CHAMBER CHATTERS

November 18, 2016

View this email in your browser

Chamber News

HOMETOWN HERO BANNER PROGRAM 2017
Following the popularity of the 2013 banner program, The Tamaqua Area Chamber of Commerce is proud to announce a new banner program for 2017. The new Hometown Heroes program is intended to honor any local hometown hero who has provided beneficial service to the Tamaqua area. These heroes may include first responders, organization volunteers, civic leaders, active military, veterans, and may be living or deceased.

There was a waiting list from the 2013 banner program, and those people are being contacted first. The remaining banners will be sold on a first come, first served basis.

Anyone who currently has a banner on display, please contact the chamber to let us know if you'd like to keep the banner when it is taken down. We are also looking into the possibility of displaying those banners in local buildings for anyone who does not wish to keep their banner.

Please see the chamber's web site for more information:
http://tamaqua.net/newsandevents/bannerprogram.html

The Tamaqua Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors is seeking nominations to fill several seats on the board for immediate seating and for terms beginning in 2017. Anyone interested in filling a seat can contact the chamber by November 21. The board of directors meets on the first Thursday of every month at 8am in the chamber conference room.
Tickets to the Tamaqua Area Community Advent Breakfast on Saturday, December 10 at 9am at Zion Lutheran Church are available for purchase at the chamber office during office hours. Cash only. $5 donation per ticket.
Tickets to the Spirit of Christmas Mistletoe Reception, Wednesday, November 30 from 6:30-8:30 at the Flat Iron Building at the Five Points in Tamaqua are available at the chamber office during business hours. Cash only. $10 donation per ticket.
Dress for Success Clothing Drive for Step-Up Tamaqua Do you have business attire you no longer need? Would you like to help people in recovery get back on their feet and contribute to our community? Donate your business attire in good condition to Step-Up Tamaqua by dropping off at the Tamaqua Area Chamber of Commerce during business hours. For more information, contact Todd Zimmerman at tzimmerman@lccc.edu.
NEW CHAMBER MEMBERSHIPS ARE ACCEPTED THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. You can find an application at this link: 2016 Membership Application or contact us at chamber@tamaqua.net for a new membership packet. Any Tamaqua area business, individual, or organization can join.

CHAMBER MEMBER NEWS

The Christmas Party for the Tamaqua Business and Professional Women's Club will be Tuesday, December 6th at 6:30 p.m. at the Tamaqua Train Station. Reservations are due by November 30th. For more details and menu choices contact President Jennifer Drake at 570-900-1421.

The Washery System Car Wash (Cedar St in Tamaqua) thanks you all for your support! We were able to wash 100+ veterans cars at the Tamaqua location and 300 + as a company! Thank you again and thank you for your service!

The Tamaqua Salvation Army will kick-off its annual Red Kettle holiday fundraising campaign at 10am on Saturday, November 19 in downtown Tamaqua’s Depot Square Park. The celebration includes music, song, dance and timbrel performances.

The iconic tradition of bell ringers and red kettles is the most recognizable fundraising effort for The Salvation Army, which seeks to raise thousands of dollars in the Tamaqua area this season. Volunteer bell ringers will stand alongside red kettles outside prominent locations and retail stores in Schuylkill and Carbon Counties, Monday through Saturday, until December 24. Passersby place monetary donations inside the kettles, which will be used to fund local programs that provide opportunities and change lives year round.

According to U.S. Census Bureau estimates, 24.3 percent of Tamaqua residents are living below the poverty level. The Salvation Army of Tamaqua serves more than 2,300 people each year through a multitude of programs and services. These include emergency financial assistance, food and nutrition programs, activities for children and older adults, recreational opportunities, counseling, spiritual development, music and arts programs and worship services. This is all possible due in part to the funds generated from its annual red kettle campaign.

Volunteer bell ringing opportunities are available for individuals and groups. Members of the community are asked to contact Kettle Coordinator, Jesse Durning, for more details: 570-668-0410.

