SALISBURY — The Small Business Center at Rowan Cabarrus Community College will host several workshops for local business owners this spring.

There will be three series offered: Nonprofits Online, Grow with Google and Reboot 2021. 

The Nonprofits Online series will feature two workshops, one on how nonprofits can leverage Facebook and the other on how nonprofits can grow their online presence. The workshops will be held on April 21 and April 28.

The Grow with Google series will include classes on website development, using YouTube and Google advertisements. The workshops will take place on April 28, May 26 and June 30. The Reboot 2021 series will have workshops on ways to finance a business, how to conduct a risk assessment and how to understand post-pandemic consumer behavior. Those classes will be held on May 10, 17 and 24.

More information about the classes can be found at www.ncsbc.net.

Novant Health Rowan Medical Center receives Breastfeeding-Friendly Designation

SALISBURY — Novant Health Rowan Medical Center was one of four regional Novant facilities that was awarded the five-star North Carolina Maternity Center Breastfeeding-Friendly Designation by the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.

Novant Health Rowan received the designation along with Novant Health Huntersville Medical Center and Novant Health Matthews Medical Center and Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center. 

The designation is based on the World Health Organization’s Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding, which supports initiation, exclusivity and continuation of breastfeeding.

“We are thrilled to be recognized for our Breastfeeding-Friendly initiatives,” Pat Campbell, system administrative executive of the Novant Health Women & Children’s Health Institute, said in a news release. “Novant Health understands that women who choose to breastfeed may need extra support during their hospital stay. The evidence-based guidelines reinforced by the Breastfeeding-Friendly program help us provide that support to mothers and their growing families.”

As Breastfeeding-Friendly hospitals, these four facilities are staffed with lactation consultants who assist mothers in gaining the skills and confidence they need to breastfeed once the baby arrives. Novant Health also practices encouraging skin-to-skin contact between mothers and newborns and rooming in, allowing the baby to stay in the mother’s room during their time in the hospital. Both practices encourage bonding and improve the newborn’s ability to breastfeed. 

Studies also show that immediate skin-to-skin contact helps newborns maintain their temperatures, normalize heart and breathing rates and reduces their likeliness of crying.

In addition to the four facilities in the Charlotte area, Novant Health Brunswick Medical Center in Bolivia, North Carolina, also recently received the five-star designation. These facilities join hospitals that are already five-star designated Breastfeeding-Friendly facilities: Novant Health Forsyth Medical Center, Novant Health Thomasville Medical Center and New Hanover Regional Medical Center.

Research shows that breastfed babies have lower risk of asthma, childhood leukemia, childhood obesity, ear infections, eczema (atopic dermatitis), diarrhea and vomiting, lower respiratory infections, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), type 2 diabetes and necrotizing enterocolitis, a disease that affects the gastrointestinal tract in preterm infants. Breastfeeding is also linked to a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, certain types of breast cancer and ovarian cancer in mothers.

Rufty-Holmes opens South Rowan Lunch Club

KANNAPOLIS — Rufty-Holmes Senior Center hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony on Friday for its new South Rowan Lunch Club at VFW Post 8989 Poston-Perkins.

Lunch Clubs serve nutritious meals, offer a place to enjoy friends and learn about services and programs for Rowan County’s older adults.

The new location, located at 2500 N. Cannon Blvd., is one of six lunch clubs in Rowan County. Lunch Clubs are open Monday through Friday starting at 11:15 a.m. and are currently served “grab and go” style. Monday will be the first day that clients who are registered can receive their lunch.

Adults age 60 and up have a permanent invitation to lunch clubs. Guests are asked to give a donation toward the posted meal price, according to their ability to pay.

Questions about the program can be directed to Michele Sweatt at 704-216-7702.

City of Kannapolis to host groundbreaking for new phase of downtown revitalization

KANNAPOLIS — The city of Kannapolis is hosting a groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday to celebrate the start of construction on Pennant Square Townhomes near downtown.

TriPointe Homes will build the townhomes on roughly nine acres sold to the company by the city. The townhomes will be located at a parcel off Main Street near the intersection of West F Street.

The groundbreaking is planned for 10 a.m. on April 14. COVID-19 health restrictions will be in place.

Small Business Administration launches Shuttered Venue Operations Grant

The Small Business Administration on Thursday officially opened the Shuttered Venue Operations Grant application portal for operators of live venues, live performing arts organizations, museums and movie theatres, as well as live venue promoters, theatrical producers and talent representatives to apply for critical economic relief.

Entities who are eligible for the $16.2 billion grant program are some of the first that had to shutter their doors a year ago in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Concerts, plays, dance performances, movie premieres, museum exhibits – these are the lifeblood of culture and community, and often the anchor for travel, tourism and neighborhood food and retail stores,” SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman said in a news release. “We know that for the stage and venue operators across the nation that help make this culture happen, the pandemic has been devastating. Too many have been forced to lower the final curtain on their businesses. Today, with more than $16.2 billion available through the Shuttered Venue Operators Grants, help is here. The SBA is committed to moving as quickly as possible to deliver this vital funding effectively and equitably – ensuring relief goes to those venue operators whose revenues have been most impacted by the pandemic.” 

The SVOG program was appropriated more than $16.2 billion for grants via the Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits and Venues Act and the American Rescue Plan Act. Of these funds, at least $2 billion is reserved for eligible SVOG applications with up to 50 full-time employees. Eligible applicants may qualify for grants equal to 45% of their gross earned revenue up to a maximum amount of $10 million for a single grant.

The SBA is accepting SVOG applications on a first-in, first-out basis and allocating applicants to respective priority periods as it receives applications. The first 14 days of SVOG awards, which are expected to begin in late April, will be dedicated to entities that suffered a 90% or greater revenue loss between April and December 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The second 14 days (days 15-28) will include entities that suffered a 70% or greater revenue loss between April and December 2020. Following those periods, SVOG awards will include entities that suffered a 25% or greater revenue loss between one quarter of 2019 and the corresponding quarter of 2020.

More information can be found online at www.sba.gov.