nonprofit boards and committees throughout the region. Read MORE.

The UMass School of Public Health and Health Sciences Career Center invites you to participate in their In-Person Career Fair 2023 on March 1. This career fair provides a platform for employers to showcase their organizations, promote available job and internship opportunities, and strengthen the bonds between employers and the UMass Amherst SPHHS. Meet bachelor’s and master’s level students from Public Health Sciences, Nutrition, Health Promotion and Policy, Community Health Education, Environmental Health and more. Register on Handshake.