According to experts,health care costs in this country are spiraling out of control. One big-picture indicator is that the United States annually spends nearly $8,000 per capita on health care, about double the amount in most developed nations. Health insurance premiums rose 138 percent from 1999 to 2010, and workers’ contributions to their insurance premiums rose even more, by 159 percent. Learn how the Montana Health Cooperative plans to take on these issues at http//tinyurl.com/7jo3wov.
Australia is celebrating the International Year of the Co-op in a big way. It has issued a commerative "stamp" which will be available on Feb. 14, and last November, it also issued a commerative $1 gold coin. Australia is the only country to have both a stamp and a coin to honor the International Year of the Co-op. Go to http://tinyurl.com/7epx3ed for more details.
In an effort to honor their communities and to pay homage to the International Year of the Co-op, Cabot Creamery Cooperative is sponsoring a poetry contest for middle school students in grades 5-8. Encourage students in your famiies and in your communities to participate. Who knows...maybe someone you know will have their poem on the Cabot Butter Box. Visit Cabot's website at www.cabotcheese.coop for more details. Happy writing!
Ever wonder if your business idea would make a good cooperative? Take a stroll on your favorite search engine and you'll find a number of amazing cooperative businesses. Think - beer (www.blackstar.coop), cabs (www.unioncab.coop), home health care (Circle of Care Cooperatives in Wisconsin), on-line food co-op (www.purpleporchcoop.com), coffee roaster co-op (www.justcoffee.coop). Now you get the idea. The cooperative model is flexible enough to accommodate just about any business idea.
Take The Phoenix Rising Printmaking Cooperative. The cooperative was started in 1998 with an original mission to provide a studio and shared equipment for central Ohio artists, but has since evolved. Visit their website at www.phoenixrisingprintmaking.com and read the recent article in The Columbus Dispatch (www.tinyurl.com/6wro2kt) to learn more about this innovative cooperative.
We're excited to announce the launch of our new website! We hope you will find our new website easier to navigate and full of information and resources for your cooperative. Please let us know how we can continue to improve the website so that it's your first choice for co-op information!
