New Community Teamwork Video!
Learn about Community Teamwork from those who know us best. We partnered with our terrific web development team to capture the heart of Community Teamwork through the eyes of our staff and those we serve.
Housing Consumer Education Center Financial Assistance Workshop
Housing Consumer Education Center Financial Assistance/SMART Tenant Workshop
Are you homeless and need financial assistance to be rehoused? Do you need some help finding and apartment?
This ONE HOUR workshop will provide a brief overview of services offered by Community Teamwork, discuss eligibility for financial assistance, review housing search, tenancy preservation, eviction prevention, Fair Housing, Tenant’s Rights and termination of tenancies.
**PRE-REGISTRATION NOT REQUIRED!**
Monday –Friday 12:00pm–1pm and Wednesdays 5pm-6pm
Workshops located at Community Teamwork – 17 Kirk St. Lowell, MA
Questions about this workshop, call 978-459-0551.
Lowell FOOD DAY Screening of “A Place at the Table”!
Join us at 4pm on Tuesday, October 22 for a visit and presentation from the Commissioner for the Massachusetts Dept of Agricultural Resources, and the Northeast Regional Administrator of the USDA. Film Starts at 5pm. Tonight is made possible by a partnership between CTI, LGH, the Merrimack Valley Food Bank and the Lowell Film Collaborative.
“A Place At the Table, with talking heads ranging from Jeff Bridges to Tom Colicchio, all of them articulate and impassioned, is a film that should make you furious.” –Huffington Post
“A shocking indictment of how people are starving in the land of plenty …”-Linda Barnard, Rotten Tomatoes
“As important and eye-opening a documentary as you’ll see this year,” –New York Daily News
Preview this important film at http://www.magpictures.com/aplaceatthetable
MA Legislature Keeps Fuel Assistance Offices Open
BOSTON — The Massachusetts House has approved an additional $20 million to help low income families pay their heating bills.
The Wednesday vote came as winter approaches and after more than two weeks of a federal government shutdown that appeared to be coming to an end.
The funding was included in a supplemental spending bill that also included extra money to help shelter homeless families in hotels and motels and to cover the cost of the recent special U.S. Senate election, which was won by Democrat Edward Markey.
The Senate meets in a formal session on Thursday and could take up the supplemental budget plan then.
In states like Massachusetts, heating assistance benefits typically begin to go out Nov. 1. The state received $133 million in federal heating help last year.
– See more at: http://bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_coverage/2013/10/mass_house_oks_extra_20m_in_heating_assistance#sthash.bKBG9nwT.dpuf
Campaign to Raise Minimum Wage Heating Up
Raise Up Massachusetts is conducting a petition drive to raise the minimum wage and ensure that more Massachusetts workers can care for themselves and their family members when they are sick.
According to their website, when workers and their families can’t afford the basics, they aren’t able to spend money in their communities to keep the economy growing. That’s why Raise Up Massachusetts is fighting to require employers to offer earned sick time and raise the minimum wage.
To learn more about this important initiative or to join the campaign visit Raise Up Massachusetts on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RaiseupMA
Fuel aid in Mass. halted by shutdown
The US government’s shutdown is cutting off federal fuel assistance to tens of thousands of poor and elderly Massachusetts residents just as the heating season gets underway.
Read today’s Boston Globe to learn more about the impact on the Fuel Assistance program.
Michael Collins Becomes Chief Program Officer
I am pleased and honored to be joining the CTI team as Chief Program Officer, and to serve an agency whose historic mission and legacy are more important now than when community action agencies were first developed in 1964. You all do such incredibly important and vital work to assist low income people, and I look forward to learning from all of you as I enter the agency and apply my experience and skills to do as much as we can with each dollar that we receive.
I come to CTI after serving for twelve and a half years as Director of Residential Services for YOU, Inc., a large multi-service child welfare agency in Worcester serving northern and southern Worcester County communities. Similar to CTI, YOU, Inc. is a large multi-service agency that provides a continuum of care for families and children. And so, I appreciate and value that each program or service can do individually, but also how much more effective coordinated service delivery can be for the people we serve.
