Consortium Partners with Local Businesses to Support Frontline Workers

by LaMara HunterKelly | Apr 1, 2020 | In The News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Mary Kate Farley-Dimino Western Massachusetts Training Consortium (413) 536-2401 x5511 [email protected]  

Consortium Partners with Local Businesses to Support Frontline Workers

During a time of economic uncertainty, local businesses support each other as they fight on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic.

HOLYOKE, MA April 1, 2020 – With societal crisis comes the opportunity for mutual aid. As the COVID-19 pandemic grips the nation, community members and local businesses have sought opportunities to support each other during this time of need. One such partnership blossomed between the Western Massachusetts Training Consortium and local small businesses including Silk Deli & Bistro on Northampton Street, Simos Produce in Springfield, Fernandez Family Restaurant and the Delaney House in Holyoke.

Labels with message of appreciation for some staff members of the Consortium. They read: “May this food nourish your spirit and be a reminder of how much we appreciate you! :)”

The Consortium provides key community-based support to a number of programs and communities throughout Western Mass and beyond. One program, Home & Community Connections, supports eleven 24-Hour homes for people with Developmental/Intellectual disabilities throughout Hampden County. When COVID-19 struck Western Massachusetts, staff members began working seven-day shifts to minimize exposure both to themselves and to the people they support. Meanwhile, local food producers and restaurants were struggling to keep their doors open as businesses were shut down across the state. Seeing an opportunity to build and support community, the Consortium connected with Silk Deli & Bistro and Simos Produce to deliver prepared meals and boxes of produce to each of the eleven homes. More meals from the Fernandez Family Restaurant, a family-run Puerto Rican restaurant based out of Holyoke, were delivered Tuesday March 31^st, and there is already a plan to distribute ready to eat meals from the Delaney House on 4/7. Kristel Applebee, the Executive Director of the Consortium, expressed her appreciation to both local businesses and Consortium employees supporting people during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The Consortium has a 45-year history of creating conditions for community, so it only made sense, during this difficult time, to honor community by partnering with local food suppliers who are losing business. Silk, Simos Produce, Fernandez and Delaney House Restaurants are among the local businesses with whom we’ve purchased to bring delicious food to those who are directly supporting folks in our 24-Hour Supported Homes.  For our team members to have a hot meal or delicious produce hand delivered to them with encouraging words, by me and others, sends a message to them that we value their significant contributions at this most pressing time.”

Silk Deli & Bistro shared via Facebook how critical it was to partner with the Consortium, as it meant being able to continue supporting other customers in the community. “Thx to this local Agency, today we can keep our doors open and keep our business running to please our customers Thx a lot[.]” It can be easy to get bogged down with feelings of despair and disconnect from local communities, particularly when practicing “social” or physical distancing. Yet the spirit to connect, build up, and collaborate lives on when channeled creatively. Using strong community relationships, the Consortium provides an example of how fear can be transformed into hope. The Western Massachusetts Training Consortium, founded in 1975, is a learning organization, committed to creating conditions in which people with lived experience pursue their dreams and strengthen our communities through full participation. To learn more, visit their website at http://wmtcinfo.org/.

← Next Post Previous Post →

The Consortium Welcomes New Executive Director, Kristel Applebee

by LaMara HunterKelly | Nov 16, 2018 | In The News

HOLYOKE, MA – The Western Massachusetts Training Consortium welcomes new Executive Director, Kristel Applebee, as successor to longtime leader, Marylou Sullivan. Marylou retired at the end of October, and was at the helm for 38 of the organization’s 45 years.  PJ Moynihan, President of the Consortium Board of Directors related, “as we express our gratitude and honor Marylou for decades of tireless and devoted service, we enthusiastically welcome Kristel to lead the agency, and its work, into the future.”

The Consortium was founded in 1975 to support developing community-based models of support, in response to deinstitutionalization. Their earliest mission was clear: to serve as a catalyst for incredible change in the creation and development of community supports. They achieved this by supporting staff to think critically about what positive community supports would look like and to dream about what was possible for people who had been denied the experience of community. From the very start, the Consortium’s role has been unique in cultivating new perspectives, encouraging progressive initiatives, and supporting change.

