The Pennsylvania Small Business Development Center was awarded a CARES Act funding grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration to help mitigate the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on small-business owners. Nine SBDC Centers have created partnership initiatives to expand specific industry sector education, training and business advising to address the issues faced by small businesses as a result of the pandemic.
These “Centers of Excellence” offer free webinars and workshops on various topics including business resiliency, digital marketing, e-commerce, and more. A schedule of programs and registration links is available here.
Civil, Social, Human Services and Healthcare Expo at Bloomsburg University
Bloomsburg University
will be holding an expo to help connect employers with students interested in careers in the Social, Health, and Human Services & Non-Profit career fields on October 28 & 29 from 2-5 p.m. Recommended employers include: Health Care Providers, Non-Profit Organizations, Government Agencies and Residential Treatment Facilities. Primary student attendees are those majoring in Nursing, Allied Health Sciences, Exercise Science, Communication Studies, Languages & Cultures, Social Work, Sociology, and Psychology.
The standard registration fee includes your participation on both dates of the expo and our Fall Finale Bonus Expo in November.
Upon registration, we will review the details you submitted for approval. At our fair, you’ll be able to engage with students in a variety of formats, including:
- Video, audio, and chat communication with students
- Group meetings with up to fifty students
- 1:1 meetings scheduled in advance or after a group session
- Share documentation with students ahead of time and have access to students who register to attend one of your sessions, resumes and contact information.
Note: During registration, you’ll be asked to share the number of representatives who plan to attend the fair—up to 15 representatives per employer are able to participate in the fair. Each representative you register will be able to create their own unique schedule to engage with students. To learn more about these features check out this Handshake-hosted training webinar.
Employers are invited to discuss job shadowing, internship or employment opportunities with freshmen through graduate students and alumni. All expos are open and promoted to students from all majors and class years.
Although recruiting at Bloomsburg may look a little different this Fall, we are available to assist with all of your recruitment needs! Please review the toolkits provided by Handshake which will answer many of the questions you may have about participating in virtual events.
If you have any remaining questions after reviewing the toolkits or need help registering for the event in Handshake, please contact our team at hireahusky@bloomu.edu.
Spooktacular Halloween Happening
A safe, socially distant, and FUN alternative for Halloween 2020!
Featuring a drive-thru reverse Halloween parade, a virtual costume party, yummy treats, food trucks, and two drive-in Halloween movies – the first at 6:30 pm will be Hocus Pocus (PG, 1hr 36mins) followed by Beetlejuice at 9:00 pm (PG, 1hr 33mins).
The suggested donation is $5 per car (though you are welcome to give more!). Proceeds will benefit participating nonprofits in their ongoing COVID-19 relief efforts.
The event starts with a reverse Halloween parade at 4 pm. Cars will drive around the Bloomsburg Fair Grounds along a parade route and see different scenes staged by local nonprofits and businesses. Individual bags of candy will be handed out to each kid at the end of the parade route.
You will then be directed to the drive-in movie area to enjoy two different Halloween movies at 6:30 pm and 9 pm!
A virtual Costume Party will happen throughout the event. Take a picture of your costume and post it to your social media accounts and tag @UnitedWayCMC with the hashtag #Spooky2020.
Due to the pandemic, masking, social distancing, and state-mandated safety measures will be enforced.
This event is brought to you through a collaboration with The Berwick Theater and Center for Community Arts, Bloomsburg Children’s Museum, Bloomsburg Fair Association, The Exchange, and United Way of Columbia and Montour Counties.
Veterans Day Dinner Celebration with Geisinger
Geisinger thanks all of our veterans for their service to our country, and hopes you’ll join them for an appreciation dinner for U.S. veterans. Pick up your complimentary dinner via a drive-through arrangement on Thursday, November 12th.
Reservations are required by Thursday, November 5th. Servings are limited, so reserve your meal today.
Complimentary for all U.S. veterans and one guest. You must wear a mask when picking up your meal.
To make a reservation at Geisinger-Bloomsburg, call 866-462-5127 or visit go.geisinger.org/VetsDinner/GBH.
To make a reservation at Geisinger-Danville, call 866-578-3427 or visit go.geisinger.org/VetsDinner/GMC.
To make a reservation at Geisinger-Shamokin, call 866-278-9806 or visit go.geisinger.org/VetsDinner/GSACH.
No-Cost Leadership Development Webinar
The Northeastern Pennsylvania Industrial Resource Center (NEPIRC
) would like to extend an invitation to attend our live webinar on Leadership Development. This two-hour event is complimentary and is an excellent way to kick-start your leadership development initiatives.
The Leadership Development program helps individuals become stronger, more impactful leaders. While joining other managers and supervisors to discuss workplace challenges, attendees will explore topics that include self-awareness, power & authority, risk & failure and leadership style. Using self-assessment tools and experiential learning, attendees will examine their strengths and weaknesses while exploring best practices of exceptional leaders.
This seminar will be held on the following dates from 8 to 10 a.m.:
Monday, December 21st, 2020
Tuesday, December 22nd, 2020
Attendees will receive the webinar link via email one to two days prior to the event.
To register, please visit nepirc.com/events. Space is filling up quickly, so register today!
