Penn State Extension resources, including free online courses through April

April 6, 2020April 6, 2020 ~ ccllauras ~ Leave a comment

Penn State Extension, connecting people, businesses, and communities with practical, science-based information, is currently offering more than 50 select courses from their online library for free through the month of April. Register for courses between April 1st and April 30th to qualify (read more about online course promotion rules).

Courses are available on a range of topics, including Beekeeping 101, Understanding Forests, Dining with Diabetes, Plant Health Prognosis, and more. Complete courses at your own pace and at any time before the course expiration date. Some courses offer certificates and/or continuing education credits.

Penn State Extension’s site also offers free year-round access to articles, videos, and other educational materials. Start exploring by hovering over the menu at the top of the Penn State Extension site to browse by topic or format; hover over a category to connect with additional choices such as Home Gardening, Home Food Safety, Poultry (including small flocks), and much more.

Visit Penn State Extension – Chester County to get in touch with your local educator while physical offices are closed.

Enjoy exploring!

TODAY: Chester County Commissioners’ Press & Community Briefing

April 6, 2020 ~ Sam Bardarik ~ Leave a comment

Chester County Commissioners Marian Moskowitz, Josh Maxwell, and Michelle Kichline, along with Chester County Health Department Director Jeanne Casner, will present an update on coronavirus case facts, Chester County’s actions being taken, and support being given to various communities related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This briefing will occur on Monday, April 6, 2020 at 3:15 p.m. It will be livestreamed via Zoom at https://www.chesco.org/4459/Press-Conference-4-6-20 and via Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ChesCoGovt/.

SCORE Online Workshops for Small Business Owners

April 6, 2020April 2, 2020 ~ Sam Bardarik ~ Leave a comment

SCORE continues to offer LIVE webinars and online workshops. Upcoming offerings include:

April 7: Learn to Delegate and Truly Leverage Your Team for Success

April 14: 7 Behaviors That Put Entrepreneurs At Risk

April 16: National Resources and Policy Updates for Small Businesses Impacted by COVID-19

April 28: Marketing Advice to Combat an Economic Downturn

Keep up to date with available SCORE resources at https://chesterdelco.score.org/coronavirus.

Resources for BUSINESSES during the COVID-19 pandemic – CC EDC

April 5, 2020March 20, 2020 ~ Sam Bardarik ~ Leave a comment

The Chester County Economic Development Council (CCEDC) will continue to update this page with new developments during the COVID-19 crisis. It includes the latest news impacting businesses in Chester County and Pennsylvania, links to services offering assistance, and more.

Webinars about the CARES Act

April 5, 2020April 7, 2020 ~ Sam Bardarik ~ Leave a comment

With all of the information circulating on the Coronavirus, small business owners and private non-profits still have many questions regarding loans and the passage of the CARES Act.

Join SBA and SCORE Chester and Delaware Counties for a daily no-cost webinar, to provide you with answers and help you understand:

1. Who is eligible for an SBA Emergency loan?
2. What you need to have in hand before filing your application?
3. How will the CARES Act impact me?
4. Q&A to answer your specific questions.

Dates:
Monday, April 6th – Friday, April 10th
Monday, April 13th – Friday, April 17th

Time:
12:00 pm – 1:30 pm Eastern Time

To Join this valuable webinar, please go to: https://score.zoom.us/j/723846010.

Virtually Visit 8 World-Class Libraries

April 4, 2020March 31, 2020 ~ Sam Bardarik ~ Leave a comment

Do you miss being inside a library building? Library Journal has compiled a list of 8 libraries from around the world that have virtual tours available online so you can visit without leaving home!

Helping Local Senior Living Community

April 4, 2020 ~ Sara ~ Leave a comment

Wondering how you and your family can help the community and still be safe? Many of the seniors in our community live alone and are currently quarantined in their apartments in senior living facilities. How about making some Easter/ Spring themed greeting cards to bring cheer to those isolated in their rooms/ apartments? Or put together a small care package of prepackaged goodies/ treats to be distributed to the residences. They cannot see family right now and many don’t have the technology means or skills to video chat so the tiniest gesture would spread a lot of cheer for these residences. The links below provides some websites to local senior living communities. Some have safe outside drop off so no contact is exchanged with others. Please call first to find out their policies with regards to receiving outside cards/gifts.

Ashbridge Manor at Downingtown

Simpson Meadows at Downingtown

Five Stars Exton Senior Living

Sunrise Senior Living of Exton

Arbours Square at West Chester

The Hickman Friends Senior Community of West Chester

Sunrise Senior Living of Westtown

Resources for Nonprofits

April 4, 2020April 3, 2020 ~ lshupp13 ~ Leave a comment

Looking for ways to sharpen your nonprofit’s skills while working from home? Here are a variety of resources you can use to learn many new skills or hone old ones.

Foundation Center by Candid is offering free access to their Foundation Center Essentials during this time for nonprofits to search for funding opportunities.

This valuable resource includes:

103,000+ expanded grantmaker profiles
300,000+ key decision makers and leaders
Searchable 990s and 990-PDFs
FDO Workspace

If you need more in-depth information on a foundation than FDO Essential can provide, please email us at ref@ccls.org and one of our librarians can send you the full Funder Profile from Foundation Directory Online Professional.

Grantspace by Candid is a great place to find training to build your nonprofit skills as well as documents and eBooks related to non-profit topics. Whether you’re looking for help with fundraising, proposal writing, governance, or even starting a nonprofit, they have you covered! Trainings include Introduction to Finding Grants, Introduction to Proposal Writing, and much, much more!

Candid is also offering some other great resources to use that you can access here.

Pennsylvania Associations of Nonprofit Organizations are offering a website with links to webinars, funding resources, and tips for working from home or remotely.

The Nonprofit Center at La Salle University is offering free access to their Video Learning Library.

Resources for BUSINESSES during the COVID-19 pandemic – PA CareerLink Chester County

April 3, 2020April 6, 2020 ~ Sam Bardarik ~ Leave a comment

To mitigate the spread of the CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19), the PA CareerLink Chester County and United Way Financial Stability Center is currently closed. In the event you need to reach them, you may leave a message at 610-280-1010. They will be checking voicemail and returning messages as soon as possible. Claimants should direct all unemployment claim (UC) inquiries to the Unemployment Office at 1-888-313-7284. Any additional changes to PA CareerLink Chester County’s operating schedule will be posted on their website at https://www.pacareerlinkchesco.org/.

For further employer resources, go to https://www.pacareerlinkchesco.org/job-seekers/downloads/.