Gifts from the heart

Charitable giving for the holiday season

Melinda Mosier, director of donor services at the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, talked about charitable giving and how you can support New Hampshire’s nonprofits this holiday season and year-round.

What are some of the biggest needs in the state right now? 

The ongoing pandemic and its effects mean that basic needs are even more acute — food, housing, health care and child care. The pandemic has taken a huge toll on children and youth, and put many kids and families into crisis, so programs that provide mentoring, after-school care and mental health care for children really need help. Organizations that support dialogue and protect civil rights, democracy and racial justice are playing a critical role for our communities and are in need of support.

With so many different areas of need, how does someone decide on a cause to support?

Consider the areas of greatest needs in the state and think about where you most want to help, then select … based on your priorities.

Once they’ve narrowed that down, how do they find local organizations to give to? 

When you have identified priority areas for your giving, it becomes easier to identify and connect with the nonprofits doing great work on those issues in New Hampshire and likely right in your own backyard — the local food pantry, an after-school program or performing arts center, or a local conservation group. Visit their websites to learn more.

Why should someone donate to a local organization versus a national one?

Both are worthy of charitable gifts, of course, but if you give to the local chapter, your dollars will circulate locally and have more of a local impact, improving the well-being of New Hampshire residents and boosting the local economy. It’s the same principle as buying local.

How do charitable organizations typically use donations? 

If you believe in what your local food pantry is doing, or in the mission of your local art museum or homeless shelter, give to support its whole mission rather than restricting your donation for a specific project or purpose. A food pantry needs food, of course, but it also needs to keep the electricity running. … An art museum needs a building, and it also needs programming to bring art … into the community. A homeless shelter needs warm blankets, of course, but it also needs staff, and hand sanitizer and masks to keep people safe. Unrestricted donations are most valuable because they can be put to use where they are most critically needed.

How important is the holiday season for local charities?

Nationally, about a third of all charitable giving happens in December, but nonprofits all over New Hampshire rely on generosity … all year round, and now, more than ever before, nonprofits need our help. We hope people will give as generously as they can this holiday season and all year long to help New Hampshire’s nonprofits … make our communities strong.

How can people maximize their giving?

Making larger gifts to fewer organizations allows you to have a greater impact on an area of critical work. … Consider consolidating, giving a higher-impact gift to one or two organizations. … If you run a company, consider matching employees’ year-end gifts. Matching gifts not only drives increased giving; it helps build a culture of giving in your business and camaraderie among your team. You can also choose a nonprofit that is doing work you care deeply about and ask people to give to it in your name as a gift [to you]. You could also consider making a gift to a nonprofit as a meaningful holiday gift for family and friends.

What are some ways that people can give other than monetary donations? 

Giving financial resources is critically important, and so is giving of your time and passion and expertise. Volunteer opportunities abound to give by doing. … Volunteernh.org has a search engine that can be filtered by region, issue, and even by family-friendly volunteer opportunities.

Featured photo: Melinda Mosier. Photo by Cheryl Senter.

News & Notes 21/12/16

Covid-19 update As of Dec 6 As of Dec 13
Total cases statewide 169,219 178,099
Total current infections statewide 9,671 9,086
Total deaths statewide 1,744 1,788
New cases 8,932 (Nov. 30 to Dec. 6) 8,880 (Dec. 7 to Dec. 13)
Current infections: Hillsborough County 2,436 (as of Dec. 3) 2,576
Current infections: Merrimack County 923 (as of Dec. 3) 1,115
Current infections: Rockingham County 1,580 (as of Dec. 3) 1,780
Information from the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services.

Covid-19 news

During a Dec. 8 press conference, Gov. Chris Sununu announced that the state will be deploying 70 members of the National Guard in the coming weeks to assist hospitals in managing their current Covid surge, helping out with everything from food service to clerical tasks. Hospitals in New Hampshire are continuing to see record numbers of Covid patients since the start of the pandemic — a total of 479 were reported on Dec. 9, an all-time high.