My career in social services administration is broad and diverse, and I have managed service systems both in the public and non-profit sectors, and have planned, implemented and managed service delivery for children, families and adults facing the challenges of poverty, mental illness and developmental disabilities, as well as individuals involved with the criminal and juvenile justice systems.
The foundations of my career, however, began here in Lowell, first as a Northeastern “co-op” student, then in the Planning Department of the Lowell City Development Authority and finally as a case manager working in a store front on Middlesex Street funded by federal employment and training funds that were administered through CTI. So, I am very pleased to return to Lowell and the Merrimack Valley to offer my skills, enthusiasm and commitment to Community Teamwork.
“Shop Local” Campaign Launched
Are you a Lowell business?
Want to participate in our “Shop Local” campaign?
Community Teamwork’s Merrimack Valley Small recently was awarded a City of Lowell marketing grant to launch a “Shop Local Day” marketing campaign to help benefit many of our local retail and creative enterprises. We are targeting retail stores and galleries all over the city as participating business locations, to coincide with a national campaign called Shop Small Day, a program sponsored by American Express. “Shop Local Day” will be Saturday, November 30th and will boost our local economy by promoting the mindset “Shop SMALL to Provide a BIG investment in Lowell.”
As a participating location, all will receive the following:
1. A listing on the MVSBC webpage dedicated to this Shop Local campaign
- We will include contact info, and link to social media or website
- All marketing materials will link back to this page: http://goo.gl/0lY6oJ§
- We will also include a QRS Code on the postcard
2. Tote bags to give out to the first “X” amount of shoppers (this # will be dependent on the final number of participating businesses, we have a budget of 500 totes) with the Shop Local logo on it
3. All business participants will be asked to participate in a quick survey to document results of the campaign
4. Raffle material for shoppers to enter to win a gift certificate for a $100 to a small business of their choice after visiting a participating location on Nov 30th
5. “Shop Local” postcards distributed all over the city.
A limited number of participants will have the opportunity to also be included in Howl in Lowell’s Holiday Shopping Guide as a gift list item to be released in November. Sorry we won’t be able to include everyone in this opportunity, but due to publishing schedules, we only have a limited time to coordinate this portion of the Shop Local campaign.
Are you interested in participating?
Everyone interested should email shargis@comteam.org by COB Wed, October 23rd to be considered for the Howl in Lowell opportunity.
All others can express interest by COB Wed, October 30th. If you have any questions at all, please call me at 978-322-8400 and ask for Bobby.Our apologies for the quick turnaround time on a response.
Please feel free to share this opportunity with anyone else you think may be interested.
Nurturing Families
Nurturing Families is a fun, activity based parenting education group, held once a week for twelve weeks in the Fall and in the Spring. The curriculum is designed to provide parents and children with experiences that support the development of healthy, meaningful relationships.
Parents are brought together in a supportive environment to share experiences, gain confidence in their parenting abilities and learn about the various techniques used in developing family bonds, managing stress and much more.
Dinner is provided to all that participate. Transportation and child care are available to those families in need.
When: Fall/Spring
Where: Houlares Early Learning Center
Cost: Free
For more info contact: Tracy Young, 978-726-2623, tyoung@comteam.org
RSVP to: Kristen Tremblay, 978-654-7153, ktremblay@comteam.org
Learn more about solutions for Family & Children
Financial Literacy Academy, A program of the Financial Education Center
Community Teamwork’s Financial Education Center is a Division of Energy & Community Resources
Financial Education
Asset Development
Secure Jobs
We are getting ready for VITA which will also be completely virtual this year. Information for scheduling appointments will be available by the end of January 2021.
Give us a call to learn more about our free programs!
