Charleston, W.Va. – Small businesses and nonprofit organizations are now eligible to apply for matching mini- grant funding that will assist with the cost of conducting a service project in the communities where they live and work.

The West Virginia Business Volunteer Council (BVC) will provide a direct cash match of up to $500 to eligible and approved applicants. The purpose of the matching mini-grant program is to encourage corporate and employee volunteerism by enabling small businesses and organizations to actively engage in their communities to solve problems or make improvements that they deem important.

Parkersburg News & Sentinel

WASHINGTON - Area students seeking a chemical operator degree will be able to get on-the-job training through a new partnership between Dupont and WVU-P.

Officials with West Virginia University at Parkersburg and DuPont Washington Works gathered Friday at the Washington plant to sign the agreement. This marks the first partnership under the state's "Learn and Earn" Workforce Development Initiative created in 2011 by the West Virginia Legislature.

For the first time in many years, manufacturing stands out as an area of strength in the American economy.

When the Labor Department reports December employment numbers on Friday, it is expected that manufacturing companies will have added jobs in two consecutive years. Until last year, there had not been a single year when manufacturing employment rose since 1997.

And this week the Institute for Supply Management, which has been surveying American manufacturers since 1948, reported that its employment index for December was 55.1, the highest reading since June. Any number above 50 indicates that more companies say they are hiring than say they are reducing employment.

Cal Dooley, President & CEO, Americna Chemistry Council

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