Kristel has served the agency in myriad roles for more than twenty years and is steeped in the values that have shaped the Consortium community for more than four decades. She truly believes in “creating conditions in which people with lived experience pursue their dreams and strengthen our communities through full participation.” Her leadership style has been influenced by numerous mentors in Western Massachusetts and beyond. Kristel has served on several local non-profit Boards and as a volunteer and community builder for community groups. She is a fierce advocate for giving voice to the silenced and values being a lifelong learner.

“To have this opportunity to reflect the collective voice of our community through deep listening – to bring a discerning ear and gentle voice, is a sacred gift. My intention is to honor those who’ve come before, are with us now, and those who will join us along our future path – and that is no small task. Indeed, it is what we’re here for,” said Applebee.

Moynihan added, “The Board has been consistently impressed with Kristel’s vision for the organization’s future, and her commitment to the values of The Consortium.  We believe she is an ideal fit for this leadership role.  As much as we chose Kristel, she also chose us, and we are honored to have such a remarkable woman to lead our work forward.”

Check out www.wmtcinfo.org to learn more about the Consortium’s impactful work, which is connecting with communities across Western Mass and beyond.

Media Inquiries Please Contact:  [email protected]

Photo Credit: Ryan Williams, Four Wings Photography, LLC www.fourwingsphotography.com

BusinessWest’s & Healthcare News’ 2nd Annual Healthcare Heroes to be Honored Oct. 25

by LaMara HunterKelly | Sep 19, 2018 | In The News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SPRINGFIELD — BusinessWest and Healthcare News magazines, the business and healthcare journals covering Western Massachusetts, will honor their 2^nd Annual Healthcare Heroes this Thursday, Oct. 25 at the Starting Gate at GreatHorse in Hampden.

The Healthcare Heroes program was created to shed a bright light on the outstanding work being done across the broad spectrum of health and wellness services, and the institutions and individuals providing that care.

More than 80 nominations were submitted, and candidates were scored by an esteemed panel of three judges. The stories behind the seven heroes reveal large quantities of energy, imagination, innovation, compassion, entrepreneurship, forward thinking, and dedication to the community. Honorees are profiled in the Sept. 3 issue of BusinesssWest and the September issue of Healthcare News, and are also available on www.businesswest.com  and www.healthcarenews.com.

This year’s honorees are:

• The Consortium and The Opioid Task Force: Collaboration in Healthcare
• Mary Paquette, MS, RN, FNP Patient/Resident/Client Care Provider
• TechSpring, The Baystate Health Technology Innovation Center: Innovation in Health/Wellness
• Matthew Sadof, MD Community Health
• Robert Fazzi Lifetime Achievement
• Celeste Surreira, DNP, MS, FNP-BC, CNL Health/Wellness Administrator
• Peter A. DePergola II, Ph.D., M.T.S. Emerging Leader

The Healthcare Heroes Gala on Oct. 25 will begin with a VIP reception at 4:30 p.m. with networking and opportunities to meet this year’s honorees. There will be entertainment, butlered hors d’oeuvres, a lavish plated dinner, and more networking opportunities. Healthcare Heroes is presented by American International College and Baystate Health/Health New England and sponsored by Bay Path University, Elms College MBA Program, National Grid, Renew.Calm, and Trinity Health of New England/Mercy Medical Center.

The Western Massachusetts Training Consortium Celebrates its 2017 Mission Award Winners!

by LaMara HunterKelly | Nov 9, 2017 | In The News

HOLYOKE – November 9, 2017

Each year, members of the Consortium’s Board of Directors choose “mission award” winners from a pool of peer-nominated staff who demonstrate its mission in a powerful way. This year’s three “mission award” categories include:

• ORGANIZATIONAL IDENTITY – Awarded to a person or team who exemplify the organization’s identity by consistently demonstrating The Consortium’s mission of “creating conditions in which people with lived experience pursue their dreams and strengthen our communities through full participation”.
• DIVERSITY – Awarded to a person or team who is actively engaging in learning and self-reflection and whose work contributes to ensuring an inclusive workplace for staff and community members.
• FUND DEVELOPMENT – Awarded to a person or team who have created conditions for enhancing program/community capacity and/or increasing resources beyond government funding.

This year’s “Organizational Identity” mission award went to both Shawna Osman and Alan Vreeland.

