Month: March 2024

March 6th marked an exciting time in Salem County, New Jersey where our Chambers Works manufacturing site is centrally located. Nearly 200 fifth through twelfth graders from eleven different schools participated in the 35th annual Salem County Science Fair which Chambers Works has sponsored for more than three decades. The Science Fair, hosted at Salem Community College (SCC), allows students to apply what they have learned in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education in hopes of advancing to the Delaware Valley Science Fair and beyond.

Participants concentrate on an area of special interest, collecting and analyzing data while following the scientific method and present their findings to volunteer judges. Some of the 2024 topics examined:

How does positive reinforcement affect plant growth?How does the phase of the moon affect the number of visible stars in the sky?What SPF is the most effective at blocking UV rays?

The various winners received a total of $2,500 from Chemours. This event sponsorship is part of a broader $275,000 Vibrant Community grant where the Chambers Works team partners with Salem Community College and the local middle schools to support hands-on learning opportunities to instill a lifelong love of STEM.

In response to the support from Chemours, Joe Sarbello, Elsinboro Science Teacher and SCC partnership lead, shared, “I believe it’s such a valuable experience for the kids to get interviewed and communicate what they did to the judges. I love the support Chemours gives to all the schools for the Science Fair and STEM in general! We are so very lucky to have a company that’s committed to partnering with the schools and community.”

Brian Boettler, Chemours Environmental, Health, and Safety Senior Consultant, leads the partnership on the site’s behalf. “Partnering with the local schools and community college is rewarding. We all contribute in our own way to help support the next generation, and that is on full display at the Science Fair.”

Chambers Works plant manager Troy Blanchard participated as one of the volunteer judges, speaking with various entrants about their hypotheses and conclusions. Blanchard shared, “This event continues to remind me that the future of STEM is in Salem County, New Jersey, and that’s why this partnership is so valuable.” He added “I may have met some future Chambers Works employees, too.”

Cascale (formerly the Sustainable Apparel Coalition) recently launched the latest version of the Higg Brand and Retail Module (BRM), a part of the Higg Index suite of tools. The update reflects the organization’s commitment to continuously evolving, updating, and refining the Higg Index to meet the needs of members, users, and the industry. In our latest blog post, Maravillas Rodriguez Zarco, senior director Higg Index Strategy & Operations, shares insights on the recent updates to the tool. She discusses how the Higg BRM could advance data-driven decision-making and compliance in the fashion industry in a blog post titled, How Fashion Brands Can Leverage Higg BRM for Decision-Making, Compliance.

International Olympic Committee news

Hurtling down an ice track at 149.9km/h, watched by thousands of spectators – millions on television – I made my Olympic debut at Nagano 1998. A nervous 16-year-old, the youngest male luger ever to qualify for the Olympics, I was also the only Indian at the XVIII Olympic Winter Games.

I went on to represent India at six consecutive Games until PyeongChang 2018, often the lone athlete flying our tricolour. For a nation of over one billion people, there have never been more than four athletes competing at the Winter Games; but now I hope to do everything possible to change that.

So, despite the temptation to compete a seventh time at Beijing 2022, I recognised I had done my bit as an athlete, and it was time to lead the development of luge, and other winter sports, in India. Times have changed since Nagano 1998, and winter sports have gained ground in Asia and other non-traditional regions. India, with its expansive, untapped mountainous region, stands at the cusp of a winter sports revolution.

Over the past hundred years – since the first ever Olympic Winter Games of Chamonix 1924 – winter sports have transformed regions worldwide. The Alps in Europe, parts of North America, and a few winter hotspots in East Asia have been lucky to host the Winter Games and consequently develop a winter sports culture and infrastructure. While this has led to a thriving, billion-dollar industry, the exclusivity has somewhat hindered the full global potential of winter sports. It is unsustainable and unfeasible for athletes from South Asia, for example, to fly to Austria and Switzerland to compete on seasonal circuits. They need homegrown infrastructure and regional circuits.

PyeongChang 2018, Beijing 2022 and Gangwon 2024 have been instrumental in bringing winter sports to Asia in this sense, creating legacies for the future. Harbin, host of the 2025 Asian Winter Games, is being touted as this year’s “hottest” winter destination despite its -30°C.

When people think of India, they probably imagine a tropical country, overlooking its 3,300-kilometre majestic mountain belt with 50 million residents. The region is snow-rich, boasting thousands of hectares of snow-covered wonder in winter. It is home to the snow leopard and even the mythical yeti. So the natural resources already exist for flourishing winter sports. The question is: what next?

We cannot discuss the future of winter sports without addressing the looming challenge of climate change. I have witnessed the real, noticeable impacts in my home region. The winter season is shorter than before, and the unpredictable snowfall threatens the traditional winter sports concept.

