MCC Special Initiative: Anti-Human Trafficking Program

By Patricia Cole.

To visit the website, please click here.

I am the founder and director of the Anti-Human Trafficking Program at the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce

Over many years, as I was moving up the management ladder in financial services on Wall Street, I became increasingly involved in nonprofit board work. It gave me a great introduction to the very diverse and expansive world of service. It also ignited the drive to increasingly dedicate my personal time and energy to serve important social justice causes from organizing United Way annual fundraisers, to digitalizing Title 1 school programs to reduce dropout rates, to cheering on the pediatric cancer ward at local hospitals.

Human trafficking is now considered one of the worst human rights violations that take place in the United States and across the world. It is not just a human rights issue, but also a social justice and corporate social responsibility issue.

Last fall, we began an education, advocacy and awareness-raising program with the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce community – called “€œWhat Business Can Do To Fight Human Trafficking.” The MCC is a longstanding and leading business membership organization serving over 10,000 business members in the New York metropolitan area. The MCC mission fosters socially responsible corporate strategy to serve economic and social progress and community development.

Businesses often may have little knowledge or practices in place to prevent human trafficking. They may unknowingly facilitate human trafficking. Good standards, however, can be easily implemented and include adopting relevant corporate compliance policies, educating management and staff, notifying partners and suppliers, supporting effective legislation and leveraging one’s corporate standing within the community.

Broadening the call to action to this part of the business community will lead to significant deterrence of exploitation. This program also enables also enable good businesses to respond to the ever-growing global demand for pro-active social involvement.

The world needs caring and committed partnership and advocacy on behalf of those most vulnerable, those in need of a voice and all those who deserve freedom from modern slavery. Now in my encore, I can truly say that we all benefit from respecting the richness and diversity of older workers talent and insights and contributions. Thank you all!!!

Help Put an End Human Trafficking! If you see something, say something.

National Hotline Number: 1-888-3737-888

24/7 interpreters available/Confidential Text: BeFree (233733)

To visit the website, please click here.

Job Opening: Marketing Associate at MCC Corporate Member Scotwork

Company: Scotwork North America

Company Description: The North American Division of the world’s largest independent provider of negotiation training.  

Industry: Marketing and Advertising 

Job Title: Marketing Coordinator

Experience: Associate

Job Function: Marketing

Employment Type: Full-Time

Location: Parsippany, NJ

Job Description: 

As the Marketing Coordinator, you will work directly under the Director of Operations to develop and maintain ongoing marketing initiatives in order to increase sales revenue for Scotwork North America. You will be responsible for generating brand awareness through the coordination of promotional events and online marketing initiatives. Responsibilities will include:

• Following up with incoming business inquiries via phone and email 

• Assisting sales team in new business development; researching new companies and contacts, creating engaging marketing materials to be distributed to prospects

• Maintaining new business inquiry reports via Salesforce.com and sending weekly updates to team 

• Developing creative and engaging marketing materials such as email campaigns, event descriptions and invitations, advertisements and banners.  

• Upkeep of social media outlets including Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and LinkedIn. 

• Working directly with the CEO, clients and outside vendors to coordinate regional negotiation workshops 

• Researching, planning and executing trade show opportunities and corporate events while acting as main point of contact to all outside vendors.

• Working directly with copywriter to establish new pitch letter ideas, monthly newsletter topics and webinar topics. 

• Working directly with regional business chambers while maintaining working relationships with directors to determine event sponsorship and networking opportunities for you and for the entire sales team. 

• Managing outside SEO vendor to establish ongoing successful AdWord campaign

• Managing a team of interns on a weekly basis 

Desired Skills and Expertise:

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills 

• Team management skills

• Event planning and logistics management 

• Budget management 

• Email marketing 

• Social media management; Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn

• Basic understanding of media relations

• Basic understanding of Google AdWords

• Organized and attentive to detail 

• Ability to self-motivate and work independently as well as thrive in a team environment

Jessica Day

Marketing Manager

Scotwork North America  400 Lanidex Plaza | Parsippany, NJ | USA | 07054

www.scotworkusa.com      Tel: 1 (973) 428-1991    Mob: 1 (551) 265-5056

Scotwork (n) Negotiation – Defining negotiation

Jessica.Day@scotwork.com

NYC Seniors: Culture at a Discount

Growing older in New York does bring some benefits—notably discounts and special offers that make it easier to enjoy the city we love. Whether you like the phrase “senior discounts” or not, you can get them practically everywhere you open your wallet. 

A few perks start when you turn 50 thanks to AARP, but lots more roll in the older you get. Many drugstores and grocery stores have weekly or monthly “senior discount days” with 10 to 25 percent off—so check out your neighborhood stores. And there are plenty of other discounts available on a variety of products and services—discounts at movie theaters if you’re 60 or 62, travel on NYC buses and subways if you’re 65+, and even sports (year-long NYC Parks tennis permits are $20 if you’re 62+, a huge reduction from the usual $200 fee). 

