Mercer County Better Together

04/07/2026

💪Strong communities don’t happen by accident, they're built on resiliency, interdependency, innovation, and a willingness to grow. And right now, Mercer County employers have a direct opportunity to help shape the future of our local workforce.

🚀The Launchpad summer internship program connects you with junior and senior high school students who are ready to learn, work, and start building their future right here at home. When students see real opportunities in Mercer County, they’re more likely to stay, grow, and contribute to the businesses and communities that invested in them first.

🫵That’s where you come in.

We’ve designed this program to be simple and flexible because we know your time is valuable.

All you need to do:
🔷 Have a job in mind - you define the role and responsibilities
🔷 Send us a basic job description
🔷 You choose the length of the internship (our suggestion is through the summer, but you decide)
🔷 You set the pay - consider including a pay rate with the job description (we strongly encourage transparency - employers typically get double the applications)

We will then promote the opportunity, collect applications, and vet students before sending candidates your way.

From there, you stay in control:
🔷 You decide who, if anyone, you want to hire - if it leads to something permanent, that’s entirely up to you

🌞This is about more than one summer, it’s about strengthening your business, building a reliable pipeline of future employees, and investing in a community that can sustain itself for years to come.

Be the place it starts.
📧Become a Launchpad employer today. Email [email protected]

04/06/2026

🌞Good Monday morning, Mercer County!

This one's for local businesses of all kinds. We want YOU for year 3 of The Launchpad summer internship program that benefits junior and senior high school students throughout the county.

✨Our hope is you'll see value in investing in these students now. Because when they see real opportunities here, they’re more likely to build their future here. When you provide mentorship instead of just another summer gig, you show them they don’t have to leave Mercer County to have a meaningful, enriching career.

💪PLUS. This program is built to work FOR YOU.

The basics are simple. Internships must:
➡️Be paid
➡️Include some level of mentorship that offers real insight into your industry, beyond the typical summer job.

After that, you’re in control. You set the wage. You define the role. You decide the responsibilities. You make the hiring decision. Students are vetted before their applications ever reach you so you're sure to have engaged, motivated, dependable candidates ready to contribute to your business.
From there, you decide who - or if - you’d like to hire.

It’s a flexible program designed to create real value for both your business and for the next generation of our workforce. This is how we keep Mercer County alive and growing. We hope you'll jump at this opportunity to join us for year 3 of The Launchpad.

📧To get started simply send an email with your interest to [email protected]

03/30/2026

🚨We'll be slingin' hot and tasty porkchop sandwiches at Mercer Market this Saturday, April 4, 2026 from 11am-1pm (or until sandwiches sell out)!

These always go fast, so be sure to stop out, say hello, and grab one of the best porkchop sandwiches your mouth has ever met 🤤

03/23/2026

We officially presented Pastor Dave Schultz with the traveling trophy he and his church earned as the top fundraising team for Mercer County's Night In A Car 2026. His team, "At Least The Radio Works," raised $1,750 for the Mercer County Emergency Housing Fund.

Congratulations to team "At Least The Radio Works" and thank you for all your fundraising efforts during Mercer County's Night In A Car 2026!

**Next year, the trophy will travel to the home or business of the top fundraising team for Night In A Car 2027.

02/18/2026

‼️ We’ve counted, recounted, and triple-counted. We’ve notified our teams of their individual impact. And we are finally ready - and thrilled - to announce that Mercer County’s Night in a Car 2026 raised $15,834.81!

🫶 Thank you to ALL who participated, donated, fundraised, volunteered, shared, and made this happen. We had nearly double the participants and raised almost $4,000 over our goal. That is no minor feat for a small organization in a rural community and we recognize that it’s only possible because of those who support and believe in this work. So thank you, truly.

We can't wait to see you all in the parking lot again next year 🙏

02/10/2026

🌆 As the day winds down, we want to take a minute to reflect on this past Friday... The past few months really.

🥶 We watched friends and neighbors stay all night in their cars, in 16-degree weather.
💸 We watched donors give when budgets are already tight.
🫂We watched strangers care like family.

And we won’t soon forget it.

Mercer County's Night in a Car isn’t about sleeping in vehicles. It’s about making sure fewer people have to.

🫶🏼 To all who took part in any way, thank you for standing in the gap.

02/09/2026

🫱🏼‍🫲🏽 To Mercer County Sheriff's Search and Rescue for their tireless efforts keeping our participants safe all night long, to Ryan Koresko Music for the energy that kicked off our night, and to every volunteer who showed up at the Aledo VFW to make year two of Mercer County's Night In A Car run smoothly, thank you.

💙 This is community in action. And we are deeply thankful to have been a part of it 🙏🏼

02/08/2026

Thank you to our other Safe Harbor Guardian sponsor, Nutrien Ag Solutions.

Your gift will be distributed from the Mercer County Emergency Housing Fund to help local families find shelter and stability in times of uncertainty.

We are so grateful for your generosity and support of the work we do.

02/08/2026

✨This weekend is coming to a close and we want to end it by saying "thank you" to those who made Mercer County's Night In A Car the success it was.

💙 To our first Safe Harbor Guardian event sponsor, Economic Growth Corporation, your generous donation to the Mercer County Emergency Housing Fund will help a Mercer County family find safe housing or maintain housing this year. That is no small thing, and we couldn't be more grateful.

🙏🏼 Thank you for sponsoring Mercer County's Night In A Car, and thank you for supporting the work we do.

02/07/2026

⁉️ Are you ready for it?

💸 Preliminary totals are in for Mercer County's Night In A Car 2026 - Not Just A Parking Spot … and while this isn’t the official final number, we can confidently say:

✨ We have raised OVER $13,500! ✨

This is all thanks to our tireless fundraising teams and the incredible generosity of donors across Mercer County and beyond. And, we’re still receiving donations! (link in comments if you'd like to donate).

Teams, we’ll be sending your individual tallies and donor lists within a week so you can personally thank those who supported your efforts.

🙏 THANK YOU, MerCo.
We truly could not do this without you. We are humbled by your generosity and energized to continue serving our community.

02/07/2026