About 12,000 Granite Staters received their booster doses on Dec. 11 as part of the state’s “Booster Blitz” initiative, according to a report from WMUR. Shots were administered at 15 locations statewide, the largest of which was in Stratham. According to the report, officials are planning to host a similar event in January, on a date to be determined.

On Dec. 13, state health officials identified the first known detection of the omicron variant in a New Hampshire resident. According to a press release, the infection is in an adult from Cheshire County who traveled out of state and was exposed to another person with the variant. The resident, who was considered fully vaccinated but was not yet boosted, had a mild illness and has since recovered during home isolation. No public or occupational exposures to the variant have been identified. Since it was first reported in South Africa on Nov. 24, the omicron variant has spread to several dozen U.S. states and more than 70 countries worldwide. Ninety-nine percent of Covid infections in the state are currently due to the delta variant, but according to the release, the omicron variant is likely more infectious and may become the dominant strain.

Affordable housing

The Manchester Board of Mayor and Aldermen has approved $2.3 million to develop affordable housing units in the Queen City using funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s HOME program. According to a press release, three organizations will use the funds to build or upgrade 152 affordable housing units. Manchester Housing and Redevelopment Authority will construct 48 one-, two- and three-bedroom units in two 24-unit buildings on the Kelley Falls apartment campus. Neighborworks Southern New Hampshire will rehabilitate and upgrade 101 one-, two-, and three-bedroom units of existing affordable housing units in the Elm Street brownstones and the Straw Mansion apartments. And Waypoint was approved to renovate the former Employment Security building to create three studio apartments for at-risk adults ages 18 to 25. “With these projects, we’re focusing on addressing homelessness and making sure families, seniors on a fixed income, and those with disabilities have access to safe, affordable housing,” Mayor Joyce Craig said in the release.

Cancer in Merrimack

An analysis of data from the New Hampshire State Cancer Registry has found “a higher than expected number of people with kidney and renal cancers in Merrimack between 2009 and 2018 than would typically be observed in a town of similar size in New Hampshire,” according to a press release from the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services. The analysis is an update to the 2018 DHHS Report on Cancer in Merrimack that was conducted in response to concerns following detection of PFOA in the Merrimack Village District Public Water System. According to the release, the new data does not provide sufficient information at this time to “draw any conclusions about the individuals who have kidney and renal cancer in Merrimack and any specific exposure.” The analysis is part of a multi-step process with the residents of Merrimack and the state Department of Environmental Services to better understand cancers in their community. An upcoming meeting (details TBA) will allow community members to share further information. “While this preliminary data does not necessarily indicate the presence of a cancer cluster, any data that points to the possibility of increased illness in our communities warrants closer examination,” Division of Public Health Director Patricia Tilley said in the release. “We will be seeking input from individuals affected by these cancers, community leaders and members of the Commission on the Environmental and Public Health Impacts of Perfluorinated Chemicals as we continue with our investigation.”

House meeting

The New Hampshire House of Representatives will meet off-site for their constitutionally required meeting in early January, according to a press release. The meeting, which starts Jan. 5 and is expected to last three days, will be in the exposition center in the DoubleTree by Hilton Manchester Downtown. The 30,000-square-foot space will allow legislators to be seated in a socially distanced floor plan, with sections for those who want to wear masks and sections where masks are optional. The space is bigger than the UNH location where the legislators met in 2020; the NH Sportsplex in Bedford, which served as the legislature’s temporary session location in 2021, is not available for the January meeting.“With hospitalizations at record levels and community transmission still high, the responsible thing to do is to maintain health and safety protocols for our legislators and hold off on returning to the House chamber, at least for now,” Speaker of the House Sherman Packard said in the release.