But what really draws many of us to the city and why we especially love living here are the city’s rich cultural institutions. So keeping that in mind, here are many of the cultural institutions where “seniors” (65 and older unless otherwise indicated) will happily say “senior discount, please.” Be sure to have your ID handy. And note: Almost all museums sell tickets online to adults and seniors for $2 less.

To read the entire article, please click here.

Embrace the Digital Age With a New Generation of Technology

By Joe McKendrick, contributor, Forbes Insights

For small- to midsize-business executives, the digital revolution offers opportunities not imaginable just a few years ago. Markets across the globe can now be reached with a few clicks of a mouse. The latest and greatest applications are available for immediate use, with no need for installation or setup. Detailed answers to any and all market questions are just a split second away. Customers are ready and eager to help spread the word about a company if they are happy with their experience.

Welcome to the digital age, where everything is connected. Thanks to significant advances in information technology, small to midsize businesses now have access to the same powerful, secure and networked technology resources that large corporations enjoy. These resources – which can be drawn from onsite data centers, from the cloud or from a combination of both – help deliver insights from data analytics, faster time to market, and highly customized products and services to customers, as they need them.

These digital technology advances are part of an ongoing evolution that began with the computerization of rote functions across small to midsize enterprises – such as maintaining customer records, or automating general ledgers and accounting sheets. This accelerated over the past decade, as businesses learned to automate their order-to-cash processes, capture essential customer information and store it securely in powerful databases, while providing employees the tools to quickly access important information and make decisions. Infrastructure solutions, built on Microsoft Windows Server 2003, paved the way for small to midsize businesses to enter the information age and to make computing power ubiquitous across their enterprises.

However, while these solutions have served many small to midsize businesses well over the past decade, it’s time to adopt the next generation of computing to move to the next level. While Windows Server 2003-based applications have been very effective at computerizing core business operations, this older technology has reached its limits. (Microsoft has announced it will be ending support for Windows Server 2003 in July 2015.) The software and underlying hardware in Windows Server 2003 was not designed to run or effectively integrate with today’s generation of applications, or to support greater mobility and cloud access. If a company wants to run components in the cloud or enhance connectivity with suppliers and customers, additional workarounds are required.

Small and midsize businesses now have compelling choices for advancing into the digital era. They can continue to build, deploy and maintain applications and data in-house, through a powerful new generation of resident servers; go to the cloud for the same resources; or employ a combination of both in-house and cloud technologies for their needs. The latest infrastructure solutions on the market, both on-premises-server and cloud based, provide development, deployment and infrastructure services, and support many different programming languages, tools and frameworks, including both Microsoft-specific and third-party software and systems.

A new generation of on-premises servers blends high levels of processing power with access to networked or cloud resources, enabling small and midsize business to have access to the same technological capabilities as their larger counterparts, without the overhead costs of maintaining an IT infrastructure.

Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials, based on Windows Server 2012 R2, enables businesses to take advantage of a wide range of IT resources, including on-premises applications, as well as cloud-based applications and services such as Microsoft Office 365, Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 and Microsoft Azure. Windows Server 2012 Essentials provides automatic backup and quick-connect VPN, data security, virtual operation, cloud service integration, remote access, file and print sharing, data backup and restoration, and other core server capabilities in one integrated package. Small and midsize businesses can choose which applications and services run on-premises and which run in the cloud. For example, they can run an on-premises copy of Exchange Server, subscribe to a hosted Exchange service or subscribe to Office 365.

With a cloud-centric option, businesses can access and run the latest business applications – as well as existing applications—and connect those applications, data and services to any end-user client or device. Workloads can be moved between on-premises and cloud environments with the click of a mouse. With unlimited scalability instantly available, small and midsize businesses can launch promotions or new market initiatives without worrying about overwhelming their infrastructure with more transactions or data than it can handle.

Microsoft Azure, available with Windows Server 2012 or as a standalone service, enables businesses to quickly scale up or down to match demand, and small and midsize businesses pay only for what they use. Small and midsize businesses can see substantial savings in on-premises data center costs, because they will not be required to pay for and maintain extra, unused server capacity. Companies can use hundreds of terabytes, and even petabytes, of Azure-based storage – a key benefit as big data grows, along with various unstructured file types, such as video files and sensor data.

Cloud-based solutions such as Azure are always highly available. It offers automatic data storage, backup and recovery. In addition, security is assured, through identity and access management technologies, as well as Active Directory, which provides an identity and access management cloud solution to help control access to thousands of Microsoft and non-Microsoft applications in the public cloud.

