Stay Work Play Provides $8,000 to for NH Student Loan Repayment

 
We love NH grads & NH companies do too! Do you? Learn more:http://www.stayworkplay.org/challengegrant/

Stay Work Play Provides $8,000 to for NH Student Loan Repayment

Manchester, NH – As a part of Stay Work Play’s Challenge Grant Program, the organization has leveraged $8,000 in grant funds from NH EPSCoR to help pay back New Hampshire student loan debt for employees at Dyn in Manchester, The Echo Group in Conway, and Paragon Digital in Keene.

“When Stay Work Play explained how Echo employees could benefit from the Challenge Grant program, I was thrilled. As a software vendor in NH, we are always trying to be creative in recruitment and retention and staff members who are originally from NH, or have attended college in the state, are excellent potential employees for Echo. The four employees that received the benefit in 2012 were surprised and very grateful for the help toward their college loans. It's a wonderful program that we are proud to participate in.”

New Hampshire is known for providing an excellent college education; however, college graduates in the Granite State are faced with the highest student loan debt (on average) in the country. The Stay Work Play Challenge Grant incentive program helps address this directly by showcasing New Hampshire employers who agree to contribute $8,000 to pay down college loans of newly hired graduates over the first four years of employment.

“We are excited to work with Stay Work Play,” said Zach Luse, Founder of Paragon Digital Marketing, “I believe this new program will be very beneficial to the community and the recent graduates who join our team. Attracting and retaining talented graduates to the area is vital to the continued growth of our business. When graduates choose to stay and work in the area it has countless benefits for the community.”

To remain competitive, businesses and organizations in New Hampshire need to be thinking about preserving our vibrant communities while simultaneously being proactive about recruiting more young professionals. The Stay Work Play Challenge Grant incentive program is open to any company that employs individuals working in New Hampshire in an entry-level position. To be eligible, a student must be a graduate of a New Hampshire college or university within the past 18 months. Incentive awards are phased incrementally over four years totaling $8,000.

For more information or to become a participating organization, visit http://www.stayworkplay.org/challengegrant

Partial support for this program is provided by a grant to NH EPSCoR from the National Science Foundation, award # EPS-1101245. No federal funds are used in the payment of student loans.

About Stay Work Play: Stay Work Play is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization whose mission is “To work collaboratively across New Hampshire to support ongoing economic, workforce, and community development by promoting the state as a favorable place for young workers and recent college graduates to stay, work and play, when considering employment and lifestyle opportunities.” Additional information on the organization can be found on the website, www.stayworkplay.org

About NH EPSCoR: NH EPSCoR – Linking Education, Research and Economic Development – is supported an award from the National Science Foundation to build capacity in research and education in science, engineering, mathematics and technology necessary for a highly skilled state workforce.  Additional information can be found on the website, nhepscor.org.

Stay Work Play Elects New Board Members

We love NH grads & NH companies do too!

Do you? Learn more:

http://www.stayworkplay.org/challengegrant/

Manchester, NH – Stay Work Play New Hampshire is pleased to welcome two new members to its board of directors: Anna Moskov of New Hampshire Public Radio, and Pubali Campbell of Bikram Yoga Manchester.

About Stay Work Play: Stay Work Play is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization whose mission is “To work collaboratively across New Hampshire to support ongoing economic, workforce, and community development by promoting the state as a favorable place for young workers and recent college graduates to stay, work and play, when considering employment and lifestyleopportunities.” Additional information on the organization can be found on the website, www.stayworkplay.org or by contacting Executive Director, Kate Luczko, kate@stayworkplay.org, (603) 860-2245.

Stay Work Play New Hampshire

Join us for the Rising Stars Awards on Tuesday, October 30th from 5:30p-7:30p at the Currier Museum of Art. We'll have keynote speaker, Fritz Wetherbee of NH Chronicle, a fun photo booth, live entertainment from Joe Young Music, museum exhibits, great networking, yummy food & more! More information and registration: http://bit.ly/NDDKX5

 

Stay Work Play Board of Advisors at 24 members and Growing!