Shiva Keshavan

Six time Olympian

However, rather than succumb to these challenges, we must adapt and innovate. Hindsight, sustainable technologies and new approaches can ensure we continue to enjoy the beauty of winter sports while safeguarding the environment. Disciplines like ski mountaineering and natural track luge can reduce investment costs, minimising our footprint. It would be naïve not to learn from the experience of the west, which has evolved through a century of trial and error, without a fraction of the solutions available today.

This reflects the International Olympic Committee (IOC)’s forward-looking approach, as outlined in Olympic Agenda 2020+5, for the future of winter sport and the Winter Games. The emphasis is on reducing their footprint and creating lasting benefits for the hosts. Proposed snow competition venues should be climate reliable, and Games organisers must commit to tackling climate change, protecting biodiversity and managing finite resources. Where new infrastructure is built, it must meet long-term local needs, embracing the highest sustainability standards.

As an athlete born and raised in the Himalayas, my life has been intrinsically tied to winter sports. A striking difference between me and my contemporaries growing up in traditional winter sports bastions is that I had to walk up each slope that I intended to ski and competed on home-made wooden skis and sledges with steel recycled from old saws.

It was only when I got invited to the International Luge Federation’s talent scouting programme that my life changed, with a formal initiation into artificial track luge. Soon after, I was selected for the IOC’s Olympic Solidarity programme, and received the much-needed funding that launched my career. Without these two crucial factors, I could not have charted the path I did.

Thanks to these farsighted programmes of the Olympic Movement, I could scale these heights, and now want to ensure that future Indian athletes have more such opportunities. I see winter sport as a vehicle for social mobility and sustainable development.

As we envision the future of the Winter Olympics, it’s crucial to foster Olympians from non-traditional winter sports countries. I was delighted to see youngsters from countries like Thailand and Tunisia winning medals at the Winter YOG Gangwon 2024, benefitting from the PyeongChang 2018 legacy. This gives me great hope for the future.

Winter sports have the power to inspire, transform and connect us with the natural world, so let’s ensure this legacy continues.

Originally published by Augustman

In 2023, Dewar’s swept the blended scotch categories in the International Whisky Competition, along with McLeod’s triumph as Master Blender of the Year. It is testament to her mastery in her role. When we asked her what her secret was, she replied with that trademark humility. “A spirit of experimentation has always been core to the brand since it was founded. It was our first Master Blender, A.J. Cameron, who pioneered double ageing in the 1890s, a process we still hold true to today…”

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Volunteer Hampton Roads is a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering a culture of volunteerism and community engagement in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia. The organization serves as a bridge between volunteers and local nonprofit organizations, identifying and coordinating volunteer initiatives that address pressing community needs. Through their platform, volunteers can easily find opportunities that align with their skills, interests, and availability, making it accessible for people from all walks of life to contribute to their community.

Besides facilitating these partnerships and collaborations, Volunteer Hampton Roads provides valuable resources and support to nonprofit organizations to help them achieve their missions. This includes helping to optimize their volunteer programs and effectively build their capacity by providing training, facilitating volunteerism, and coordinating large-scale projects.

Family Volunteer Day is one of their significant community events, held yearly just before Thanksgiving. It brings together community members for a day of service supporting community nonprofits. An excellent opportunity to coordinate a large-scale volunteer effort to support the community, it also presents community members with the satisfaction of giving back while forming a connection with nonprofits they can help on an ongoing basis.

In 2023, Volunteer Hampton Roads recruited over 13,000 volunteers to give back to local nonprofits and reached 150 nonprofit organizations to provide crucial support to enhance their operations.

Additionally, Volunteer Hampton Roads played a key role in assisting more than 50 area companies in developing a community engagement plan, identifying organizations for partnerships, and working with their employees to match them with volunteer opportunities. These volunteer opportunities include nonprofit boards and training to fill that role effectively.

Grant funding from the Maximus Foundation allowed Volunteer Hampton Roads to allocate additional resources to recruit volunteers to serve local nonprofit organizations further. It also allowed them to waive membership fees for smaller nonprofit organizations needing assistance, specifically minority-led organizations and groups with small operational budgets. This resulted in several nonprofits growing their outreach to the number of people they served and how many times they could offer their services.

With a mission to connect individuals and groups with meaningful opportunities to make a positive impact, Volunteer Hampton Roads plays a pivotal role in building a stronger and more compassionate community in Hampton Roads, Virginia. Learn more about Volunteer Hampton Roads.

Giving back to the communities we serve

The Maximus Foundation is one of the ways Maximus employees are doing something greater together. Established by the Maximus Board of Directors in 2000, the Maximus Foundation is an independent, employee-led, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Employee donors pool their charitable contributions together through the Foundation, double their impact on the grantmaking program through Maximus’ dollar-for-dollar matching pledge, and make their voices heard by nominating and voting for future grantee partners. Though the Foundation focuses its giving strategy on grantmaking, it also helps coordinate corporate-wide humanitarian efforts and empowers employees to donate their time and skills to nonprofits. Their inspired giving and volunteerism help accelerate the missions of nonprofits on the front lines of the communities we serve. Learn more at maximus.com/foundation.