Business Ambassadors

The SPIRIT OF MONADNOCK AWARD is given to the individual volunteer or volunteer group who best displays sustained commitment to the Monadnock United Way and our community.

Because Impact Monadnock Ambassadors work tirelessly to educate the business community about the importance of investing in early childhood and families;

Because you continually advocate for the adoption of family-friendly policies in the workplace;

Because you have changed the landscape in the Monadnock Region for the betterment of children and their families.

The Impact Monadnock Business Ambassadors are the 2023 Spirit of Monadnock award recipients.

Ed Coppola, Dom Perkins, and Rose Novotny
Ed Coppola, IMBA Chair, Dominick Perkins, IMBA Member, and Rose Novotny General Campaign Co-Chair 2023

Impact Monadnock Business Ambassadors Mission

To inspire employers to engage in improving the lives of children and families by:

  • Educating the business community about the importance of investing in B-8 early childhood and families
  • Adopting family-friendly policies in the workplace and encouraging other businesses to do the same
  • Being role models in the Monadnock Region for early childhood investment.

Are you a business owner, executive, or manager? Then you have a unique perspective on the challenges and opportunities facing our community. Here’s how you can make a difference for young children and their families – and the future of the entire Monadnock region.

Current members of IMBA include:

  • Badger
  • C&S Wholesale Grocers
  • Cedarcrest Center for Children with Disabilities
  • Electronic Imaging  Materials 
  • Edward Jones
  • Engleberth
  • Filtrine
  • Greater Monadnock Chamber of Commerce
  • Keene Family YMCA
  • Keene Housing
  • Mascoma Bank
  • Monadnock Developmental Services
  • Monadnock Food Co-op
  • New Chapter
  • Polyonics
  • Primerica
  • Read to Me
  • Rise for baby and family
  • Savings Bank of Walpole
  • Southwestern Community Services
  • The Richards Group
  • True North Networks (aka Visory)

Learn More

Meet some of the founding members of the Impact Monadnock Business Ambassadors!
Back Row (L-R): Jay Pettapiece, Self-Employed; Jeff Whitcomb, Communicators Group; Dominic Perkins, Savings Bank of Walpole; Amy Wright, Keene Housing; John Round, IPG Benefits. Front Row (L-R): Beth Daniels, Southwestern Community Services; Katie Schwerin, W.S. Badger Company; Joe Marks, Baudelaire Inc; Carmela Hinderaker, C&S Wholesale Grocers; Jim Rose, Engelberth Construction.

Learn about Impact Monadnock’s Business Ambassadors (IMBA) from their program brochure, then check out examples of child- and family-friendly workplace policies that are being implemented by local businesses. If your business is interested in joining IMBA, contact us to get started!

Explore our resources in the family-friendly workplace section of our Resource page.

Read compelling research that makes the case for business investments in early childhood, including an April 2017 report entitled Social-Emotional Skills in Early Childhood Support Workforce Success .

Read the chapter from The Community Toolbox about promoting family-friendly policies in business and government.

Watch the videos on our website, especially “Start Small. Think Big” to hear why early child development is critical to our community’s future.

Speak Up

Educate employees on the value of early childhood education. Whether at home, or in child care, all young children need the social, emotional, cognitive, and physical preparation that will help them be ready for kindergarten – and for life.

Share your knowledge about the evidence behind early education in forums and public meetings, personal communications, and through the media. Call on research and reports such as those above for emphasis.

Business leaders make powerful messengers in support of public investment for effective programs. Call or visit local and state policymakers to ask what they are doing to support early childhood initiatives. Encourage them to embrace investment in evidence-based practices as a critically important way to help strengthen the local and state economy.

StartSmart

In 2018, the Business Ambassadors launched StartSmart, a gift program that provides employers with a way to recognize new parents and parents-to-be in their workplaces. For more information about StartSmart, or to order a package, click here.

Take Action

Visit businesses that practice family-friendly workplace policies (such as W.S. Badger Company) and learn from their experiences.

Involve your business in Impact Monadnock’s Business Ambassadors program. Contact us to get started!

Sponsor child care organizations and/or families in need to purchase developmental screening kits from Watch Me Grow.

Sponsor Children’s Savings Accounts for college for Monadnock Region families.

Sponsor collection drives for books and other educational items for young children in need.

Join the board of a local early childhood organization.

Encourage business organizations and networks to adopt a policy position in support of public investments for effective, high quality early education programs. Many chambers have included such a statement in their public policy agenda. Ensure that your chamber, as well as other business networks such as Rotary, Kiwanis, and others, adopt this priority and follow up with policy makers.

Volunteer to support early childhood education programs. From reading in a classroom to assisting with out-of-school programming for young children, your volunteerism can make a difference. Explore possible partnerships between the school, the community, and your business.

Join ReadyNation, the preeminent business organization working to strengthen business through better policies for children and youth. Members educate policymakers and the public about effective investments that will help businesses compete in today’s global marketplace, build a foundation for lasting economic security, and help children get on track to succeed in school and life.

You can view a list of sample family-friendly business policies from local organizations by clicking here.

Why It Matters

Check out these short videos on how family-friendly workplace policies are making a difference for Monadnock region employees.

 

Businesses offering child- and family-friendly workplaces are an important part of supporting our region’s children and families. In this video an employee of Communicators Group, a Keene-based marketing company, explains how her company’s policies have affected her career and her family.

Listen to an employee at Keene Family YMCA explain how her employer’s “Babies at Work” policy and other accommodations have made a difference for her and her family.

Hear about how the availability of lactation rooms at C&S Wholesale Grocers have helped two new moms feel supported in the workplace.