Launched in January of 2012 through an event with Governor Lynch, Stay Work Play’s Board of Advisors is made up of leaders from well-respected organizations from around New Hampshire and within a variety of sectors including finance, higher education, healthcare, nonprofit, high-tech and others. These leaders understand the importance of Stay Work Play’s mission and goals, therefore offering valuable insight on community, workforce, and economic development.

“Hiring, training and retaining talented individuals is the key to success of any business,” said Joe Carelli, President of Citizens Bank. “We recognize the unique contributions that a young, educated workforce brings to our company – and the state’s economy.  Being part of the Board of Advisors is a tangible way that we can support Stay Work Play and its mission to encourage more college students to begin their careers in New Hampshire after graduation.” 

The Board of Advisors provides Stay Work Play with high-level, strategic direction regarding scope, direction and theme of recruitment andretention initiatives and current trends in employer talent needs. For theirsupport of the organization, members receive greater visibility and access to leading young professionals around the state and to regional Young Professionals organizations, plus promotion of their company, and their job and internship openings, and more.

"As a regional health benefit plan that is very committed to quality health care for New Hampshire residents of all ages, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care is an enthusiastic member of the Stay Work Play Board of Advisors” said Beth Roberts, Senior Vice President, Regional Markets from Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, a Stay Work Play Board of Advisor member. "New Hampshire is a wonderful place to live and work and as a state, we depend on the vitality and creativity of our youngest residents to prosper in the future."

To find out more about the Stay Work Play Board of Advisors including how your organization may get involved, please visit http://stayworkplay.org/about-us/board-advisors

Stay Work Play Board of Advisors members include: Public Service of New Hampshire, the New Hampshire College and University Council, New Hampshire Housing, Grappone Automotive Group, Sheehan Phinney Bass and Green, Campus Compact, New Hampshire Public Radio, Leadership New Hampshire, Plymouth State University, the University System of New Hampshire, Cookson Stephens Corp, Dyn Inc., Business New Hampshire Magazine, BerryDunn, Citizens Bank, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Dell, Fidelity Investments, Griffin York & Krause, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Lincoln Financial, New Hampshire EPSCoR, Northeast Delta Dental, and Northwestern Mutual

About Stay Work Play: Stay Work Play is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization whose mission is “To work collaboratively across New Hampshire to support ongoing economic, workforce, and community development by promoting the state as a favorable place for young workers and recent college graduates to stay, work and play, when considering employment and lifestyle opportunities.” Additional information on the organization can be found on the website, www.stayworkplay.org or by contacting Executive Director, Kate Luczko, kate@stayworkplay.org, (603) 860-2245.

Stayworkplay.org - Help NH Students Grow Roots

Manchester, NH— The nonprofit tasked with retaining New Hampshire’s best and brightest young talent, Stay Work Play, announces the launch of a new statewide internship website: NH-internships.com. Internships are a great way for students to gain real-world experience and networking opportunities in their local community, helping them build those relationships that further encourage them to stay in the state after graduation.

NH-internships.com is a free resource that provides information about current statewide internships for local students and working professionals. The website is designed to increase awareness and help students identify educational intern opportunities around New Hampshire and to help employers effectively market their internship opportunities.

“Internships are a valuable way to gain experience while building your network and increasing your skills to make you more marketable after graduation,” said Executive Director Kate Luczko. “Stay Work Play is proud to be a supporting partner of NH-Internships.com to make internships accessible to all New Hampshire residents.”

More information about NH Internships can be found on the website: http://nh-internships.com/

About Stay Work Play: Stay Work Play is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization whose mission is “To work collaboratively across New Hampshire to support ongoing economic, workforce, and community development by promoting the state as a favorable place for young workers and recent college graduates to stay, work and play, when considering employment and lifestyle opportunities.” Additional information on the organization can be found on the website, www.stayworkplay.org or by contacting Executive Director, Kate Luczko, kate@stayworkplay.org, (603) 860-2245.

