SPRINGFIELD — As part of a campaign to shine a spotlight on the continuing need for small pet (non-cat and non-dog) adopters, Dakin Humane Society is offering a fee-waived “adoptathon” for small animals on Saturday and Sunday.
The event will take place online, with adopters encouraged to visit dakinhumane.org/fee-waived-adoptathon.html to see the small animals and submit an inquiry about adopting on April 9 or April 10 to have the fee waived. According to a Dakin Humane Society press release, inquiries will be processed for the next several days and adopters will receive email updates about their applications.
Adopters are advised that:
■Multiple inquiries may be received for each pet; therefore, an inquiry or application is not a guarantee of adoption.
■Adopters must submit a photo of their new pet’s housing for approval.
■This fee-waived event does not include adoptions of cats, dogs, kittens or puppies.
According to Dakin’s Director of Development and Marketing Stacey Price, the organization has seen a significant increase in the population of small animals, especially in the past few years.
“In 2015, for example, we had 659 small animals, which was 11% of our total animal intake,” Price said in the press release. “Each year more and more small animals came to our shelter until 2019, when the number was 1,042, or 19% of our total population. At any time of the year, typically, we have a high number of small pets in need of a home.”
WESTBOROUGH — Applications for the 2022 edition of theMassTech Intern Partnership are now available.
Now in its 10th year, the program reimburses qualified Massachusetts technology companies that hire local students as summer interns, providing stipends of up to $3,200. Managed by the Innovation Institute at the MassTech Collaborative (MassTech), the program has awarded more than $3 million in stipends to 419 tech firms across Massachusetts since 2013. These funds have helped support 1,050 summer interns.
According to a MassTech press release, to be eligible to participate, companies must:
■Be headquartered in Massachusetts;
■Have 250 or fewer employees;
■Hire an eligible intern this summer;
■And pay the internas a W-2 employee with required payroll withholdings.
Companies in four prioritized sectors — cybersecurity, digital health, financial technology and robotics — can apply for stipends to cover up to three eligible interns. According to the release, digital technology companies that are not in one of the priority sectors can apply for stipends to cover up to two eligible interns.
Applications, eligibility requirements and program details can be found at masstech.org/intern.
SPRINGFIELD — Leadership Pioneer Valley is accepting applications for enrollment in the LEAP Class of 2023, its regional leadership development program that has helped more than 350 individuals over its 12-year history.
This year’s program, to run from September 2022 through May 2023, is expected to be fully in person. According to a Leadership Pioneer Valley press release, applicants must be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Participants are trained in applied leadership skills by experts, the release explains. They also explore critical community issues by connecting with local leaders and visiting businesses and towns across the region. Fifty-three percent of alumni report having a new leadership role at work, 64% joined a new board of directors and 99% made new meaningful connections.
Applicants from across Franklin, Hampshire and Hampden counties are considered in a competitive application process that prioritizes diversity by employment sector, geography, race, gender and sexual orientation. The deadline to apply is July 1. Applications and more information can be found at leadershippv.org.
AMHERST — The Brig. Gen. Arthur J. Pierce Cadet Squadron of Civil Air Patrol is now meeting on the University of Massachusetts Amherst campus. Matt Bachmann, the university’s director of veteran services, has agreed to host the unit and to sponsor the use of offices and classrooms in Dickinson Hall.
Previously, the squadron had been meeting at the Orange Municipal Airport.
Civil Air Patrol is the longtime auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force. It has three key missions: emergency services, aerospace education and youth development through its cadet program. The organization, which handles 90% of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center, has 12 squadrons in Massachusetts. Although part of the Air Force, Civil Air Patrol incurs no military obligation.
“Working with the veteran services has already been tremendously rewarding,” Maj. Steven Lauzon, the unit’s commanding officer, said in the release. In addition to sharing their facility, Lauzon said the squadron hopes to build bridges to the student veterans on campus.
Named after an Air Force pioneer and Greenfield native, the Pierce squadron has 21 members, and is part of the 651-member Massachusetts wing, the release states.
Tim Nelson, the Massachusetts wing commander, said he is delighted with the unit’s move to a more central location in the Pioneer Valley.
“We believe the move to Amherst will put us in a better position to serve Western Mass,” said Nelson, who is a colonel with Civil Air Patrol.
HADLEY — Autism Connections, a program that has been serving individuals with autism and their families in Berkshire, Franklin, Hampshire and Hampden counties since 1989, is hosting its 31st annual Autism Conference on April 28.
According to an Autism Connections press release, the day-long virtual educational conference will bring together hundreds of parents, caregivers, educators, people with autism, self-advocates, professionals, organizations and service providers to raise awareness, share knowledge and make connections.
Morning and afternoon breakout sessions led by regional experts will focus on topics as they relate to autism, including “Autistic Perspectives on Post-Secondary Education,” “Key Components of Effective Social-Emotional Skills Training,” “Total Communication: Building Communication Skills,” “Creative Employment” and more.
The conference features two keynote speakers: Alix Generous and Jed Baker. According to the release, Generous, who has five years of professional experience working in behavior analysis, is an advocate for advancing mental health reform. Baker, meanwhile, is the director of the Social Skills Training Project, an organization serving individuals with autism and social communication problems.
Autism Connections is a program of Springfield-based Pathlight, a social services organization serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in western Massachusetts. For more information about Autism Connections or the 31st annual Autism Conference, visit AutismConnectionsMa.org or email autismconnections@pathlightgroup.org.
BOSTON — The Congregational Library & Archives, a specialty library in Boston, recently announced the launch of its digital archive containing more than 4,000 historical records — mostly dating from 1634 to 1850 — that illuminate New England history, including records from Shutesbury and Wendell.
According to a press release from Congregational Library & Archives Interim Executive Director Martha Walz, the digital archive includes records from the Congregational Church of Shutesbury — now called the Shutesbury Community Church — and the Congregational Church in Wendell, which closed in 2004.
The collection of Shutesbury church records from 1742 to 1781 contains documents relating to the dismissal of the church’s first minister, the Rev. Abraham Hill. According to the release, Hill was barred from the town pulpit for being a British Loyalist.
The Wendell documents, from 1783 to 1955, contain two volumes of records that detail the administrative and financial history of the church, the release states. These documents include records of votes; membership records; records relating to births, baptisms, marriages and deaths; confessions; finance committee reports; salary records; and tax records.
The records from the Congregational Church of Shutesbury were digitized in partnership with the American Antiquarian Society.
To access the archives, visit congregationallibrary.quartexcollections.com.