Build Back Better

Manchester has been named as a finalist for the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration Build Back Better Regional Challenge, which was created to help communities throughout the country “build back better by accelerating the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and building local economies that will be resilient to future economic shocks,” according to a press release. Manchester’s application takes advantage of the region’s investments in the life sciences and aerospace industries by securing two job tracks, Tissue Engineering and Advanced Aerial Mobility, which have the potential to create 7,500 to 15,000 jobs and increase the rate of GDP growth by more than 30 percent, the release said. The city would be working in partnership with the Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute, Southern New Hampshire University, the University of New Hampshire Manchester, the Manchester-Boston Regional Airport and the Manchester Transit Authority. It is one of 60 projects that made it into the final round out of 529 projects that were submitted, the release said. Each finalist will get approximately $500,000 to further develop their projects and will then compete in Phase 2, which will award 20 to 30 regional coalitions up to $100 million each to implement anywhere from three to eight projects that support a specific industry.

The Manchester Health Department is now holding free walk-in Covid-19 vaccination and booster clinics. According to a press release, all three vaccines will be available during the clinics, which are Mondays from 9 to 11 a.m. and Wednesdays from 2 to 4 p.m. No appointments are necessary. The department is also bringing mobile clinics to priority populations most days this month, and there is free drive-up or walk-up Covid testing at Hunt Pool (297 Maple St.), seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., the release said.

A Tri-State Megabucks ticket sold at the Circle K on 185 First NH Turnpike in Northwood was a $1.825 million winner in the Dec. 8 drawing. According to a press release, the winner will get either a one-time cash payout of $1,320,068 or graduated annuity payments over 30 years, and Circle K will get $18,250 for selling the winning ticket.

A man from Michigan is dead after the turboprop plane he was piloting crashed along the Merrimack River in Bedford around 11:30 p.m. on Dec. 10. According to a press release from the Bedford Police Department, the plane was transporting medical supplies from New Jersey and was headed to Manchester-Boston Regional Airport, and the pilot, who was flying alone, reported engine trouble just before the crash.

This Week 21/12/09

Big Events December 9, 2021 and beyond

Thursday, Dec. 9

Productions of A Christmas Carol take place on stages throughout the area this weekend. Tonight, the Palace Theatre’s (80 Hanover St. in Manchester; palacetheatre.org, 668-5588) continues its run (shows continue through Dec. 22) with shows at 7:30 p.m. tonight and tomorrow; 2 and 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 11, and noon on Sunday, Dec. 12.

The Hatbox Theatre’s (Steeplegate Mall, 270 Loudon Road in Concord; hatboxnh.com) production (which continues through Dec. 19) has showtimes Friday, Dec. 10, and Saturday, Dec. 11, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 12, at 2 p.m.

For a slightly different take on the main character, the Majestic Theatre presentsScrooge in Loveat the Derry Opera House (29 W. Broadway in Derry) on Friday, Dec. 10, at 7 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 11, at 2 and 7 p.m., and Sunday, Dec. 12, at 2 p.m. This continuation of the Christmas Carol story looks at Scrooge a year later when the ghosts return to help Ebenezer find love, according to majestictheatre.net.

Friday, Dec. 10

This week’s craft fairs kick off tonight.

• The Great New England Craft & Artisan Show (gnecraftartisanshows.com) runs today from 5 to 9 p.m. and Saturday, Dec. 11, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., at Hampshire Hills Athletic Club (50 Emerson Road in Milford). Admission is free; Santa will make an appearance on Saturday.

• The Auburn Village School (11 Eaton Hill Road in Auburn) will hold its Holiday Craft and Vendor Fair Saturday, Dec. 11, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. with more than 30 vendors and crafters, kids crafts and games, concessions and a visit from Santa, according to the school’s Facebook page.

• Bishop Brady High School (25 Columbus Ave. in Concord; bishopbrady.edu) will hold its Craft Fair on Saturday, Dec. 11, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

• On Saturday, Dec. 11, the Holly Jolly Craft Fair (joycescraftshows.com/nh-craft-fairs-schedule) will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel (2 Somerset Plaza in Nashua).

• The Canterbury Community Farmers Market Association (canterburyfarmersmarket.com) will hold a special indoor holiday-themed market with food, art and crafts on Saturday, Dec. 11, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. inside the gymnasium of Canterbury Elementary School (15 Baptist Road).