The stakes in moving to a more digital-capable platform are high for small to midsize businesses. Businesses cannot afford the risk of relying on old technology that serves to just help them “get by.” That’s because it’s a different world than it was five to 10 years ago. Not only are small to midsize businesses competing against their counterparts across town, but they are also competing against startups from around the globe. Business managers need to be able to reach out and actively engage with customers, suppliers and employees. They need to have data available that provides the intelligence to understand the forces shaping their markets, as well as the preferences of customers. They need the flexibility of accessing applications from both their PCs and mobile devices. Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials and Microsoft Azure make it easy for businesses to transition to this digital reality. In the process, they will be able to fully participate in today’s digital marketplace.

The digital age is here, and now is the time for small and midsize companies to begin building for the future.

If your company is ready to embrace new technology, there are a variety of resources available through both Microsoft and our partners to help guide the journey. For example, resources on the SMB Business Hub are a great place to start your Windows Server 2003 migration plans. It features on-demand webinar content, a migration planning assistant and other valuable information that will help small businesses discover, assess, target and migrate to modern technology. Be sure to discuss details with your technology partner, or Microsoft can help you find one through Pinpoint.

MCC Member Benefit: Plum Benefits April Offers

Bigger, Better... and serious about fun!

Now you have access to savings up to 60% on over 80,000 hotels in the most desirable destinations around the world, brand new products including great deals on nationwide theme parks, movie tickets and rental cars, plus the same great Broadway shows and exciting sporting events you've always enjoyed. PLUS, shopping is even easier with a secure on-site shopping cart.

With all these exciting changes, to ensure you continue to receive Plum Benefits email communications (to distribute to your employees) - please add Plum Benefits to your safe senders list or address book within your email client (i.e., Outlook).

You can do this easily:

Right click on this email in your inbox and select "Junk Email Options"

Click on the "Safe Senders" tab and push the "Add" button

Add email@emails.plumbenefits.com in the field provided

These offers are provided to you by Manhattan Chamber Of Commerce.

Think Spring with fresh new offers from Plum Benefits powered by TicketsatWork!

With so much to do, you won't want miss all of the great offers right here in New York City! Enjoy deals on the NY Yankees, Finding Neverland on Broadway, the New York Spring Spectacular at Radio City, and the Superhero Tour of New York.

This month, we launch the Fantasy Fairytale Vacation sweepstakes! Register for your chance to win an unbelievable Walt Disney World vacation complete with a one night stay in the Cinderella Castle Suite! It's a once in a lifetime opportunity only from Plum Benefits and TicketsatWork.

Don't forget, Plum Benefits has access to great Local Deals, discounted movie tickets and much, much more!

Want to sign up? It's free and easy:

Visit www.plumbenefits.com.

Use your email address associated with Manhattan Chamber Of Commerce or use your corporate access code ac0526895 and personal email address.

Read and follow the easy steps on our site, and once registered you can access over 80,000 hotels online for free.

Need help? Contact our knowledgeable customer service team at 212.660.1888 365 days a year, from 8:30am to 12am EST or contact@plumbenefits.com.

Fun for the Family

Gazillion Bubble Show: The Next Generation: Save over 40% and step into the UNBUBBLIEVABLE interactive stage production.

Mamma Mia!: Don’t miss the world's favorite feel-good musical. Featuring over 20 smash hit songs from ABBA®. Save over $50.

The Phantom Of The Opera: For over 25 years, The Phantom of the Opera has been the Broadway Musical all others are measured against. Buy tickets and save over 35%.

Walt Disney World: Discover Disney and save.

Six Flags Nationwide: Save on parks nationwide.

New York Spring Spectacular: Save 45% on select sections for this dazzling musical celebration about the energy, places, people, passion and promise that make this city spectacular.

An Evening at the Theater

An American in Paris: The romantic story of a young American solider, a beautiful French girl, and an unforgettable European city. Save over 30%.

Vintage: Save 30% on this interactive musical revue. Request your favorite tunes while musician and performer Gregory Charles displays his passion and talent to play anything in the American songbook, and beyond.

Doctor Zhivago: Based on the Nobel Prize® and Academy Award®- winning classic, this sweeping saga of romance and revolution comes to the stage as a stunning new Broadway musical. Save over $50 on orchestra seats.

Hand to God: This hilarious and provocative play centers on shy, inquisitive student Jason, who finds an outlet for his burgeoning creativity at the Christian Puppet Ministry. Orchestra seats from $81.

The Book of Mormon: Tickets start at $129 for the nine-time Tony Award® winning Best Musical from the creators of South Park.

Jersey Boys: Discover the true life, behind-the-music story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. Now is the best time to save on Broadway's Tony® Award-Winning Best Musical. Save up to $50 on orchestra seats.

