Location: Local Business

Greater Carlisle Area Chamber of Commerce

The Greater Carlisle Area Chamber of Commerce seeks to promote and foster responsible economic development. The Chamber accomplishes this goal by providing the necessary resources and opportunities for businesses to prosper. The Chamber fosters communication between partners to enhance networking opportunities and increase communal benefits. Additionally, the Chamber has a variety of committees and task forces targeting specific sectors of the Greater Carlisle economy in order to effectively and efficiently provide the best economic opportunities.

Our Vision
Our Vision is to be the recognized leader in fostering business development in the Central Cumberland County area.

Our Mission
To be a catalyst that will actively promote and support responsible economic growth in the Carlisle region, while continuing to provide enhanced benefits for our membership and a vibrant quality of life for our community.

What does the Chamber do, exactly?

Founded in 1913, the Greater Carlisle Area Chamber of Commerce has been serving the Carlisle, Pennsylvania, Area for more than 100 years. Our mission is to serve as a community catalyst that encourages and supports economic growth and stability. How exactly do we do that?

Through listening to and meeting the needs of our members and community, as best we can.

In order to do that:
•We help connect people to what they need to start a business here, grow a business here — or even move a business to Carlisle.
•We plan, host, and partner in diverse networking and professional-development events.
•We foster dialogue and communication with our members and community partners, about how we can better support them.
•We offer exclusive advertising opportunities to members, that showcase their business.

…and much, much more!

We also help guests and tourists find what they’re looking for, in order to have the best visit possible. Need recommendations for everything from lodging to shopping and sightseeing while you’re in town? We can refer you to chamber members and community partners. And if you’re staying longer than a vacation, we can help with relocation information, too!

May 8, 2014
Simply Well

Simply Well, located in the c. 1800 Noble Mansion on Pitt St., is a comprehensive local wellness center that believes through consistent self care we align to nature’s way of being in balance – with the right support and guidance, the body has the ability to heal itself and function optimally. To do this, Simply Well offers Chiropractic Care, Holistic Health Coaching, Massage Therapy, Holistic Women’s Care and Midwifery, and a Yoga studio. The practitioners at Simply Well believe “wellness is the journey, not the destination.” They promote preventative and practical healthcare, such as eating well, exercising, getting optimal sleep, relaxation, deep breathing, connecting to nature, and finding ways to deal with daily stress. Through these practices they hope to create a healthier community.

SERVICES

Chiropractic
“Finding and fixing misaligned bones relieves pressure on nerves. With a nervous system free from interference,
you can lead a healthier, more fulfilling life.”

Yoga
“Our beautiful hard wood floor studio space provides a comfortable and relaxing atmosphere to support your
desire to get away and experience the care and nurturing you deserve.”

Massage
“More than just a luxury, massage at Simply Well can be a beneficial treatment tool, aiding the body in healing itself.
Massage Therapy can also provide relief of chronic pain and stress.”

Counseling
“At Simply Well we offer integrated counseling services for mind, body and spirit. In addition to compassionate listening,
we provide tools for our clients to overcome their problems.”

Midwifery
“Joyous Birth Midwifery, provides complete prenatal, intra-partum, postpartum care and Doula services.”

April 29, 2014
Farmers on the Square
If you’re looking for delicious, local food and hope to lower your food miles or meet your local farmers personally then visiting the Farmer’s on the Square (FOTS) market is for you! The market is year round – weekly during the summer months and twice a month in the winter. During the summer you can find the vendor’s by following your nose to their setup at 2 N. Hanover Street, right at the intersection of High St. and Hanover. This location was used for open-air markets from 1751 to 1952 and FOTS is the first one to be hosted since! During the winter months you’ll find them arranged inside at Project SHARE on 5 N. Orange St. in Carlisle. All markets occur from 3-7pm on Wednesdays.

FOTS strives to provide fresh, healthy, local food to those who need it most. Many of the vendors have attained third party certifications for their produce including USDA Certified Organic, Certified Naturally Grown, and Food Alliance Certified. With every product you buy you’ll have a farmer’s face to match with it. All their vendors live and work within 50 miles of Carlisle – each one grows, raises, or makes from scratch the food that they sell!