• The NH Audubon McLane Center (84 Silk Farm Road in Concord; nhaudubon.org) will host a Holiday Craft Fair on Saturday, Dec. 11, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Nature Store will also be open.

• The Wrong Brain Holidaze Bizaare (facebook.com/wrongbrain) will take place Saturday, Dec. 11, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Millspace (55 Main St. in Newmarket) featuring artwork and artisan crafted items.

• The Santa’s Workshop Craft Fair will run at the Derry VFW (18 Railroad Ave. in Derry) on Sunday, Dec. 12, from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m.

Friday, Dec. 10

Celebrate the annual Amherst tree lighting ceremony at 6 p.m. at the Amherst Town Green. Treats will be available for purchase, according to amhersttreelightingfestival.weebly.com. Keep the holiday spirit going in Amherst with a performance by the Souhegan Valley Chorus Saturday, Dec. 11, at 7 p.m. at Souhegan High School (tickets on sale at the door) and a free holiday concert by the Amherst Town Band Sunday, Dec. 12, at 2 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 11

The Canterbury Shaker Village (288 Shaker Road in Canterbury; shakersorg) kicks off two weekends of its “Merry Merry Canterbury” celebration today. The events take place Dec. 11 and Dec. 12 (as well as Dec. 18 and Dec. 19) from 1 to 5 p.m. Reserve a spot in advance for $20 per adult (free for kids). The days will include a seasonal display in the bar, a craft, a 19th-century magic show and carols. (For $50, attend the Candlelight Tours the following weekend.)

Saturday, Dec. 11

Take a drive and see some lights: Light Up New Boston will take place on Saturday, Dec. 11, from 6 to 8 p.m. Find a map to houses with holiday displays at newbostonnh.gov. The event follows the S’mores with Santa event from 4 to 6 p.m. which features a tree-lighting, a chance to meet Santa and s’mores.

Featured photo: Glass art window by Doris massetti. Courtesy photo.

Quality of Life 21/12/09

Putting a damper on shopping

The Mall of New Hampshire had to shut down its food establishments temporarily after a massage chair caught fire. According to a press release, the Manchester Fire Department responded to the call around 1:30 a.m. on Dec. 5 and found heavy smoke throughout the mall. The sprinkler had turned on and contained the fire to the area of the massage chair, which, according to a report from WMUR, was said to have been in a hallway outside of Best Buy and the food court. There was water damage in the area of the fire and smoke damage throughout, according to the fire department’s report, but no one was injured. The mall’s eateries were scheduled to reopen upon passing inspection from the Manchester Health Department, according to WMUR.

Score: -1

Comment: What is Christmas shopping without snacks and a massage?

Granite State gives

New Hampshire is the 9th most generous state, according to GoFundMe’s annual Giving Report. The fundraising platform’s report includes a list of the most generous states and cities in America for supporting individuals, causes and organizations in 2021. According to the report, the top three states are Massachusetts, Vermont and Connecticut. The rankings are based on the number of donations per capita on GoFundMe.

Score: +1

Comment: All six New England states made it into the Top 10, according to the report.

Student success

Two New Hampshire students — Matthew Blair of Manchester Central High School and Warren Chen of Bishop Guertin High School in Nashua — have been selected to participate in the 60th Annual U.S. Senate Youth Program. According to a press release, the two were nominated by their principals and were selected by a panel of judges. Blair, a senior, is class president, editor-in-chief of Central’s school newspaper, co-captain of the Boys’ Varsity Hockey Team, drum major and a National Honor Society member, and he’s ranked 1st in his class with a 4.0 GPA. Chen, a junior, is the school’s junior communications officer and has “thrived in a challenging program of study … [and] contributed greatly to the school community while engaging and collaborating with everyone,” according to the release. Alternates are Matthew Pemberton at Bedford High School and Max Aframe at Hopkinton High School.

Score: +1

Comment: Both students will receive a $10,000 scholarship and will represent the Granite State in an intensive study of the federal government, joining alums like former Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey and U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, the release said.