Stayworkplay.org - Stay Work Play and Governor Lynch Committed to Keeping 20-30 Year-Olds in NH

January 23, 2012 – Stay Work Play has partnered with New Hampshire Governor John Lynch and the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation to host an event on January 26^th aimed at partnering with organizations throughout the state to help retain and attract 20-30 year olds and encourage them to stay work and play in New Hampshire. Governor Lynch has sent out invitations to more than 50 organizations throughout the state to help Stay Work Play build their Board of Advisors, a coalition made up of small and large businesses and other organizations throughout New Hampshire with a focus on retaining our young educated workforce.

"As Governor, my top priority remains giving businesses the tools they need to be successful and create jobs. But in order to fill those jobs, we need to ensure New Hampshire continues to have a highly skilled and educated workforce," Governor Lynch said. "Our young people are vital to the future of our workforce and our state's economy. That's why I encourage businesses and organizations from across New Hampshire to partnerwith Stay Work Play so that we can keep the creativity and talents of more of our young people here in New Hampshire."

New Hampshire has a tradition of producing a highly skilled and educated workforce but NH’s population and workforce are aging. Meanwhile, many New Hampshire high school students attend college outside of New Hampshire, and many New Hampshire college graduates leave the state to seekemployment. Stay Work Play’s goal is to keep New Hampshire in the minds of young people as they consider employment and lifestyle options. Securing a young workforce is vital to New Hampshire’s economy, and Stay Work Play is leading the way in an effort to make our state more attractive to young workers.

As Michael Skelton, Corporate Communications at Public Service of New Hampshire, said, "Ensuring New Hampshire's business community continues to grow and thrive in large part depends on avibrant workforce. By encouraging young workers to remain in New Hampshire,Stay Work Play plays an important role in building the workforce of tomorrow.”

Stay Work Play is proud to invite business and community leaders from all over New Hampshire to learn more about their efforts and discuss how business, education, and government leaders can work collaboratively to support ongoing economic, workforce, and community development. This event will help kick-off a new phase for Stay Work Play and help better bridge the needs of our business community with the needs of our student population who are currently looking beyond New Hampshire’s borders for professional opportunities.

“At Dyn we equate Stay Work Play to the 21st Century equivalent of a travel and tourism bureau - a necessary institution for generation X and millennials to stay and be attracted to the state,” said Jeremy Hitchcock, CEO of Dyn. “The old NH Advantage where we hope that the world educates our students and that they move back to NH is an obsolete theory. Stay Work Play has been, and will continue to be, instrumental in Dyn's growth and success as a great place to work."

Please note that this event is by invitation only, but to find out more about the Stay Work Play Board of Advisors including how your organization may get involved, please visit http://stayworkplay.org/about-us/board-advisors or contact Executive Director, Kate Luczko, kate@stayworkplay.org, (603) 860-2245. Founding Stay Work Play Board of Advisors members include: Public Service of New Hampshire, University System of New Hampshire, New Hampshire College and University Council, New Hampshire Housing, Grappone Automotive Group, Sheehan Phinney Bass and Green, Campus Compact, New Hampshire Public Radio, Leadership New Hampshire, Plymouth State University, Cookson Stephens Corp, Dyn Inc. and Business New Hampshire Magazine.

About Stay Work Play: Stay Work Play is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization established in 2009 to build off the work of the 55% Initiative, an effort originally launched by the University System of New Hampshire to help encourage more college students to stay work and play in the state after graduation. The effort gained additional support through the work of the Governor’s Task Force on Young Worker Recruitment and Retention, which recommended the creation of an independent organization to lead an effort to serve younger workers in the state and create a web portal that could servetheir informational and networking needs. Additional information on the organization can be found on the website, www.stayworkplay.org