Mayor Morrison proclaims November 29 “Giving Tuesday”

Black Friday. Cyber Monday. Giving Tuesday.

Tamaqua Mayor Chris Morrison at the November 15 council meeting proclaimed November 29, 2016, “Giving Tuesday” in the Borough of Tamaqua. Giving Tuesday is a global movement to recognize and encourage citizens to work together, rally for causes, volunteer time, or make financial contributions on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving and at other times throughout the year.

“The proclamation is a great way to encourage everyone to give back to the community in whatever way is personally meaningful,” Mayor Morrison said.

Two local organizations, Safer Streets for Tamaqua’s Little Feet and the Tamaqua Salvation Army, were on hand to explain how residents can help others over the holiday. Their collaborative Giving Tree Program, for example, hopes to collect new or gently used coats, hats, gloves, scarves, and boots for residents who can’t afford winter clothing and warm shoes.

In addition to this “Giving Tree Program,” the Salvation Army is soliciting “angels” to purchase new clothing and holiday gifts for a young boy or girl in need, or to generously support its most recognized program, the traditional Red Kettle Drive, which begins on Saturday. Other ways to give include time, dollars, or donations to support the annual Free Thanksgiving Dinner, or the organization’s year-round work to provide essentials to anyone in need. For more information on these or other programs at the Salvation Army, call 570-668-0410.

Safer Streets for Tamaqua’s Little Feet helps raise awareness, provide education programs, and to affect policy change to stop the opioid epidemic and protect the next generation. The all-volunteer group hosts large-scale public outreach events, participates in community festivals and fairs, shares information and offers support services, provides public speakers, and organizes community clean-ups. Donations help expand these services and questions can be directed to saferstreetstamaqua@gmail.com or the organization’s FaceBook page.

A mix of other non-profits with a variety of missions rely heavily upon community support, too, and include the all-volunteer fire companies, the Tamaqua Public Library, the Tamaqua Historical Society, the Tamaqua Community Arts Center, the Tamaqua YMCA, and the Tamaqua Area Animal Rescue, and others. A list with contact information can be found at www.tamaquaborough.com.

“No matter what cause you feel strongly about, there is likely an organization in Tamaqua,” Morrison says. “Everyone has something to give.”

M & S Hardware
10 West Broad Street
Tamaqua PA 18252
570-668-3838 Phone 570-668-3839 Fax
Store Hours: Mon-Fri 7:30-5:30 Sat 8:00-3:00 Sunday-Closed

Saturday, November 19 from 6:00-9:00.
Tamaqua YMCA 1201 E Broad St, 570-668-2903

The first annual Totally Awesome 80s Party is an 80s themed adult dance featuring the ‘80s Guru, DJ Ann Marie Calabrese. Cost for this event will be $10 per person. This event is for individuals 14 and older. Finger food and non-alcoholic beverages will be served. Prizes for 80s trivia and costumes will be given out!

Sponsored by The Greenzweig Agency—Farmers Insurance, 1130 E. Broad Street, 570-225-7070

Holiday Open House
Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, Kempton
Saturday, November 26, 11 am - 3 pm
www.hawkmountain.org or 610-756-6961

Kick off the holidays with the Hawk Mountain Holiday Open House

After the Thanksgiving and Black Friday madness settles down, celebrate Small Business Saturday at the Hawk Mountain Holiday Open House. The event is open and free to the public in the Sanctuary Visitor Center from 11 am to 3 pm on Saturday, November 26.

The Raptors Up Close program bookends the event with programs offered at 11am and 2pm. Complementary hot chocolate and bird-friendly coffee samples will be available throughout the event, and children's crafts and activities will be held in the Visitor Center Gallery from 12-2 pm.

In spirit of Small Business Saturday, anyone who purchases a membership that day will receive 3 free months and a complimentary gift. The Mountain Raffle will also come to a close with the official drawing for each item at 3 pm. There is still time to enter the raffle, which can be done by calling the Sanctuary at 610-756-6961.