QOL score: 77

Net change: +1

QOL this week: 78

What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire? Let us know at [email protected].

NFL stretch run preview

With December here and four games left to play, let’s take a look at where things stand for the Patriots and the rest of the NFL as they jockey for playoff position.   

After Monday Night’s, um, unique 14-10 win over the Bills in very windy Buffalo, the Patriots go into their bye week as the Top Seed in the AFC thanks to a best in the conference 9-4 record. Now they’ll sit by and wait for the outcomes of a bunch of games with implications for the AFC playoff picture this week that could help or hurt the Pats’ place in the scrum. They are Baltimore at Cleveland, SF at Cincy, LV at KC, and the biggie, Buffalo at Tampa Bay, that will have Patriot Nation hoping TB delivers one more solid for the Foxboro faithful with a win.     

Who’s hot: While not blowing anyone away like past seasons, it’s KC with five straight wins to regain control in the AFC West. Miami’s also won five straight, and while they’re just 6 and 7, they could be a problem for Pats if they’re still red hot when they meet in Miami in Week 17.

Who’s not: After losing on a failed two-point conversion on Sunday’s final play vs. Pittsburgh it’s the Ravens. Still have the AFC North lead, but after losing three of six amid three skin-of-their-teeth wins their seeming lock on top seed in the AFC is gone. Especially with five tough closing games ahead.

In my season preview I had Buffalo and TB in the SB. Now, since I’m still not convinced on Arizona, I’ll recalibrate to a KC-TB rematch. Though having said that, the Pats can beat anyone and I won’t be surprised if they get there.  

However, with the Rams and Cardinals playing on Monday night I’ll get a chance to re-evaluate Arizona. And in a matter related to Zona having the best record in the league, a lot has to do with QB Kyler Murray and his league-leading 110.2 in QB rating. All of which makes it obvious the former first-round pick of the Oakland A’s made the right call choosing the NFL over MLB.

Murray is not the only former first overall pick who’s thriving in 2021. Joe Burrow is having a nice year too. With the Bengals in the playoff hunt, he’s thrown for 2,835 yards and 22 TD passes to put him on pace for 34 and 4,400. Not a bad second season.

Not so much for the first overall before Murray and Burrow, however, as there are major grumbles all over Cleveland about Baker Mayfield as he comes up for his first big contract. A big decision for the Browns and it will be interesting to see if they punt on Mayfield to start their QB hunt again. I bet they sign him, but for nowhere near the $40 million people were throwing around last summer.

Speaking of big money decisions, Coach B has a big one coming up at the end of the year as it’s no secret JC Jackson will get a boatload after another great season. The options: if it gets too expensive let him walk, extend him for big money (which he should have done last winter) or franchise him for north of $17 million per. One side of history says after seeing Ty Law, the still bitter Asante Samuel, Darrelle Revis, Malcolm Butler and Stephon Gilmore walk out that door Coach B will let JC do that as well. But my history says he should not let that happen, because the Pats went 10 years without winning the SB from when Law left after 2004 to when Revis arrived in 2014. They’ve also never won it without a top-flight CB in the secondary — Law (2001, ’03, ’04), Revis (2014), Butler (2016) and Gilmore (2018). In other words, Bill, don’t screw this up. 

The latest evidence is in for just how idiotic stat geek analysis is. It comes from Pro Football Focus, which gave Mac Jones his worst graded game so far after the 36-13 win over Tennessee when all he did was complete 73 percent of his passes while throwing for a career-best 310 yards, two TD passes and no interceptions. The 122.3 QB rating was, oh by the way, the best in the entire NFL for Week 12.  Guess they didn’t see the New Orleans or L.A. Chargers games when the QB ratings were 70.8 and 55.2 respectively. You have to see the marking categories, but suffice it to say they are nitpicking nonsense.  

The most remarkable Patriots stat of the season has been them going into the Buffalo game with the largest (+186) point differential in the entire NFL. Who saw that coming with a rookie QB?