The Montour County Commissioners have awarded an additional $179,241 in financial assistance to 22 small businesses negatively impacted by COVID-19. The second grant round results in a total of $564,109 being provided to 53 businesses. An additional $135,450 was provided to 21 non-profit organizations that serve the county. The funds were provided through the COVID-19 County Relief Block Grant from the CARES Act.
Guidelines for the small business program were developed by a committee chaired by Commissioner Trevor Finn and included representatives of the Chamber of Commerce, Columbia-Montour Visitors Bureau, Danville Business Alliance, DRIVE, and County Planning Commission. The Central Susquehanna Community Foundation administered the application process.
From PA Chamber of Business & Industry
State Department of Labor and Industry Secretary Jerry Oleksiak provided an update on how his department is handling unemployment compensation payouts amid a wave of jobless claims resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The hearing focused on ongoing problems that have marked the last several months – department delays related to determinations on UC claims; claimant difficulties connecting with the department; and continued delays to modernizing the state’s aging UC computer system.
According to a story on the hearing by Capitolwire, Sec. Oleksiak encountered tough questions from several members on the committee who shared stories of constituents in dire financial straits due to not having received any UC payments since the spring. Oleksiak agreed that such delays – which he estimated represent around 3 percent, or 50,000 claims – are “unacceptable” and are being held up due to fraud concerns and unresolved eligibility questions. He also said that L&I has worked to remedy the backlog by increasing the number of staffers handling claims; hiring an outside firm to gather claims evidence and help hearing examiners make determinations; installing plexiglass partitions to accommodate more staffing; and upgrading work-from-home software for other department personnel. Despite these efforts, many committee members urged further action to help address dire cases that are reported to their office.
In regard to the ongoing and long-delayed upgrade to the state’s UC computer systems, Oleksiak said there is no set date to go live with the new system, and that the most recent delay was advised by the federal Department of Labor.
According to a Pennlive story, Sec. Oleksiak was also asked whether the department is prepared to handle more challenges, including in the event of another business shutdown. State Rep. Kate Klunk stated that she has sent a number of Right-to-Know requests to the department in order to gain an understanding of how much communication occurred prior to the business shutdown order in March, and to gauge how ready L&I was to handle the onslaught of people put out of work. Oleksiak replied that the department will answer Rep. Klunk’s questions and added that the department is doing an internal review of its handling of the situation. Klunk said, “We need to make sure that if this happens again that we are ready to go and can deliver for the people of Pennsylvania.”
The Town of Bloomsburg has issued a reminder to businesses located in the Town regarding current state guidelines for events and gatherings. The maximum allowable attendees for indoor and outdoor events is now based on the maximum occupancy of the venue. Businesses are also reminded that they may call the police if a customer refuses to wear a face covering and leave a business.
With cold weather arriving, the Columbia County Emergency Management Agency has provided a chart to help employers and employees identify ailments.
The Pennsylvania Chamber of Business & Industry is hosting a FREE virtual program –Bringing PA Back: Rise to the Challenge – for Pennsylvania’s business community. The program is open to all businesses (members and non-members alike) and will showcase Pennsylvania’s road to economic recovery, forecast what businesses can expect in the year ahead, and provide exclusive insight into the General Election and its impact on Pennsylvania.
The program will last 1 hour and will feature insight from Michael Smerconish, Salena Zito, Governor Tom Ridge, Michael Carney and other special guests. PA Chamber President and CEO Gene Barr will lead the program.
Click here for additional information and to register.
The National Main Street Center announces the second round of the HartBeat of Main Street Grant Program is now open.
In partnership with The Hartford, the program will continue to fund solutions that help small business owners respond and adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic, and also help to revitalize and strengthen older and historic downtown commercial districts. Grants of $5,000 to $15,000 will be awarded on a competitive and first-come, first-served basis. Businesses must have 20 or fewer full time employees and be located in a downtown or commercial district.
Apply by 10/29 at https://www.mainstreet.org/howwecanhelp/hartbeat.
The Small Business Administration and U.S. Treasury recently issued new guidance for small business owners with loans of $50,000 or less under the federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP); more information is available here. Business owners who borrowed $50,000 or less can fill out a simplified one-page form and can ignore some of the calculations required of other borrowers. A link to the Form 3508S is available at sba.gov.
Candidates who will be on the ballot in the November 3rd election shared their views on business-related issues and the crisis on October 22nd. The Chamber hosted a Candidate Forum with individuals running for the PA Legislature. The registered candidates for the 27th Senatorial District and House 107th and 109th District seats participated.
The questions included the handling of business operations during the crisis, limited liability protection for businesses, the governor’s authority regarding emergency declarations, child care, and the state budget.
Each candidate was presented with the same five questions in rotating order with two minutes for each response. Fred Gaffney, president of the Chamber, was the moderator. The candidates were also given two minutes for closing remarks.
The following candidates participated:
27th Senatorial District – All of Columbia, Montour, Northumberland, and Snyder counties and a portion of lower Luzerne County
- John R. Gordner (R), incumbent, Berwick
- Michelle Siegel (D), Selinsgrove
107th House District – All of Montour County and portions of Columbia and Northumberland counties
- Ryan Bourinski (L), Mt. Carmel
- Kurt A. Masser (R), incumbent, Elysburg
109th House District – Most of Columbia County
- David Millard (R), incumbent, Berwick
- Bill Monahan (D), Bloomsburg
- Roger W. Nuss (I), Catawissa
A recording of the forum is available on YouTube.