In addition to the fun activities happening inside, the Autumn Migration Hawkwatch continues. Counters will still be stationed at North Lookout conducting the count, so visitors are encouraged to get out, hike, and enjoy the crisp outdoors before the season's end. Trail fees are $9 for adults, $7 for seniors, and $5 for children 6 and up.

The 2,500-acre Hawk Mountain Sanctuary is the world’s first refuge for birds of prey and is open to the public year-round by trail-fee or membership, which in turn supports the non-profit organization’s raptor conservation mission and local-to-global research, training, and education programs. To learn more about Hawk Mountain and its efforts, visit www.hawkmountain.org.

SATURDAY – December 3^rd

9:00 A.M.

SALVATION ARMY COMMUNITY CENTER

(105 WEST BROAD STREET, TAMAQUA)

COST - $6.00 PER PERSON

(Price includes a full breakfast and a picture with Santa)

SCRAMBLED EGGS/BACON OR PANCAKES/SAUSAGE LINKS; ORANGE JUICE OR MILK

RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED!

CALL (570) 668-2919

(8:00 A.M.-4:00 P.M. MONDAY-FRIDAY)

DEADLINE FOR RESERVATIONS IS WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30^th

EASTERN SCHUYLKILL RECREATION COMMISSION

LEIBY’S FARM MARKET 1026 Catawissa Rd, (570) 668-4435
November and December open Wednesdays and Saturdays from 10-5

Apples, pie pumpkins, potatoes, fall vegetables, kalettes,
winter squash, and more! Stop by and visit us!

Step-Up Tamaqua meets Nov. 21
            Step-Up Tamaqua’s Nov. 21 will feature two guest speakers.
            Robert Bedford, director of program development and compliance for the Stepping Stone Recovery Foundation, will talk about his involvement with Step-Up Tamaqua as well as changing perceptions regarding recovery programs.
            Donna Jacobsen, a board member of the HOPE drug education program of the Center of the Humanities in the Lehigh Valley, will talk about the HOPE program and the upcoming HOPE community event Dec. 8 at Panther Valley High School.
            Step-Up teams will meet following the presentations.
            Step-Up Tamaqua meets at 7 p.m. at Trinity United Church of Christ, 22 Lafayette St., Tamaqua.
            Step-Up Tamaqua operates under the umbrella of the Tamaqua Area Faith Fellowship and the Tamaqua Area Community Partnership. All area residents are welcome.

Tamaqua Advent Breakfast Dec. 10

Tickets for the sixth annual Tamaqua Community Advent Breakfast are now available from many Tamaqua Area Faith Fellowship Network representatives, church offices as well as the Tamaqua Chamber of Commerce office and the Tamaqua Community Art Center.
The event is scheduled for 9 a.m., Saturday, Dec. 10 at Zion Lutheran Church, Mauch Chunk and Greenwood streets, in Tamaqua.
Marta Gouger, editor of the Time News daily newspaper, is this year’s speaker. Susan Featro and Tom Flamini are this year’s musical guests. The program features a candle lighting ceremony.
The breakfast is sponsored by the Tamaqua Area Faith Fellowship Network and the Tamaqua Area Community Partnership. In addition to the breakfast, TAFFN and TACP also sponsor Hunger Weekend and Walk in May and currently Step-Up Tamaqua, volunteers addressing the local addiction issue.

In its 25th year of helping Pennsylvania families in need, hunters from across the Commonwealth can continue to share their deer harvest and provide thousands of pounds of venison through the Hunters Sharing the Harvest (HSH) program, which partners with the Pennsylvania Game Commission, Department of Agriculture and many other sportsmen and charitable organizations.

Hunters can donate all or part of a harvested deer by taking it to a participating processor, which will then distribute the ground venison to food banks and pantries. In an average hunting season, the HSH program’s goal is to channel about 100,000 pounds of processed venison through the state’s 20 regional food banks, which then redistribute to more than 5,000 local provider charities such as food pantries, missions, homeless shelters and churches, as well as individual families. To find a list of local processors or for more information, visit www.ShareDeer.org.