A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder: Getting away with murder can be so much fun… and there's no better proof than the knock-em-dead hit show that’s earned unanimous raves and won the 2014 Tony Award® for BEST MUSICAL. Exclusive Offer: Save $70 on Mezzanine Seats.

For the Sports Lover

Richard Petty Driving Experience: Every race car driver wants to win the Daytona 500 and now you can feel what it's like with Richard Petty Driving Experience at Daytona International Speedway. Save over $75 - Location Closing Soon.

Yankees: A Timeless Legacy - Come out to Yankee Stadium in 2015! Share unforgettable memories with family, friends and associates and cheer on the Yankees in their quest for a World Series Championship. - Save Over 50%.

Miami Marlins: Come watch the Marlins like you have never seen them before. With their new talented players and returning stars, the Miami Marlins are ready for a great season. Buy tickets and save 30%.

Great Getaways

Universal Orlando: Buy tickets now and save.

Aquatica, Seaworld's Waterpark™ Orlando: This one-of-a-kind waterpark is home to some of the world's most thrilling water rides, featuring 38 slides, rivers and lagoons and 84,000 square feet of sparkling white, sandy beaches. Save over 40% on tickets.

Michael Jackson ONE by Cirque du Soleil® : Through the use of cutting-edge technology, Cirque du Soleil has produced a new theatrical experience not only respectful of Michael's legacy but also very distinctive from Michael Jackson THE IMMORTAL World Tour. Exclusive seat assignments available.

"O" - Cirque du Soleil®: World-class acrobats, synchronized swimmers, divers and characters perform in, on, and above water to create a breathtaking experience. Exclusive seat assignments available.

5-Line Tropical Adventure Zipline Tour by Maui Ziplining Company: Save 15% on tickets and you will soar above the lush gardens of the Maui Tropical Plantation while your highly-trained guides will narrate your adventure with information on Maui's plants and culture.

Keep Moving Strong

Improve Your Balance and Avoid Needless Falls

By SALLY WENDKOS OLDS

MCC Member Celeste Carlucci, Fall Stop... Move Strong is pleased to be featured in this article from NYCitywoman. Filled with practical advice, it includes 6 Easy Steps to prevent falls.

In my circle of friends, practically everyone—including me—has fallen recently. One friend hit the floor when the chair she was standing on to reach a high cabinet tipped over. One tripped over a small rug in her apartment. One tumbled downstairs when, wearing her progressive lenses, she could not see the bottom of the staircase. I ended up spread-eagled on a sidewalk when, looking up at the marquee of the theater I was headed to, I caught my toe in a crack in the cement. The ways we fall are varied and the ways to prevent falls are also varied. As we get older our vision changes and our muscles become weaker; these may cause changes in our balance, our bones and our ability to judge distances. Fortunately, we can do a lot to prevent mishaps.

“Reaching your sixties should be a wake-up call,” says Celeste Carlucci, a former dancer and the founder of the fall prevention and strengthening program FallStop…Move Strong™ at the Westside Jewish Community Center. Of course, younger people fall too, but the risks can be greater for people 60 and older. Many of us need to make changes. As much as we may want to look fashionable, we should wear sneakers (See Sneaker Savvy for City Living) or low-heeled shoes with rubber soles when we plan to walk four blocks or more. Also eliminate rugs that slip and slide in your apartment, learn better ways of picking up items from the floor and placing items on high shelves. Make sure your lighting is good. 

Click here for the full article.

UPCOMING Trainer Certification | May 15-16

Are you a trainer ready to create your own fall prevention program? Our next Fall Stop…MOVE STRONG™ Trainer Certification is scheduled for May 15-16 at the JCC in NYC. This training workshop provides step-by-step instructions for learning the evidence-based, doctor-recommended, 10-week Fall Stop...MOVE STRONG™ Program.

Learn more about our TrainerCertification. 

Access Capital Event / Merchant Cash & Capital

BIZFI.COM: NEW PLATFORM CONNECTS SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS WITH FUNDING PARTNERS AND AUTOMATES PROCESS 

BILLIONS OF DOLLARS NOW AVAILABLE FOR SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS THROUGH BIZFI.COM

New York – April 15, 2015 – With the improving U.S. economy, many businesses are looking for capital to expand. But finding the best funding option to meet their needs is a time consuming and a difficult endeavor. To support the small business community, Merchant Cash and Capital (MCC), one of the pioneers in alternative financing, created Bizfi, a connected online marketplace designed specifically to help small businesses compare funding options from different sources of capital and get funded within days.

Bizfi’s proprietary technology makes finding financing simple and fast. By providing basic financial information, business owners can instantly find out how much funding they qualify for. Bizfi’s multiple funding partners enable the business owner to immediately view several options from companies that are willing to provide financing. The platform’s account management tool lets business owners directly submit all documents needed for funding, track their repayment and even request additional funding. Bizfi also assigns a trained funding professional to each customer to help sort through their options. 

