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5 Things You Need to Know Today in Worcester – July 16

By TWIW Staff | July 16, 2021
Last Updated: July 15, 2021

In today’s daily 5 Things You Need to Know feature, ThisWeekinWorcester.com explores five important items and stories that Worcester and Central Massachusetts residents should keep a close eye on.

These five things can cover a whole range of subjects and issues that we feel are pertinent to understanding what’s going on in the city and the cities and towns surrounding Worcester.

In today’s edition – Friday, July 16 – a walk-in Equity Vaccine Clinic will be held on Monday at Gala Supermarket, Attorney General Maura Healey provides funding for 74 youth organizations, the first VaxMillions registration deadline is next week, the Massachusetts State Police seek horses for its mounted unit, and data from AAA shows the dramatic the cut in driving during COVID-19 restrictions.

Walk-In Equity Vaccine Clinic on Monday

The next Equity Vaccine Clinic is at Gala Supermarket at 664 Main St. in Worcester. An appointment is not required and walk-ins are welcome.

The clinic is from 8 AM to 1 PM and each person vaccinated gets a gift card.

Attorney General Funds Organizations for Young People

Attorney General Maura Healey’s office is awarding nearly $300,000 in grant funding to 74 organizations across the state to fund summer jobs for young people that are focused on promoting health and wellness.

This is the seventh year that the AG’s Office is running the Healthy Summer Youth Jobs Grant Program, which enables teens to have a direct impact in their communities by working in jobs that promote good nutrition, physical fitness and healthy living.

Funding for the program comes from health care and fair labor related settlement money from the AG’s Office.

As the state continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, grantees will continue to provide personal protective equipment (PPE), incorporate social distancing, and transition to virtual workplaces where appropriate.

Recipients in Worcester County include:

  • Making Opportunity Count (MOC, Inc.) in Fitchburg
  • Ansaar of Worcester, Inc
  • Boys & Girls Club of Worcester
  • City of Worcester
  • Girls Inc. of Worcester
  • Hockomock Area YMCA in Milford
  • Regional Environmental Council in Worcester
  • YMCA of Central Massachusetts in Worcester

VaxMillions Giveaway Registration Deadline

The registration deadline for the first drawing of the VaxMillions Giveaway Drawings is Thursday, July 22.

The first drawing is Monday, July 26, with a weekly drawing for five consecutive weeks.

Those that are fully vaccinated and register by the end of business on Thursday, July 22, will qualify for all five drawing.

Each drawing prize is $1 million for those age 18 and up and a $300,000 scholarship for those 12 to 17 years old.

Eligible residents are able to enter the giveaway at VaxMillionsGiveaway.com.

State Police Seek Horses for Mounted Unit

The Massachusetts State Police Mounted Unit is looking for a few good horses.

The unit prefers donations, but will consider horses for sale.

The requirements for consideration of horses:

  • Must be sound
  • Age 5 to 16
  • Minimum of 16 HH in height
  • Gelding preferred
  • 60-day trial
  • Bay or Black

The unit asks that submissions be emailed to [email protected]

Driving Cut Nearly in Half in Early Stage of COVID

New data released by AAA shows the COVID-19 pandemic and associated restrictions in Spring 2020 led to a drastic drop in road travel in the U.S.

The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety’s New American Driving Survey (2020) provides data that examines the trips and the characteristics of the people who altered their driving habits.

According to the research, the average number of all daily personal car trips plunged 45% in April 2020 and 40% for trips by all modes of transportation combined. The dip in travel moderated later in the year but remained below 2019 levels.

Daily trips for all modes of transportation fell from an average of 3.7 trips per day in 2019 to 2.2 trips in April 2020, before slightly recovering. After that abrupt decrease in April 2020, daily trips by U.S. residents rebounded somewhat in May and June and then remained at approximately 20%–25% below their 2019 levels during the second half of 2020.

The survey results show that early in the pandemic, reductions in travel were most substantial among teens and young adults (ages 16–24) and among those ages 65 and older. But later in 2020, reductions in travel were more uniform across various age groups.

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