Wear Red to Get Your Community Fed

Join Project SHARE during the month of May and wear red to get your community fed! Host a dress down or spirit day in your business or community and collect donations of food or funds to help ensure none of our neighbours go hungry.

Project SHARE serves individuals living in poverty in the Niagara Falls community by addressing the short-term need for food and creating long-term solutions for food security, mobilizing resources in the community, and adapting services to respond to change in the community.

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Two-Day Forum Strives To Reshape Attittude On Ageing – June 26 & 27 at Niagara College

Whether your interests are professional or personal, the AgeWorks forum has something for everyone. Twelve dynamic speakers will cover a wide range of topics from “Ageing is Changing” to “Making Sense of a Longevity Economy” and “Your Future Reimagined.”

This will be an assembly of thought leaders, organizations, media and individuals who want to fuel positive change on healthier attitudes towards ageing. It will be inspirational, educational and motivational; a must-attend event if you target or work with boomers and older adults.

More information & Tickets

Ride 4 Our Cancer Kids Rolls Toward $500,000 Milestone

Motorcyclists from across Ontario will be rumbling through the Niagara region on Saturday July 6th to support childhood cancer research. The Ride 4 Our Cancer Kids, also known as “ROCKRIDE” has been raising funds for Childhood Cancer Canada since 2004, and is expecting to reach their $500,000 milestone this year.

The event was created in memory of Samantha Thomas, who passed away on May 18, 2003 — three days before her third birthday. Her nine-month battle with Acute Lymphoblastic Lymphoma ended at SickKids in Toronto when complications arose after her bone marrow transplant.

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Niagara Angels Move Offices To Thorold

On May 8, The Niagara Angel Network and Venture Niagara announced a shared location that improves access to capital for Niagara’s early stage companies.

As of May 1, the Niagara Angels moved their offices to Venture Niagara, an organization with a 34-year track record of providing loan financing to Niagara businesses. The offices are located at 20 Pine Street North in Thorold, in the beautifully restored Welland Mills — a historic building originally constructed in 1846.

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IGNITE Niagara Pitch Competition Winners Announced

The annual Ignite Pitch Series competition, powered by Meridian Credit Union, in partnership with the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce, Innovate Niagara and Niagara College Canada was held May 8 at the Greg Frewin Theatre in Niagara Falls.

After long deliberations, judges Fred Pidsadny of Focus Management, Paul Speck from Henry of Pelham, Chris Robertson of Loud + Clear, Stephen Otten from Meridian Credit Union and Peter Brown of Copper Beech Co. and the Niagara Angel Network, judged Pippa & Peach to be this year’s IGNITE pitch competition winner. The grand prize was $7,500.

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Niagara Living Wage Campaign Hits Milestone

The drive to have Niagara employers pay a living wage hit a milestone this month — the 20th company signed on to the campaign. But paying all their workers enough that they can afford to live a decent life in the community is just part of it, said Justin Callon, co-owner of ServiceMaster Restore in St. Catharines.

“A lot of it is just providing the right atmosphere and treating people properly,” he said. “Giving them a living wage definitely helps.” Now that his company is committed, Callon said he would “absolutely” recommend other businesses do the same.

Read more in the Niagara Falls Review

Diversity Employment Network Hosting Discover Ability Breakfast

Join the Diversity Employment Network of Niagara for a breakfast with guest speaker Louie DiPalma, Director, SME Programs & Global Growth Fund Contact with the Ontario Chamber of Commerce. Louie, who is a longtime advocate for the inclusion of people with disabilities within the workforce in Ontario, will present on the Discover Ability Network (DAN).

DAN an online portal and resource that connects people with disabilities to Ontario businesses, funded by the Government of Ontario and powered by Magnet, a data-rich, job matching technology platform. Many employers are aware of the benefits of diverse hiring, but do not know where to find qualified candidates who have a disability.

Find out more

ICD Seeks Fundraising Development Intern

I Challenge Diabetes is a charity that focuses on delivering the most engaging, inspiring, and empowering opportunities to the type 1 community. Their mission is to support, empower and connect people living with diabetes by providing challenging high quality programs to test the limits of living with the disease and ultimately help them take accountability for their own health.

The ICD team is seeking a Fundraising Development Intern to join them in assisting with community engagement and fund development, giving their community ambassadors leverage and support to help them raise funds for ICD’s operations and to remove financial barriers.

See the job posting on Facebook

YMCA Highlights Program Investments in Niagara Falls

YMCA of Niagara invested $539,000 into its Niagara Falls centre during the past year — with more improvements planned. Agency officials this week provided city council with an update about the YMCA space at the city-owned MacBain Community Centre, memberships and new programs and services in the city.

The largest investment — $238,000 — was on new fitness equipment. Cathyanne White, vice-president of health, fitness and aquatics, said officials were “delighted” by the response to the free track access for members of the community this past winter.

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If you’re thinking of adding group benefits to your company, there are a lot of good reasons to put your Chamber membership to work for you. Not the least is exclusivity: only members have access to the Chambers of Commerce Group Insurance Plan®.

To contact your local insurance rep, call Jim Garrett or Cindy Haines at 905-468-8575

Try the purest, freshest water available — one month absolutely FREE. Experience the taste of clean water AND discover why so many homes, schools, and businesses love H2Only… it’s the service. No contracts, no set schedules. You call, we deliver the following business day. That simple since 1995.

Contact: 905-934-0966
sales@h2only.ca www.h2only.ca

MEMBER 2 MEMBER SAVINGS PROGRAM

Many other Chamber of Commerce members feature discounts and special offers — tailored specifically for other GNCC members. Check out the full Member 2 Member database. If you’d like to add an offer for your company, sign in to your account. You can add and update your offer any time you wish.

BUSINESS SAVINGS PROGRAMS

The GNCC offers many business resources that are regionally, provincially or nationally endorsed – programs offered to Chamber Members through the OCC (Ontario Chamber of Commerce) or the CCC (Canadian Chamber of Commerce). Affinity programs include the Chamber Group Insurance, FedEx savings, Gales Gas discounts, Desjardins payroll service, Chase Paymentech and FirstData merchant services, etc. For more information click HERE.

If your organization is interested in partnering with the GNCC on an affinity program, please feel free to reach out to Mishka Balsom, CEO, at mishka@gncc.ca.

GNCC REFERRAL PROGRAM

From the beginning, the GNCC has grown because of your word-of-mouth support.

This Referral Program is our way of saying thanks.

Get your choice of a $25 Starbucks Gift Card for every new member you refer and who joins the Chamber -OR- $50 in GNCC Cash for every new member you refer and joins the Chamber towards GNCC ads, sponsorship or event tickets.

More program information HERE.