Registration is Open for ClimateReadyVT!
– Register by Tuesday, February 11th –

Is your business ClimateReady? ?is a FREE program helping small businesses in Vermont adapt to our changing climate and prepare?for climate-related business disruptions.?

Busy? Under pressure? Juggling multiple priorities? This program is for you!

Registrations for our Spring 2025 Cohort will be accepted through Tuesday, February 11.

Questions? Contact Molly Rand,?Education & Events Manager.

Facilitated by , ClimateReadyVT guides you through creating a custom Climate Resilience Action Plan?for your business leveraging leading-edge tools and resources, and expert guidance.

By committing 14?hours of virtual participation over 5?months, ClimateReadyVT can help you create a Climate Resilience Action Plan and gain access to free business advice and legal counsel (estimated value of $3,000).

Virtual sessions will run February 18?- June 3, 2025.?

Participants will also receive free technical assistance from business advisers from ?and free legal guidance from attorneys and law students from .

Any business or?nonprofit who help businesses?located in Vermont with 50 employees or less (FTE) is eligible to participate in this FREE program, as well as anyone who advises or provides technical assistance to Vermont businesses or?nonprofits who help businesses.

Up to 5 employees from your organization can participate!

Questions? Contact Molly Rand,?Education & Events Manager.

Thank you to our program sponsors!
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Meet your facilitators!

Vermont B Corp Collective
2025 Program Registration
– Register by January 17 –

Already a B Corp or just "B Curious"? This?programming is FOR YOU!

Vermont has the most B Corps per capita in the nation and the Vermont B Corp Collective (VBCC) is our state’s hub for Certified B Corporations and the “B Curious.”

We welcome employees of Certified B Corps based in Vermont and elsewhere (or businesses on the path to B Corp certification), students, faculty, and others curious about the B Corp movement.

A program of Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility (VBSR), the VBCC is currently accepting registrations for 2025 through Friday, January 17, 2025. .

Pay a small program fee (not due upon registration!) scaled to the size of your organization, and all of your employees get access to Vermont B Corp Collective ?for the entire calendar year!

The?VBCC?serves as a powerful catalyst for companies committed to using business as a force for good. The global B Corp movement is organized at the local level through “” communities, and the Vermont B Corp Collective is yours!

The?VBCC?provides a peer network here in Vermont for education on the standards, networking with fellow B Corps, and opportunities to learn and collaborate with other B Corps in Vermont. This support is not provided by B Lab and will become essential as the standards change.

By building a strong network of local leaders,?VBCC?amplifies the impact of Vermont’s B Corps, ensuring that we are not only informed but also equipped to drive meaningful social and environmental change. Connect with your peers, learn together, and grow the movement!

By joining the?VBCC, you gain access to a year’s worth of programming and activities (available to all of your employees) as well as synthesized resources from B Lab as an official B Lab community.

?VBSR Member News Round Up?

Support of the Kelly S. Brush Foundation Ride is one of the charitable sponsorships made by KeyBank to local nonprofit partners. (Photo?courtesy KeyBank/Kelly S. Brush Foundation)

KeyBank:?Gold Member KeyBank recently announced the list of charitable sponsorships and KeyBank Foundation grants made in 2024 to numerous nonprofit organizations in Vermont.?The gifts and grants focus support to address homelessness, food insecurity, financial literacy, preventative healthcare and more. KeyBank Foundation grants total $275,000 in commitments and are part of the bank’s philanthropic and strategic investments targeted toward education, workforce development, and safe, vital neighborhoods. An additional $34,000 in charitable donations were made to local nonprofit partners in alignment with the bank’s community support efforts.?Learn more .

Beta Technologies:?Students from across Vermont got to take a spin in the pilot’s seat this past fall when Beta Technologies brought its mobile simulator and aircraft manufacturing demonstrations to schools in all 14 counties. Beta hopes bringing hands-on experiences to students will encourage them to pursue a career in production and manufacturing, and give more options to kids who might not want to take a traditional route after high school. They want to create excitement and awareness about the high-paying green jobs here in Vermont in aviation and manufacturing. Learn more .

In another education-related effort, Beta also recently announced a partnership with Vermont Symphony?Orchestra?and?Champlain College’s Emergent Media?Center to create?Flight Test, a new live concert experience of music, projections, and innovation on March 1, 2025 in South Burlington, Vermont. Learn more .

Brattleboro Food Co-op:?In February, the Brattleboro Food Co-op will celebrate a significant milestone – 50 years of providing wholesome, locally sourced food, fostering community, and promoting sustainability. Since its opening on February 20, 1975, the Co-op has evolved from a small collective to a thriving, member-owned grocery store that plays a key role in the local economy and food system. From the very beginning, the Co-op has embraced the spirit of collaboration and cooperative values, relying on community and volunteer support for special events, community programs, and decision-making processes, and creating opportunities for members to actively engage in the success of the organization. Learn more .

Howard Center:?The holiday season is a time for joy and connection, but it can also be a period of heightened stress, making it especially challenging for those affected by substance use disorder (SUD). This recent holiday season, Howard Center offered resources and support to help individuals and families make the most of the season while prioritizing health and well-being. Learn more ?about those efforts.