Shawna, Supervising Senior Family Partner at the Support Network, hails from Heath, MA. The Support Network (https://childrensemotionalhealth.org/), a program of the Consortium, subcontracts with a local Community Service Agency in Franklin County. Shawna is the Supervising Senior Family Partner and oversees the ‘Family Partner’ service piece for the program. In this role, she is in a unique position, different than most employees at the Consortium, in that she and her team work within the walls of a clinical environment. This means that she is required to work within the parameters of another agency with differing values than our own, while holding true to the Consortium’s mission and identity. This award recognizes Shawna’s ability to balance these differences in culture between two agencies. As one of her team members said, “Shawna frequently reminds us that we are a team, cheers us on to be ourselves and bring our best into the community.”

Alan Vreeland, from Pittsfield, MA, is currently serving as the Western Mass Recovery Learning Community’s (http://www.westernmassrlc.org/) Pittsfield-based Advocate. Alan first connected with the Western Mass RLC as a part of the community, but quickly began taking on leadership roles and eventually became employed. Unfortunately, in the fall of 2017, the RLC had to close their Pittsfield Center due to budget cuts and Alan and his co-worker were laid off. In spite of that, Alan kept his own sense of community alive, and continued to facilitate Hearing Voices groups on a completely volunteer basis. Moved by the community’s desire to rebuild, he went on to find a room for rent and leased it under his own name to give people a new place to gather and call their own. He then used his tremendous array of connections to furnish the space with all donations, and to create new opportunities like movie nights and other activities designed to bring people together.

Fortunately, this summer, the RLC recouped its lost funds and was able to begin pursuing hiring a new team and finding a new center space. Through that process, Alan was re-hired with a promotion to the role of Community Coordinator, a title he more than earned when he singled handedly kept things rolling on his own. Honoring the consistent demonstration of our organization’s values in your day to day work, which strengthens the vitality, effectiveness and synergy of the Consortium’s communities by actualizing our mission, identity & culture.

Reverend Gregory Jones, from Springfield, MA was this year’s recipient of the mission award for “Diversity.” Rev. Jones is the Spiritual Care Coordinator for the Consortium’s Home & Community Connections program, and has also recently begun offering support within the Western Mass Recovery Learning Community.

Greg has contributed in numerous ways in the area of diversity, including being willing to take the risk of naming times when people have not been accepting of one another, or have not lived up to the Consortium’s values of creating a welcoming and safe work environment. This is a difficult role to play, and it requires a great deal of courage. Greg has also served on the organization’s diversity committee, and has reached across the boundaries of the various organizational divisions to create new connections. This award honors Rev. Jones’ authentic participation in several Consortium communities, where he has reached across existing boundaries to create new connection and meaning.

This year’s “Fund Development” mission award went to both Natan Cohen and Vickie Hutchinson, in honor of their exemplary abilities in relationship building, networking, and community collaboration, which have strengthened the foundation for a community culture that is supportive of diversifying Consortium resources.

In their relatively brief time with the Western Mass Recovery Learning Community, Natan Cohen from Turners Falls, MA, has gone from consultant to Advocate to a core part of the RLC’s leadership team. Along the way, they have had a hand in developing relationships that have led to numerous sources of additional funding. For example, they were instrumental in pulling together a community effort to save the RLC’s Greenfield Center when the Community Development Block Grant was lost just two years ago. That effort resulted in more than $16,000 in funds raised within the community. They also engaged a City Councilor, Representative Paul Mark, and the Mayor of Greenfield to secure an additional payment through the city before the CDBG came to a full close.

Vickie Hutchinson, from Greenfield, MA, has worked for the Consortium for over half a decade. She is the Woman’s Art Group leader at the Salasin Project (https://salasincenter.org/) as well as the Resource and Stabilization Specialist. She has supported the art group in holding fundraisers at numerous public events. Together, the group makes jewelry and sells them. In addition, many artists who have attended the art class have ventured out to start their own small “artsy” businesses.

Members of the Consortium’s Board of Directors presented these Mission Awards to the winners during the Annual Employee Appreciation Luncheon, held at the Log Cabin in Holyoke on Thursday November 2^nd.  The Consortium is proud to celebrate all of its staff, but especially these team members who have gone above and beyond to exemplify the Consortium’s mission and values. Congratulations mission award winners!