Portland Regional Chamber partners with Starting Strong on "Portland Works for Kids"
View Starting Strong report HERE
On April 8, 2020, Starting Strong, announced "Portland Works For Kids," a new community-wide effort to make high-quality, early childhood care and education affordable and accessible to everyone. Starting Strong is the early age component of Portland ConnectED.
In February 2020, the Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce partnered with Starting Strong to distribute a survey. The results showed:
- 70% of business owners who responded to the survey indicated their employees experienced challenges finding affordable quality child care.
- 88% of survey participants agreed that increasing access to quality child care should be a priority for our community.
Additional community partners for this important initiative include early care and education providers, United Way of Greater Portland’s Women United, the Maine Association for the Education of Young Children, Maine Roads to Quality Professional Development Network, Family Child Care Association of Maine, and the Greater Portland Workforce Initiative.
Read More on Portland Works for Kids HERE

Portland Professional Connections
The Portland Regional Chamber is proud to work with the City of Portland's Office of Economic Opportunity on the Portland Community Connectors program, which connects members of Portland's foreign-trained immigrant community to local professionals in their field. You can learn more about this program at the PortLAND of Opportunity website.
Interested in becoming a Connector? Learn more and register here.
The Portland Regional Chamber is proud to work with the City of Portland's Office of Economic Opportunity on the Portland Community Connectors program, which connects members of Portland's foreign-trained immigrant community to local professionals in their field. You can learn more about this program at the PortLAND of Opportunity website.
Interested in becoming a Connector? Learn more and register here.

Portland Opportunity Crew
The Chamber is proud to have worked with the City of Portland in funding the Portland Opportunity Crew. This program is based on the successes several other cities across the country have had, such as in Albuquerque, New Mexico and San Jose, California. The program offers panhandlers the opportunity to earn money to cleanup public areas and links them with needed services, such as job training and support.
Learn more and donate here
The Chamber is proud to have worked with the City of Portland in funding the Portland Opportunity Crew. This program is based on the successes several other cities across the country have had, such as in Albuquerque, New Mexico and San Jose, California. The program offers panhandlers the opportunity to earn money to cleanup public areas and links them with needed services, such as job training and support.
Learn more and donate here
Greater Portland Workforce Initiative
The Portland Regional Chamber is a participant in the Greater Portland Workforce Initiative (GPWI), a group of organizations that come together to develop solutions to the workforce needs in our region. Learn more at the United Way GPWI wesbite.
The Portland Regional Chamber is a participant in the Greater Portland Workforce Initiative (GPWI), a group of organizations that come together to develop solutions to the workforce needs in our region. Learn more at the United Way GPWI wesbite.