St. Mary's Bank recently donated $3,500 to Child and Family Services (CFS) of New Hampshire, a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the well-being of children by providing an array of social services to prevent child abuse and neglect, strengthen family life and promote community commitment to the needs of children. The funds will be used to help CFS implement an online data management system to track and evaluate the impact of its services.

Founded in Manchester, New Hampshire in 1908, St. Mary's Bank is the nation's first credit union.  As a not-for-profit, member-owned credit union, St. Mary's Bank makes progressive financial products and services available and affordable to consumers and businesses. Members enjoy excellent service, competitive rates, low fees and state-of-the-art banking services.  Headquartered in Manchester, New Hampshire, St. Mary's Bank has branches in Manchester, Hudson, Londonderry, Milford and Nashua. Call 1-888-786-2791 or visit www.stmarysbank.com for more information.

"CFS plays an important role in our community by protecting and fostering one of our most precious assets-our youth," said Tom Champagne, Director of Community Outreach at St. Mary's Bank. "St. Mary's recognizes the work done by CFS as an integral piece of successfully nurturing New Hampshire's families, and we are pleased to provide assistance to this wonderful organization so they can continue their operations in a seamless manner."

New Hampshire's oldest charitable children's organization, CFS provides a full spectrum of social services that address human need at every stage of life. Programs are designed to get to the root of problems, resolve personal issues and family crises and strengthen and enrich communities. Last year CFS served 15,000 individuals from 14 program sites around the state.

"St. Mary's generous grant will enhance our ability to gather data on the people we serve and the problems they face and help to put that into the context of our communities' overall social health," said Michael Ostrowski, president/CEO, Child and Family Services. "This new technology will streamline our quality improvement efforts and enable us to better report program outcomes to donors, the legislature, and human service practitioners.  Ultimately, this state-of-the-art system will help us to optimize services to children and families." For more information on CFS, please visit www.cfsnh.org.

On Monday, January 16, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Nashua's new facility opened their doors to patients. This new medical home is  a 150,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art, ambulatory care center, located at 2300 Southwood Drive off of Exit 8 of the Everett Turnpike in Nashua. The new facility combines the services of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Nashua East, West and Squires Centers, and features a patient-centered and environmentally friendly design, to serve as One Healthy Location to meet patients' needs.

In addition to the existing services that have been offered in Nashua in primary and specialty care, patients will benefit from extended hours for urgent appointments, on-site endoscopy services, extensive diagnostic testing including lab and radiology services, hematology and oncology services from the Norris Cotton Cancer Center, and pediatric specialties from the Children's Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock, all under one roof. Also offered are services that cover every aspect of women's healthcare, including obstetrics, gynecology and nurse midwifery; breast health and imaging; and reproductive endocrinology/infertility services.  Additional new services include a Center for Shared Decision Making, to help patients and families make difficult health care decisions, and an Occupational and Environmental Medicine Clinic to help meet the occupational and environmental health needs of the community workforce.

"Our provider teams at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Nashua are made-up of physicians, nurse practitioners, care coordinators and support staff who work together collaboratively and in consultation with one another," said Dr. Sanders Burstein, Medical Director for Dartmouth-Hitchcock Nashua. "The design of our new facility enhances this collaboration, enabling us to better serve our patients and provide the best care, in the right place, at the right time, every time."

As part of the Dartmouth-Hitchcock system of care, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Nashua provides patients with access to more coordinated care from a nationally renowned academic medical center, collaborating with specialists from Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon.   Additionally, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Nashua has local relationships with other health care providers/agencies in the community with physicians also serving on the medical staff of Southern New Hampshire Medical Center and St. Joseph Hospital, providing care close to home whenever possible.

For more information about the new facility, visit their newly re-designed website, www.OneHealthyLocation.com .  This website includes valuable information regarding the facility, services provided, pictures and videos of employees (including a time-lapse construction video), and other leaders talking about the past, present and future of Dartmouth-Hitchcock in Nashua.

ABOUT DARTMOUTH-HITCHCOCK: Dartmouth-Hitchcock is a national leader in evidence-based and patient-centered health care. The system includes hundreds of physicians, specialists, and other providers who work together at different locations to meet the health care needs of patients in northern New England. In addition to primary care services at local community practices, Dartmouth-Hitchcock patients have access to specialists in almost every area of medicine, as well as world-class research at Dartmouth Medical School and centers of excellence including The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy & Clinical Practice (TDI).

The Hudson Kiwanis will be hosting it's 27th Annual Ice Fishing Derby on Sunday, February 19th at Robinson Pond.  Sign ups are 7:30am to 10:00am (bait available from licnsed NH bait dealer).  Tournament ends at 1pm.  Trophies for winners under age 15.  Cash prizes for adults.  Hot food & Drinks available.  Adults are $10 and under 15 is $5.  Contest sets 3 hole limit per entrant.   

The Hudson Kiwanis is also holding a Sock Hop on Saturday, February 25th at PM at the VFW Hall, 15 Bockes Road (Off Route 111), Hudson.  Cost is $10 per person to benefit Kiwanis Trauma Unit for Seriously Injured Children. 

The Sock Hop will include music, prizes for best costumes, dance contests, trivia, 50/50 and more!  There will be a cash bar and you are welcome to bring food or munchies for your table. 

For tickets call:  

(603) 566-1310 or

(603) 765-9797. 

Starting and operating a business can be exciting and invigorating, but it can also be overwhelming.  The NH Corporate Division of SBA is offering FREE consulations on February 2nd (8:30AM - 9:30AM), 9th  (10AM - 11:30AM), 16th (2PM - 3:30PM) and 23rd  (8:30AM - 10:30AM) at NH Secretary of State Corporate Division, 25 Capitol Street, 3rd Floor in Concord, NH.  No appointment is necessary. 

Knowledge and planning are key ingredients in starting or growing a business and the SBA has resources available to you.  A Business Development Specialist from the US Small Business Administration, will be available to meet one-on-one and provide busienss assistance to address your concerns, direct you to the appropriate resources and help you get started in the right direction. 

For more information contact Miguel Moralez, Business Development Specialist, in SBA's Concord, NH office at (60) 225-1601 or via email at miguel.moralez@sba.gov.  For more information visit www.sba.gov/nh.