Listen to Chris Santos-Gordon, Director Financial Education Center, disucss the Top 6 things to do to manage finances during the pandemic – WCAP Radio 8/4/2020: 1.Rework your budget 2. What can you live without? 3. Divert those “things I can live without” into savings 4. Take Care of Your Credit 5. Increase Income 6. Schedule a financial coaching appointment with us! 978.654.5673; FEC Facebook Page
All programs are being offered virtually.This September AND October we’ll be holding our Financial Literacy Academy via ZOOM. All who complete the FLA will receive a gift card for participating in the 6 week, once per week program! Give us a call to learn more 978-654-5673
Community Teamwork’s Coordinated Family and Community Engagement, funded by the MA Dept of Early Education and Care bring you: Teaching Your Preschooler about Money
The Financial Education Center has enrolled in a four part webinar series focusing on building your money confidence. Below is the link to Part 2- Managing Debt. We hope you find it helpful. You can click on the link and register to view the WEBINAR: https://register.gotowebinar.com/recording/8620924734155818243
If after you view the webinar, you have further questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to me and I’ll be happy to help
WEBINAR – CONTROLLING SPENDING ~The Financial Education Center has enrolled in a four part webinar series focusing on personal finance management. Below is the link to part 1- Controlling Spending. We hope you find it helpful. You can click on the link and register to view the webinar.
Programing at CTI’s Financial Education Center
165 Merrimack Street – Lowell, MA 01852
WHY FINANCIAL LITERACY MATTERS IN AN ECONOMIC CRISIS
Billy J. Hensley, Ph.D, President and CEO of National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE)
•A new survey from the National Endowment for Financial Education finds that nearly 9 in 10 (88%) Americans say the COVID-19 crisis is causing stress on their personal finances.
•Financial literacy cannot predict or remedy a crisis, but financial education will play a pivotal role in the economic recovery of our country.
We encourage you to call or take advantage of Social Security Administration’s secure and convenient online services to:
•Apply for Retirement, Disability, and Medicare benefits,
•Check the status of an application or appeal,
•Request a replacement Social Security card (in most areas),
•Print a benefit verification letter, and
•Much more.
Most business with SSA can be done online but we know that many people still rely on phone or in-person help. That’s why we want people to know they can still count on SSA by phone.
Lastly, we know that getting medical and other documentation can be difficult due to the pandemic. SSA continues to extend deadlines wherever possible.
Financial Literacy Academy – FLA
The Financial Education Center at Community Teamwork will be holding its’ Financial Literacy Academy (FLA) starting in February. The FLA delivers a powerful introduction to personal finance management. Our hands-on approach offers an interesting and fun learning environment.
The FLA is free, offered once per week in the evening for six weeks. We provide dinner and *some childcare at no cost! Attendees will also receive a Certificate of Attendance.
Please call to register–Contact Gladys – call 978-654-5673 or email gsantiago@commteam.org
Financial Literacy Academy
Tuesday evenings—
Time: 6:00-8:00 PM
Location: Community Teamwork’s Financial Education Center
165 Merrimack Street-Lowell, MA 01852
*call for more information on childcare
…Helping families achieve financial goals
The FLA offers a powerful introduction to personal Finance management. It is offered for 6 weeks, once per week for 2 hours.
We provide dinner and SOME childcare on a limited basis – (please call to learn more about childcare).
Attendees also receive a certificate of attendance.
Things to Know about the FLA
- It is FREE
- It is offered on Tuesday nights from 6pm-8pm
- It is taught by CTI staff who are certified in Financial Social Work, Credit Repair and / or Tax Preparation
- It is a fun way to learn about a sometimes, boring subject!
For more info contact: Gladys Santiago gsantiago@commteam.org or call 978.654.5673 to register
Volunteer Income Tax Assistance
Why pay to have someone do your taxes when CTI will do them for free? VITA is offered to low-income individuals, and families who qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit. Appointments are scheduled on Wednesday nights and Saturday mornings during tax season. Please call to learn more: 978.654.5676
One-on-One Financial Coaching
Do you have a financial goal you’d like to reach, need help repairing your credit, want some one-on-one assistance in creating a budget or with ways to decrease debt? Financial coaching is a smart way to get you started! Please call our office to schedule an appointment: 978.654.5725 / 978.654.5673
Certified financial coaches will work with you on ways to: Increase your monthly income; Eliminate and manage debt; Repair and improve credit; Understand and take advantage of tax credits; Create a savings plan
CTI’s Financial Education Center…Helping Families Achieve Financial Goals
Learn more about solutions for Finances
Learn more about our NEW Center for Financial Self-Sufficiency which opened January 2017!