“Having worked in the alternative funding space for more than a decade, we listened to our clients' and partners' feedback to create a technology solution that provides funding options to small businesses faster and easier than ever before,” said Stephen Sheinbaum, who founded Merchant Cash and Capital 10 years ago and also founded Bizfi. “Akin to traditional consumer loan aggregators, Bizfi provides small business owners, franchisees, and entrepreneurs access to billions of dollars from multiple sources to find the right product that works for their specific needs.”

Sheinbaum concluded, “We have built a technology platform that securely automates the process of finding financing and provides small businesses a one-stop-shop to be able to immediately obtain the capital they need to grow. Bizfi is the future of alternative financing and we look forward to helping hundreds of thousands of businesses achieve their growth objectives.” 

About Bizfi

Bizfi combines proprietary technology and unmatched customer service to instantly provide multiple funding options to businesses. Designed for small businesses, Bizfi’s connected marketplace brings together a wide variety of funding partners to present solutions – and offer real-time approvals. A process that once took hours, now takes minutes.

See how much you qualify for by visiting www.Bizfi.com.

Media Contact: 

Abbie Sheridan / Andrew Herweg 

KCSA Strategic Communications 

asheridan@kcsa.com / aherweg@kcsa.com

212-896-1207 / 212-896-1273

MCC Partners News: News from EisnerAmper

We’d like to share some very good news with all our clients and friends.

EisnerAmper LLP is honored to be named as Institutional Investor’s Alpha Awards Top Accounting Firm providing services to hedge funds for 2015. EisnerAmper, in fact, swept the top spot in EACH of the five categories in which firms were rated: audit, tax, regulatory & compliance, hedge fund expertise and overall client service. More than 625 hedge fund firms participated in the survey.

What makes this award and recognition so special to us is the fact that it is our clients who spoke out so positively on the quality and value of our work. It is the goal of everyone here at EisnerAmper that clients in all of our practice areas and across all of our locations receive the same award-winning service for which our financial services team has been recognized.

We are, as always, grateful to our clients and friends for the support we receive and your enduring vote of confidence. Thank you.

  

Sincerely,

Charly Weinstein

CEO, EisnerAmper LLP

How to Create a “Power Panel”

By Angela Marie Franco, April 13, 2015

When I joined the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce five years ago, I joined for all the basic reasons – network and connect with other companies and create more business for myself.  That is what I set out to accomplish.

However I can say that my membership became so much more as I got more involved in the functions of the Chamber.  First I went to as many events as I could and met different groups and business owners.  Then I decided to focus my time on my specific interests and where I could meet intelligent and motivated people that I could learn from.  So I joined the Green Committees – design and construction, green energy, green financing and social responsibility, the Global Business Committee and a Business Referral Group.  Each committee within the Chamber brought me to new contacts, new interests and new prospects and customers.

I learned that the Chamber not only advocates to government on behalf of businesses, but is also open to new ideas, innovation and forming new committees that would benefit the membership and expand the mission of the chamber.  So it was that I joined the MCC Ambassadors and the Entrepreneurship Committee. Three years ago, my colleague and I came up with a plan for a forum for members that were in the marketing trade.  We pitched it to the Chamber and so the Marketing Professionals Group was formed.

This year we are announcing our third annual Marketing WeekNYC that will take place during the week of June 8-12, 2015.  We have a grand launch event on June 8^th created by the Chamber Committee, and then individual members of the committee will hold their own events during that week. 

I am producing an event on June 9th from 6-8pm that is hosted by Wix.com at 235 West 23^rd Street, NYC. The topic is “5 Key Pillars to Winning More Business.”  My “power panel” of marketing experts have all been sourced through the chamber membership – Jimmy Newson, filmmaker and founder of A Billion Entrepreneurs, Ramon Ray, technology evangelist and Publisher of Smart Hustle Magazine, Louise Angelino, SEO specialist and owner of Little Angel Media Group, Beverly Stacy, website developer and owner of Façade Interactive and myself Angela Marie Franco, owner of AMF Direct and marketing instructor to help business owners find new customers.

This educational panel of experts could not become possible without the connection and camaraderie of the chamber.  Here I meet like-minded business owners who know that when you give you also receive.

I hope you will join us during Marketing Week NYC and sign up for my event at http://www.manhattancc.org/External/WCPages/WCEvents/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1639.