Depending on the season and the available products you can find a amazing array of local produce and other products. Just a few examples include:
- Read-to-eat food like fresh-cut fries, popcorn, smoothies, soups, burgers and bratwurst!
- Hand-cut flowers and arrangements
- Fresh-picked vegetables and crisp, sweet fruits like apples, pears, plums and all sorts of berries
- Fresh seafood from Maine!
- A variety of fruit products like apple sauce, apple juice, and apple & pear butters
- Hearth-baked breads and home-baked crackers
- Granola, teas, honey popcorn, and cookies!
Furthermore, FOTS provides the Double Up Food Bucks program to extend the availability of their food to the community. Through the generosity of the Carlisle Area Health and Wellness Foundation, this program doubles the value of dollar benefits for eligible Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP) recipients – up to $20 per week per recipient.
April 22, 2014
The Artist Market of Pomfret Street

The Artist Market Of Pomfret St. welcomes Pennsylvania artists and craftsmen to bring their wares. They display and sell their art on consignment. They are fortunate to reside in an area that is full of such talented people. They are happy to showcase residents work in the front room.

The Artist Market Of Pomfret St. was founded in October of 2010 right before the holiday season. The retail space of the building was vacant, so we got in touch with local artists and craftsman. Since then it has grown and they have about 40 artists and craftsmen represented in the front area of the shop.

They have recently begun carrying polish pottery. It started small, but there has been such a demand that they have expanded to a full room! So come check out the Polish Pottery Room. Polish Pottery is hand made and painted in Poland. Bake in it, freeze in it, microwave and dishwasher safe. We have one the largest collections of Polish Pottery in the area. They encourage their customers to use it and enjoy it. In addition to its beauty, another great advantage is easy clean up.

Support and buy local!

April 1, 2014
American Artisan Gallery

The American Artisan Gallery specializes in offering fine works by America’s Guild Artists. Be sure to stop by this recently opened gallery in downtown Carlisle to see and purchase a unique assortment of arts and crafts fashioned by American artists from throughout the country. You’ll be sure to find the perfect pieces among the ever-changing mix of beautifully crafted items. Most of the works are created by members of a guild who are the best in their respective fields. From leather cases for men and women to hand carved Santas, you’ll find it here.

For every dollar spent at a local business 45 cents is reinvested locally versus for every coperate dollar spent only 15 cents comes back to the community (American Express). We are providing local artisans with the opportunity to share their wares and share the arts with Carlisle. In additions small businesses are what keep the town thriving and vibrant.

This storefront stood empty for 12 years before it was revitalized and turned into the American Artisan Gallery. The store is also a piece of Carlisle’s history as it has been a store since the 1700s.

April 1, 2014
Cumberland Valley Visitor’s Bureau

If you are visiting, relocating here or are already in Cumberland Valley, Pennsylvania, a.k.a. Cumberland County, PA, you’ve found the best place to start your journey. Cumberland Valley Visitors Bureau highlights all of the best restaurants, events, shops, lodging, meetings spaces, attractions, and outdoor recreation you’ll find in Cumberland Valley. They put the best resources at your fingertips to make planning your trip fun and easy.

The Cumberland Valley Visitors Bureau (CVVB) is the tourism arm of Cumberland Area Economic Development Corporation (CAEDC) a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. The CVVB is the official Destination Marketing Organization of Cumberland Valley, PA (a.k.a Cumberland County, PA) and is the driving force behind marketing it as a travel destination to leisure and group travelers, meeting planners and media. The CVVB also assists area businesses with tourism development by providing training seminars, cooperative advertising, and grant and loan opportunities. CAEDC also serves as the authorized economic development agency for Cumberland Valley, PA. Together, we work to improve the quality of life and place in Cumberland Valley.

March 30, 2014
Dickinson College Farm
Mission Statement

To inspire responsible land stewardship through study of the earth’s natural processes and demonstrate the science, practice and culture of sustainable food production.

Overview

It is an exciting time to be a part of the student farm movement in the U.S. and the Dickinson College Farm is an established leader in this growing niche of working farms at top liberal arts colleges. The learning that takes place at the farm in a wide array of disciplines signals the future of a liberal arts education that provides a powerful avenue to explore the urgent issues of our time inside and outside of the classroom.