Patrick Mahomes just does not look fast or especially athletic to me, but when he runs out of the pocket he still somehow always seems to get to the sticks for a first down or just squeezes into the corner of the end zone as he did on his 12-yard scramble for the first TD in KC’s Sunday night win vs. Denver.

While Cooper Kupp sounds more like a sporting goods company specializing in protective equipment for baseball catchers, he actually is the Rams wideout who’s having a hellacious season. He’s on pace for 142 catches and 1,929 receiving yards, which has him in range of the all-time record in both categories of 149 and 1,964.   

I must admit I had barely ever heard of Colts RB Jonathan Taylor until I saw him gash the Bills for 185 rushing yards and five TD’s as Indy carved them up in their 41-15 Week 11 demolition of Buffalo. He’s worth the price of admission.  

But, with him on a collision course with the Patriots defense on Saturday night — be careful what you wish for.   

What’s in store

Shop local this holiday season

Nancy Kyle, president and CEO of the New Hampshire Retail Association, talked about the current state of New Hampshire’s retail industry and how shopping locally benefits consumers, businesses and communities.

How are small businesses doing right now?

Retailers are actually doing fairly well. There’s been a real shift over the last five or 10 years to a trend of shopping locally … and people’s overall mindset of wanting to buy items that were grown or made in their own community. Interestingly enough, a lot of millennials actually prefer to shop in stores rather than online. … On Cyber Monday, which is supposed to be the biggest online shopping day of the year, the [sales] numbers this year were less than they were last year. The Thanksgiving holiday weekend had very good numbers of people out in the community and shopping.

Why do you think that is?

I think people just want to start going back out and shopping in stores. … Because of the times we’ve been in and the restrictions in place because of Covid, a lot of people haven’t been traveling as much; they haven’t been going to as many concerts; they haven’t been eating out as often; so they haven’t been spending as much money. I think there’s a pent-up demand, now, to go shopping, and to spend their money on the people in their lives who are important to them.

What changes and new business models born out of the pandemic are here to stay?

A big thing stores are doing now is having more outreach with their customers using Zoom. Local bookstores are a perfect example; they’re doing Zoom calls with authors who have new books coming out [as a way to] get people to come in [to the store] and buy the books. I know of some clothing stores that are having fashion shows on Zoom and social media to sell items. These are all new things; they weren’t happening before Covid. … Delivery, curbside pickup — all of that is here to stay, too. We’re all really busy, and it’s just really convenient when we can order something online and have it brought out to our car. That has only helped [local businesses’] cause and encouraged more people to want to shop local.

What are the perks of shopping locally for the consumer?

When you buy from a local business rather than ordering from [a seller] halfway across the country, you’re not going to have to deal with the shipping problems that a lot of us are seeing right now; you’ll get your things in a timely manner. … You’re getting very unique gifts that you probably wouldn’t be able to get anywhere else … and the quality of the goods is oftentimes better. … A lot of times you’re dealing directly with the owner of a store, so it’s a more personal experience. If you go into a store downtown looking for a specific item and they don’t have it, they’ll recommend somewhere else [locally] that you can get it.

How does shopping locally benefit the communities?

Because of our lack of a sales tax, retail is a cornerstone of the state’s economy and a really strong and vibrant part of our state. One out of every four people in the state is employed in some type of retail industry. … When you shop local, you’re putting your dollars into your community. You’re investing in people who are invested in your community. These small, local businesses are there for us — they’re the ones supporting your little league teams, supporting your kids in school when they’re selling candy bars — so it’s time for us to be there for them. … Last year was a challenging time for them, and with Covid numbers surging again, it will be challenging again … so let’s try to get out there and support them as much as we can.

How can consumers discover local businesses to support?

Look in your community. Search for [local businesses] on Facebook and social media. Walk around your downtown. A lot of towns also have special [event] weekends before Christmas with carolers and activities for kids and things to bring people downtown. Those community events are a great opportunity for people to walk in the doors of local businesses and support them.

Featured photo: Nancy Kyle. Courtesy photo.

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