Hunger Action Month

September is Hunger Action Month - a month-long effort designed to inspire people to take action and raise awareness of the fact that 48 million Americans are food insecure. In fact, right here in Northeast Louisiana over 73,000 people are facing hunger.   

During this month, the Food Bank of Northeast Louisiana hosted a series of events to spread the word about the hunger crisis, and dedicate themselves to a solution. 

Although September is coming to an end, we challenge the community to support the Food Bank year round and help end hunger in Northeast Louisiana. As we prepare for a busy fall and holiday season, we know there will be a tremendous need for volunteers, donations of food and financial support. The Food Bank challenges the community to spread awareness and join the movement to fight hunger in our community by participating in some of the events and actions below.

Get Involved:

·        Follow FBNELA on Facebook & Twitter and share our posts about hunger with your friends with the hashtag #HungerActionMonth.

·        Make a donation – $10 = 55 Meals for people facing hunger in Northeast Louisiana.

·        Coins for a Cause – Drop off your spare change at any Centric Federal Credit Union location. Your donations will be given to the Food Bank of NELA to fight hunger.

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·        Visit www.foodbanknela.org/HAM for more events and ways to get involved.

Chamber Diplomats recently packed food bags for needy children in our area.

National Manufacturing Day October 2

The country will celebrate National Manufacturing Day on Friday, October 2, 2015.

Manufacturing is big business in this country.  The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) estimate that manufacturers contribute more than $2 trillion to the national economy.  For every $1 spent in manufacturing, another $1.37 is added to the economy. 

The NAM estimates Louisiana manufacturers employ 7.4 percent of the state's workforce. According to the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, there are 2,997 manufacturing firms in Louisiana. Top manufacturing sectors in the state are petroleum, coal and chemical products as well as machinery, fabricated metal and paper.

Here locally, manufacturing has a tremendous impact.  Area residents may not realize the number of manufacturers that call Northeast Louisiana home - Graphic Packaging, Angus Chemical, Bancroft Bag and Berry Plastic are just a few of the manufacturers in our area.  It is estimated they employ more than 10,000 area residents.  There are even some you may not consider as "traditional" manufacturers - Pine Valley Foods and Landry Vineyards, both located in the West Monroe area, manufacture food and beverage products.  

The WMWO Chamber of Commerce is proud to partner with the Monroe Chamber of Commerce and La. Delta Community College to offer tours in late October of local manufacturing sites to high schools students from the Ouachita Parish and Monroe City school systems.  Students will have the opportunity to see first hand the types of jobs available in Northeast Louisiana.  They will then visit one of Delta Community College's campuses and learn what types of skills are needed and what types of classes are available to obtain such a job.

Take time to understand the importance of manufacturing - not just to Louisiana but this region of our state.  To learn more, visit www.mfgday.com.

WMWO Chamber of Commerce joins the blogging community!

The West Monroe-West Ouachita chamber of Commerce is excited to delve into the blogging community! 

Through this blog, the WMWO Chamber hopes to reach a greater audience and continue to provide valuable tips and information to our members.  We'd like to share information with you on everything from tips to marketing and use of social media to information you need to know about upcoming events, community happenings, tax issues and much more.  If you're looking for information on a particular topic, let us know and we'll research it and share it on this blog!

This blog is another tool the Chamber can use to reach our members.  With nearly 600 members belonging to the WMWO Chamber of Commerce, our primary goal remains connecting members to members and giving area businesses the tools they need to be successful in our community.

Over the next several weeks, you will be hearing about several of the events being hosted by the WMWO Chamber including community festivals, concerts, networking opportunities and free trainings.  If you're not already a WMWO Chamber member, we hope you will consider joining.

For more information about the WMWO Chamber of Commerce, find us at www.westmonroechamber.org or on social media including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.