2014 marks the start of the 8th growing season at the Dickinson College Farm. This year, the farm is maintaining 8-10 acres of cultivated land to raise certified organic produce for delivery to Dining Services, in addition to the farm’s Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, produce stand at Carlisle’s vibrant farmers’ market and donations to Project S.H.A.R.E.

Student Farmers

In addition to the robust academic opportunities for integrating the College Farm into course work and research, the DC Farm does its best to provide student employees and volunteers with a realistic notion of what it takes to manage a diversified production farm with strong educational roots. Students are integrated into the farm landscape as field workers, equipment maintenance helpers, livestock managers, tour guides, volunteer leaders, special projects point people and farm liaisons at markets and within the community.

The farm also offers an apprenticeship program for recent Dickinson graduates interested in gaining experience in sustainable food production.

Youth Education

The farm supported the development of three formal youth education programs during the 2012-2013 academic year, continuing into the 2013-2014 academic year: Sustainable Earth Education (SEED); Discover, Grow, Inquire (DIG) and Farm Cook Eat. SEED is an on-farm education program for area youth that offers a two-hour monthly class to children 5-12 years old. The DIG camp, a collaboration between the farm, Center for Sustainability Education and Alliance for Aquatic Resource Monitoring, taught youth about local water, renewable energy & sustainable agriculture. Farm Cook Eat is a free afterschool program that offers Bellaire Elementary school students the chance to learn age-appropriate skills for preparing delicious and simple dishes using farm-fresh produce.

Events

The farm helped plan, implement and host three major annual events from Fall 2012-Fall 2013. They are:
- Local Food Dinner: The tenth annual Local Food Dinner on March 23rd, 2013 marked another sold-out crowd: 250 students, faculty, farmers and community members came together to celebrate local agriculture.
- Harvest Fest: The 10th annual event took place on October 4th, 2013! This event is organized by student organization “Students Interested in Sustainable Agriculture” (SISA) with strong support from Farm staff.
- Art on the Farm: On September 22nd, 2013 the farm hosted the third annual award-winning “Art on the Farm”. Featuring educational programs, performance art, live painting, 3D art, a locally-sourced dinner menu, and an art auction, this event raises funds for two organizations that are dedicated to preserving farm land and sustainable food systems and strengthening the community: Carlisle Arts Learning Center and Pennsylvania Association of Sustainable Agriculture.
Workshops and Community Outreach

Starting in summer 2012, the farm has partnered with the Pennsylvania Association of Sustainable Agriculture’s Good Food Neighborhood project to offer monthly workshops. Now in its third year, the program gives community members the opportunity to learn homesteading skills from local experts. Course topics include pasta making, beekeeping, backyard chicken care, gluten free baking, and food preservation.

Additionally, the student farmers lead in-depth educational programs for local youth organizations including Leadership, Education And Farming Project (L.E.A.F Project PA); the Coalition of Neighborhood Networks for the Enhancement of Carlisle Teens (CONNECT); Franklin County Migrant Education Program; and the Central PA Conservancy Goddard Leadership Legacy Institute. The farm continues to host a wide variety of school groups, clubs and area colleges for tours and unique educational opportunities. It has also partnered with the South Mountain Outdoors Festival and Cumberland County Farm Tours to offer farm tours to an even larger slice of the community.

Renewable Energy

The farm seeks to use, develop, and demonstrate sustainable energy technologies wherever possible. They consider it their responsibility both to reduce the environmental footprint of the food that they produce and to educate their students and community on the possibilities for decreased consumption of non-renewable energy.

For electricity, they have turned to solar energy for many applications, with their goal being both to reduce consumption of purchased energy from the region’s coal and nuclear plants, and to set up they farm as a demonstration site for several different solar technologies. The barn and farmhouse glean a portion of their electricity from two separate grid-tied photovoltaic systems. Seasonal apprentices who work and live at the farm are able to do so off the grid, experiencing a new dimension of sustainable living in their yurts. The largest greenhouse on the farm uses a solar water heating system for supplemental heat during the colder months of the year and farm staff members make good use of the Solar Wheeler golf cart that transports workers and produce around the farm using the sun’s energy.

Photovoltaic (solar electric, PV) systems are reliable, effective, and probably the easiest renewable energy technology to work with. They PV systems produce clean, quiet, high quality power reliably, and are expected them to continue doing so with minimal maintenance for decades.
February 18, 2014