MCC Partner News: Delta Air Lines, Inc. Announces Additional Service

Delta Launches Two Routes Connecting Atlanta to Medellin and Cartagena 

Delta will continue expanding its network in Latin America with service from Atlanta to Medellin and Cartagena, Colombia starting December 19, 2015, subject to foreign government approval. The service between Atlanta and Medellin will provide enhanced connectivity to Barcelona, London and Madrid, while the service between Atlanta and Cartagena will offer great leisure travel opportunities. More

Seattle Hub Offers Expanded Convenience to North America, Asia and Europe

Delta offers quick and easy connections through its Seattle hub from 17 West Coast cities to Amsterdam, Beijing, Hong Kong, London, Paris, Shanghai, Seoul and Tokyo. Additionally, Delta will expand its domestic schedule from Seattle beginning in May and June with daily service to Boise, Sacramento and Denver, and seasonal service to Ketchikan and Sitka. Further expansion, beginning in December, will provide daily service to Kona, Hawaii, additional seasonal service to Palm Springs and Tucson and expanded service to Fairbanks, Juneau, Los Cabos and Puerto Vallarta. This service complements existing schedules to Anchorage, Calgary, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Salt Lake City, Spokane, and Vancouver. Seattle is Delta’s fastest-growing hub and will offer 126 peak-day departures to 35 destinations by summer 2015 and is the fastest path between the continental U.S. and Asia.

Delta Resumes Seasonal Service between Atlanta and Dublin

Delta resumed its seasonal nonstop flight between Atlanta and Dublin on March 30, 2015. The daily flight complements Delta’s existing daily nonstop service between Dublin and New York-JFK, significantly increasing travel choices for customers flying between the Republic of Ireland and the United States. More

Delta Resumes Service between New York-JFK and Athens

Delta increased travel options for customers between New York-JFK and Athens when the service resumed on March 30. Delta is increasing its operations between JFK and Athens with up to five additional weekly flights. During the peak summer months, Delta will offer up to 5,900 weekly seats between the United States and Greece. More

For additional info please see the Delta Air lines website.

New York Nonprofits Receive Over $12.4 Million From Wells Fargo

Recipients include Hispanic Federation, New York Common Pantry, and Bottomless Closet, NYC

New York, N.Y., April 13, 2015 – Wells Fargo announced today that in 2014, it provided over $12.4 million in contributions to local nonprofit organizations across New York, an increase from $11.1 million from the previous year.  The 765 grants supported affordable housing, community development, health services, the environment, and financial education and literacy.  The company’s 1,600 New York-based team members also spent nearly 22,000 hours volunteering for local causes throughout the state –an increase of 13 percent over the prior year. 

“We have the opportunity to make a difference in communities all across New York, and in 2014, that’s exactly what we did,” said Wells Fargo New York and Connecticut Region President Joe Kirk.  “Thanks to our team members’ engagement in the areas where we live and work, we now have families that are in homes for the first time, communities that are being revitalized and small business owners who received a first-hand education about getting started.”

 A sampling of the state’s organizations which received grants from Wells Fargo include the Hispanic Federation, God’s Love We Deliver, the New York Common Pantry, Bottomless Closet NYC, and the American Red Cross.  Nationally, Wells Fargo donated $1.1 billion to nonprofit groups over the past four years, surpassing its initial goal of donating $1 billion by 2017. Overall, Wells Fargo donated $281.2 million to 17,100 nonprofits in 2014, an increase from 2013’s $275.5 million in contributions, marking the sixth consecutive year of more than $200 million in total annual corporate giving.

About Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a nationwide, diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.4 trillion in assets. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through more than 9,000 stores, 12,000 ATMs, the Internet (wellsfargo.com), and has offices in more than 35 countries to support the bank’s customers who conduct business in the global economy. With more than 265,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States.  Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 26 on Fortune’s 2012 rankings of America’s largest corporations. Wells Fargo’s vision is to satisfy all our customers’ financial needs and help them succeed financially. 

MCC Program: Urban Assembly School for Green Careers

www.uagreencareers.org

Student Work-based Learning Opportunities

The 2013-14 GreenLife Internship Wraps Up.

This spring semester, five 11th graders completed their 9-month long intership with GreenLife, a horticulture and job-readiness internship program funded by The Friends of Roosevelt Park. The students, Paloma Paredes Jacquez, Gail Irby, Jesica Perez, Jeferson Nunez and Mamethierno Faye, spent the summer and fall maintaining the green spaces and gardens of Theodore Roosevelt Park, at the American Museum of Natural History.

Through this internship, the students worked closely with Richard Squire, their direct supervisor. Under his leadership and guidance, they learned how to use a variety of gardening tools and equipment, such as weedwackers, lawnmowers and hand pruners, to maintain the gardens and grounds. The students unanimously agreed with Gail's reflection on Richard: "He was great. He worked with us and was there with us every day. He talked with us and worked to understand us."