Howard Center also recently launched a Substance Use Services Mobile Unit, for people who can’t get to a Howard Center location, and the vehicle is a literal life saver.?It is already keeping a regular schedule of visits to some of the more rural parts of northwestern Vermont, providing access to treatment for opioid use disorder and other services to people who may not have transportation to brick-and-mortar offices. Learn more . ?

Local Motion:?Imagine a commute without the worry of traffic jams, potholes or detours, a path to town that’s nearby, maintained and linked to routes just like it all over the state.?That’s the Cross Vermont Trail Association’s vision — to create a web of trails for bikers and walkers to have easy access and safe travels between north-central Vermont towns.?VBSR member Local Motion, a statewide advocacy group for bikers and walkers, is part of the solution – each month they host “EZ Breezy Rides,” outings meant to teach people routes around the city, especially first-time bike commuters.?Learn more .

MENTOR Vermont:?MENTOR Vermont recently announced the recipients of the 2024-2025 Vermont Mentoring Grants, the only mentoring-specific funding available to youth mentoring programs throughout the state. This year, MENTOR Vermont awarded 20 grants, totaling $620,000, which will support more than 1,750 youth in communities across Vermont. MENTOR Vermont recognizes that young people are natural dreamers, but not all youth are given the same access and opportunities to achieve those dreams. A caring and committed mentor can help a young person ignite their curiosities, solidify their passions, and leverage their talents. Learn more .

National Life Group:?Champion Member National Life Group recently achieved a new milestone in its corporate philanthropy, donating $913,940 to 595 nonprofits nationwide through its annual employee donation matching program, “Share the Good.” During the month of November, National Life Group employees, directors, and retirees contributed $455,470 with the National Life Group Foundation matching each gift up to $2,000 and including an additional $3,000 in support. Learn more .

United Way of Northwest Vermont:?As featured in a ?VBSR Newsletter Takeover, United Way of Northwest Vermont has released a new?Employer Guide to Substance Misuse, a toolkit designed to support Vermont employers in promoting healthy and safe workplaces. The Employer Guide to Substance Misuse was created in partnership with Working Bridges, a program of United Way of Northwest Vermont and Green Mountain United Way, and Prevention Works! VT. A workgroup made up of Vermont employers and community organizations focused on substance misuse prevention and recovery participated in the project. Learn more .

UVM Medical Center:?Recently unveiled robotic technology is transforming what patients are able to accomplish with physical therapists at Gold Member University of Vermont Medical Center’s Rehabilitation Therapy Center. Weight-supporting robots – high-tech harnesses suspended from the ceiling above specialty treadmills and open floor space where therapists can create unique challenges – are dramatically changing the way patients and therapists approach treatment. The technology is particularly impactful for patients recovering from stroke, traumatic brain injuries and conditions like GBS, as they relearn fundamental motor functions like walking, balance and gait. Learn more .

Vermont Foodbank:?Ahead of the holidays, Love,?Tito’s, the philanthropic heart of?Tito’s Handmade?Vodka, teamed up with?Vermont?Foodbank, the state’s largest hunger-relief organization and only food bank, providing nourishing food through a network of more than 350 community, network, and program partners.?A December 6 event created a dignified, welcoming, and comfortable atmosphere where free food was distributed to community members in an environment where there are no eligibility requirements, no questions asked. Around 435 families and individuals received fresh fruits and vegetables including apples, sweet potatoes, carrots and more.?Learn more .

VOBA:?VOBA is partnering with the Vermont Outdoor Recreation Economic Collaborative (VOREC) on marketing?Outdoor Career Pathways to support?recruitment and retention of outdoor professionals in Vermont's outdoor sector. As a priority for the next five years and as part of the statewide planning process with?Move Forward Together Vermont and support?from the?VOREC Community Grant program, VOBA is publishing an online?Vermont Outdoor Careers Guide?in the winter of 2025.?The Guide's "Career Spotlights" will feature professionals and describe a "day in the life," career trajectory, wage and related data, skills/education/experience, employers, recreation activities and?places. Want to share your ideas?for the Career Spotlights and the Guide? Learn more .

WheelPad L3C:?Finding a place to live can be difficult for anyone, but for people with disabilities – about 13 percent of Americans – securing the right living space can be especially challenging.?But tiny homes are bringing new hope to this challenge. These small spaces – usually one floor and often less than 400 square feet – can be designed for accessibility.?WheelPad L3C?is leading the way in this emerging market and their innovative approaches are detailed in a recent piece in Brain & Life magazine .

Julie Lineberger, Co-Founder of WheelPad L3C, also recently discussed the organization’s innovations on “Changing What’s Possible: The Disability Innovation Podcast”. They were one of the startup companies in the Cerebral Palsy Alliance Research Foundation’s 2024 Remarkable US Accelerator Program. Learn more .

Advocacy Updates at a Glance

The Vermont General Assembly will convene and organize for the 2025-26 Biennium today, Wednesday, January 8, 2025 at 10:00 a.m. Livestream recordings of the proceedings can be found on the ?and ?channels.

Look for updates and actions from Montpelier and beyond here in the VBSR Newsletter throughout the session. In the meantime, make sure to review the ?which features the?2025-2026 VBSR Advocacy Agenda.?

Thank you to our Champion Members

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