Grants Awarded to 15 Central Berkshire County Nonprofit Groups
November 14, 2007
Great Barrington, MA — The Central Berkshire Fund and the Community Fund, both endowments of Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, today announced they have awarded grants totaling $23,300 to 15 nonprofit organizations. The grants support programs ranging from water testing to school theater to home-delivered meals to senior citizens.
The Community Fund, Berkshire Taconic’s discretionary fund, this year awarded grants to nonprofits serving Pittsfield and Lanesborough and the wider region. It awarded four grants:
Storefront Artists Project: $700 for the Pittsfield Arts Archive, which documents artists in the Pittsfield area through photographs and interviews.
Helen Berube Teen Parent Program: $2,600 to support “Parents and the Law” workshops for local teen parents.
Massachusetts Workforce Alliance: $3,000 for “Know and Go,” an educational program for workforce development providers.
Special Olympics of Massachusetts—Massachusetts: $1,500 for programs throughout the county.
Eleven nonprofit groups received grants from the Central Berkshire Fund, which provides grants for nonprofits serving Becket, Cummington, Dalton, Hinsdale, Peru, Washington and Windsor:
Berkshire Community Action Council: $3,000 for its emergency assistance program, which offers financial aid and service coordination to low-income families in financial crisis.
Berkshire Theatre Festival: $3,000 for the BTF Plays! residency program for a 14-week playwriting program emphasizing creative communication and ensemble work in the Becket/Washington and Kittredge schools.
Dalton Community Recreation Association: $600 for its Family Summertime Fun! program’s movie nights, which are open to all members of the community.
Elder Services: $3,200 for its Nutrition/Meals on Wheels program, which provides hot meals to homebound seniors.
The Food Bank: $1,000 for its Brown Bag program, which delivers monthly a free bag of nutritious food and provides social interaction to low-income seniors in the community.
Hinsdale Recreation Association: $2,500 to extend the hours of its Youth Center.
Housatonic Valley Association: $2,100 for water-quality testing in the vicinity of Dalton and Hinsdale.
Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival: $2,500 for Jacob’s Pillow Curriculum in Motion®, a residency at Becket Washington Elementary School, in which teachers and students use dance and movement to explore key academic concepts.
Learning for Life: $3,000 for three of its programs serving special need students in the Central Berkshire School District.
National Alliance on Mental Illness (Berkshire): $2,000 to expand services and programs to residents of the hilltowns.
Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic: $2,500 to upgrade program hardware and software for six Central Berkshire County schools that use the organization’s services.
Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation builds stronger communities and improves the quality of life for all residents in the region it serves: Columbia County and northeast Dutchess County, NY; Berkshire County, MA; and northwest Litchfield County, CT. For more information about Berkshire Taconic and its funds, please contact Berkshire Taconic at 271 Main Street, Suite 3, Great Barrington, MA, call 800-969-2823, email info@berkshiretaconic.org or visit www.berkshiretaconic.org.
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