According to Mamethierno and Gail, in addition to working with and learning from Richard, the highlight of this internship was the opportunity to work outdoors with their hands, to spend the day, in nice weather, working with people you know and like.

Beyond the immediate horticultural skills, students learned other "soft skills" necessary for success in workplace. As stated by Paloma, the students learned "how to work with people." Jeferson and Gail both expanded upon that: Jeferson stating that the internship helped to improve their communication skills as they frequently had to be able to "correctly answer the people walking through the gardens and park who'd ask them about the flowers and plants with which they were working." "We learned even more about the importance of following directions and meeting expectations," said Gail, "even when you don't like the work. ...You're not always going to enjoy everything about your work, or the people you work with, and so you have to learn how to be happy with it and get it done."

The Spring 2015 Scholars-at-Work Program is Underway

Beginning in February 2015, seven of our seniors with advanced standing, Saul Robles, Naod Alemayhu, Mariama Barry, Anastasia Foxe, Yeltsin Morales and Aissatou Ndiye, were successfully accepted into the Department of Education's competative Scholars at Work program. Scholars at Work, a joint initiative begun by the New York City Department of Education, the New York City Department of Small Business Services, and the New York City Workforce Investment Board, began in 2010 to provide increased options and opportunities for New Yorkers graduating from the City's career and technical education (CTE) high schools (of which, UAGC is one). During the 14-week paid internship, participating students not only receive career training and experiences at their worksites, but they also take part in job-readiness workshops and recruitment events provided by the City's Workforce 1 career centers.

Our students, Saul Robles, Naod Alemayhu, Mariama Barry, Anastasia Foxe, Yeltsin Morales and Aissatou Ndiye, are working at The MTA's Rapid Transit Operations, Charan Electrical Enterprises, Skyline Sightseeing, Hells Kitchen Bath and Home, Super Shuttle at the Hilton Hotel, and at Panorama Windows respectively.

In terms of direct connections to the green careers, Aissatou, working at Panorama Windows, is learning about, and watching, the manufacturing of low-e (low-emissivity) windows, for "all types of buildings," residential and commerical. Naod, at Charan Electrical, who is planning on majoring in electrical engineering next year in college, is building on his knowledge base of circuitry from his prior Electrial courses, and is learning about new types of conduits and wall recepticals, and how to insulate around them to seal off air leaks for the improved energy performance of walls. Anastastaisa, at Hells Kitchen Bath and Home, is working directly with her supervisor to design blueprints for their clients' home renovations, is learning "the different types of wood for cabinetry so [she] can make [home improvement] recommendations."

Indirectly related to UAGC's sustainability theme, Saul, at the MTA's Rapid Transit Operations, does one thing at his job: "I help try to keep the trains working on time without delay. I monitor mileage units. After a certain amount of miles, they're (train cars) taken in to ensure they continue to work properly. I study and manage a lot of data tables – typing in numbers for other people to make recommendations for trains to service. It's a lot of responsibility, but I like that."

Beyond making connections between our school's theme and mission, this experience is also providing our students with the "soft skills" required for success in both college and the workplace. At Hells Kitchen Bath and Home, Anastasia is learning that "it's all about accuracy. If you get one detail or calculation wrong, the entire plan will be thrown off and ruined. You need to be precise. One of our clients is redesigning his kitchen--because of the way his building was constructed, there are corners that are hard to work within. We had to decrease the size of the cabinet he’s putting in so that he can get what wants in the space he’s got...and we had to convince him that that's what was best." Anastasia is also learning, as an intern, the delicate workplace art of managing up: "I always feel like I’m trying to teach them to be organized with their clients, and organizing their clients' plans and [blue] prints." For Yeltsin, interning with Super Shuttle, the art of the sale is his prime learning task. Through his job, he's "learning a lot of people skills--how to communicate, listen and persuade. I'm like a salesman; I have to convice people (the various hotel concierges and guests) that they need what I’m selling/representing. I really like talking with people so this isn't a challenge for me." Mariama and Aissatou, at Skyline Sightseeing and Panorama Windows, also acknowledged that they're learning the importance of communication with their clients and customers. Mariama has to "help customers figure out how to plan their trips--where to buy tickets for events, where to board [tour] busses...I need to know a lot about the City...and, no matter what, even if they're wrong, the customer is always right. They make the company--so they have to be put first." At Panorama Windows, Aissatou "[talks] to new people on the phone--listening to what they want so that I can tell them about what we can provide, and how to achieve what they want for their homes in terms of increased sustainability" and decreased energy costs.

How do these students plan to use their experiences to guide their future career paths?

Naod: I'm hoping that they offer me a summer job. I want to study electrical engineering in college, and want to be an electrician while I’m fulltime in college. I want to learn about and know how to install new devices. I want to learn everything I can about electrical systems.

