Happy New Year’s Eve, UMV MRC Members and Friends!
We are thrilled to share six great news items.
- WE’VE JUST LANDED ANOTHER GRANT!!!! This could be our best ORA 2025 $10,000 funding opportunity yet, awarded to us three weeks early. We’d proposed an advanced training program at TILI (The MRC Training and Innovation Leadership Institute) for up to 50 members who are interested in cultivating their clinical and leadership skills. Stay tuned in the coming months for details. The announcement and grant application should be posted by Monday Jan. 6 on www.UMVMRC.org.
Per the acronyms: Huge thanks to NACCHO (National Association of County and City Health Officials) for distributing this deeply appreciated funding. Also, for the incentive provided by the ORA (Operational Readiness Awards) to support our communities with innovative programming every year. - SCHOLARSHIP AND PRESENTATION AWARDED! To better serve the unit by keeping up with best practices, your Coordinator not only received a full scholarship to attend this year’s National Preparedness Summit in late April. Her proposal for a presentation on capacity building strategies was also APPROVED! The talk will include early lessons from carrying out the ORA / TILI grant, and tips with her co-presenter about helping units thrive from across the MRC network.
- THIS YEAR’S SAFE-FOOTING KITS PROJECT IS UNDERWAY! The kit items have been ordered, volunteers are submitting their available times for kit-packing and deliveries, and recipients can expect deliveries by mid-January. We’ve made enhancements to this year’s kits, offering more of them earlier (150 vs. 100, delivering them a month sooner), and added Chelmsford to the list. The flyer is due for distribution in about two weeks, encouraging Westford/Chelmsford seniors to sign up if interested. We’re eager to do whatever we can to help our vulnerable residents avoid falling on slick sidewalks and driveways over the winter.
- UNTIL HELP ARRIVES! For the first time since COVID, we’re offering the national course on UHA: Thursday Jan. 16, 6-8PM at Millennium School. All are welcome to learn the essential steps to take in the first five minutes of a disaster. Email gjohnson@westfordma.gov to sign up; see the attachment for details. For an overview of the course, visit the FEMA site: https://community.fema.gov/PreparednessCommunity/s/until-help-arrives?language=en_US
- SAVE THE DATE: Thursday, Feb. 27, 6 to 8 p.m. at Millennium School / Westford’s Central Office. We’re offering our first UMV MRC Open House. Please plan to stop by for appetizers and mingling with fellow members – and for updating your badges!!! Materials will be available to bring participants up to date on the unit’s status, protocols and plans. We’re also delighted to hear YOUR thoughts about the unit!
- NATIONAL PROGRAM THRIVING! The national director of the Office of the Medical Reserve Corps, Dustun Ashton, sent an enthusiastic message to all MRC leaders to highlight the network’s successes as we close out 2024. The program has continued to sustain nearly 300,000 MRC volunteers, making an immeasurable impact on community health and safety. We’ve welcomed Cdr. Samantha Spindel, Ph.D., as the OMRC’s Deputy Director. The letter highlights some of the outstanding contributions by units and volunteers, with reasons for excitement in facing 2025. The letter will be posted on our website, www.umvmrc, by Monday.
Very best wishes and thanks for serving vulnerable residents across the Upper Merrimack Valley throughout 2024! May you have a delightful year ahead.
Warmest regards,
Nance
978-399-2549