Yeltsin: I think the communication skills will really help me with job interviews in the future. If I become an artist, then I can use my communication skills through my art to get out messages.

Aissatou: I think this will help me get future jobs--I'm able to expand my resume and get job training skills. When I'm older, looking for a job, I've already got some experience in the business world. I could get a job working in an office as an office manager.

Saul: I still don’t know what I want to do in life, and am hoping that this internship will help me figure out what I want to do. I like a lot of responsibility, and would prefer office work to hands-on.

Mariama: [A counterpoint to Saul] I'm learning that I do not want to work in an office. Last summer, I also worked in an office--and it was really boring.

Anastasia: My line of work is somewhat aligned to what I want to do--I want to work in.

New York City Carriage Horses are Stress-Free Even After Long Day of Trotting, Academic Says

You're probably more stressed than a New York City carriage horse, according to a new study.

A California academic who specializes in equine medicine conducted an intensive study of stress levels on Big Apple carriage horses and found them completely angst-free — even after a long day trotting in Central Park.

Joe Bertone, who teaches at Western University of Health Sciences, said he became intrigued with the carriage-horse debate after visiting New York several years ago.

“Vets I know and respected were telling me (the horses) were having a pretty darn good life, but I wanted to put some science behind it,” he said.

In a study sponsored by the horse-carriage industry, which provided a $5,000 grant, he and his team analyzed the levels of cortisol — a hormone produced during stress in humans and animals — in 13 carriage horses at the Clinton Park Stables on W. 52nd St. over a three-day period in August.

The animals were examined four times a day — mostly by taking saliva samples and checking their body temps — including right before they left for work and right after they got home.

“I couldn’t find more content animals,” said Bertone, who is board-certified in internal medicine for large animals, with a specialty in horses. “They were very relaxed.” 

He sent one of his students to Pennsylvania to check on carriage horses on their five-week furlough, which the city requires as a rest for the animals.

Some of those horses had elevated cortisol levels, possibly because they were in an unfamiliar environment, according to Bertone.

Bertone said he came up with the idea for the study himself.

“My No. 1 concern is animal welfare,” he said.

The research was presented at the Interdisciplinary Forum for Applied Animal Behavior in Texas in February, and will be featured at several other science gatherings this year. 

It remains to be seen if it can influence the horse-carriage debate here in New York.

A spokesman said the administration was looking for a “humane and equitable solution that moves the horses off our streets” while protecting jobs.

Bertone said he noticed another sign that the horses were happy with city living — their sleep habits. In prior studies, he found horses won’t sleep when they’re stressed, no matter how tired they are.

But during his visits to the Clinton Park Stables, “in the mornings, we heard them snoring,” he said.

Source : Jennifer Fermino, New York Daily News

The Power and Importance of Crowdfunding in the 21st Century

If you have a fantastic idea for a business and are not independently wealthy, then what do you do? Based on existing models, your best bet is to find a number of investors that are willing to provide the capital necessary for you to get your feet off the ground. The downside is that you have less of a say in what happens to your business as private investors will push towards turning a profit over your business plan.

In the past decade, this well-established model is no longer the only option if you are looking to raise money. Crowdfunding through online websites has become big, allowing for countless individuals to invest small amounts of money. Let’s take a moment to review the power of crowdfunding, the current size of the industry, and some of the campaigns that have achieved success through crowdfunding.

The Industry of Crowdfunding

According to the World Bank, by 2025, the crowdfunding industry will have between $90 to $96 billion dollars invested in it. In 2013, there was $5.1 billion, with $2.7 billion invested in 2012. What these numbers show is very clear. The industry of crowdfunding is expanding at an incredible rate. Based off of the idea that individuals can provide just a little capital towards ideas, products, and business models that they believe in, crowdfunding is growing in popularity and using social media to get the message across.

Industry Leaders

Kickstarter__Indiegogo_LogosTwo major players and industry leaders for crowdfunding are Kickstarter and Indiegogo. Kickstarter has strict guidelines and exists for creative projects looking to raise capital for their ideas. Indiegogo also allows creative projects, as well as fundraising for pretty much everything. In addition, they have recently expanded their international markets and have seen strong growth.

Crowdfunding campaigns

While the above two industry players account for a good amount of the current market in crowdfunding, more than a dozen additional companies help to provide a fundraising model for every kind of need. Through these sites, there have been a number of success stories ranging in the 5 and 6-figure range. Having earned six figures through crowdfunding, Oliver Apparel only ended up putting in $5,000 of their own money. In addition, My Yoga Pro is a good example of a five-figure going on a six-figure campaign that started small and has a great number of backers. Through these success stories and more, crowdfunding is the perfect way to move forward with a fantastic idea and business plan.

Author: Jimmy Newson

Source : jimmynewson.com