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Berkshires Beat: St. Stan's Sendings Soccer Balls, Legos to Haiti
01:34PM / Monday, April 03, 2017
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Money for this gift was raised by the students during Catholic Schools Week, where daily activities are dedicated to one of the elements of Catholic schools - faith, service and knowledge.

To Haiti with love: Students in St. Stanislaus Kostka School in Adams presented soccer balls and Lego sets to Holly Palardy for children living in rural Haiti. Palardy is the assistant director of the Haiti Plunge, a mission founded by Sister Eunice Tassone through the Cote Center 30 years ago. Money for this gift was raised by the students during Catholic Schools Week, where daily activities are dedicated to one of the elements of Catholic schools - faith, service and knowledge.  

This year, during Vocations Day, Sister Eunice Tassone, a native of North Adams, spoke to students about her vocation and the Haitian Plunge Mission. At a school-wide presentation, she gave an overview of the work now being done in Haiti and what it is like to be a child growing up in the poor, weather ravaged country. Students learned that while Haitian childrens' lives are very different from their own on many levels, they do have something in common: they love soccer and Legos.

This year, after learning about the Haitian children, they enthusiastically participated in a spell-a-thon for their purchase. Sister Eunice will bring the balls and Legos with her on her next trip to Haiti in April.
For more information on the Haiti Plunge, visit their website.


Parking lot project: Preparation toward the reconstruction of the First Street Parking Lot in Pittsfield is set to begin Monday, April 3. The reconstruction work, which will be completed by contractor Maxymillian, will start in April and continue through the end of June. The project will be accomplished in two phases, with approximately half of the lot closed for construction in each phase. The first phase of the project will occupy the parking lot near the First Street entrance.

Please note there will be a limited number of timed parking spaces available in the parking lot (near the Fenn Street entrance) during Phase 1 of construction. These spaces will not be available during Phase 2 and upon completion of construction, spaces in the First Street parking lot will be comprised of permit and metered parking only. Nearby parking options include spaces on Fenn, Allen and Federal streets, as well as on Wendell Avenue Extension.

 

(Corn) hole in one: On Saturday, April 1, the students of the E3 Academy hosted a corn hole event at MCLA's Venable Gym to raise money for the Roots Teen Center.  The event featured three corn hole sets the students built and painted themselves.  One set was raffled off and another was donated to Roots.  

The students presented Roots Executive Director Jess Sweeney with $225 they raised along with the corn hole set and a sign for the center's window. On a visit to the Roots Teen Center in January, the students noticed that the center's name was written on a piece of brown paper and thought they needed a better sign. Sweeney told the students the center was looking to raise money for technology.  Seeing needs, the students went into action.  The Roots space is long and narrow, lending itself to corn hole, the students thought. That was the germ of an idea that grew into the corn hole event.  E3 Academy's MCLA intern helped the students access the space at MCLA for the event.

In addition to helping the Teen Center, the project gave the students opportunities to achieve competencies required to graduate high school--including math, English and social skills. The project was supported by NAPS' Service-Learning Mini-Grant program.



Cause for Paws: On Tuesday, April 4, 2017, the Berkshire Humane Society will host its 13th annual Cause for Paws Radiothon from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Live 95.9 and WHOOPEE radio stations. For a $20 donation, callers may dial 800-788-2147 to request a song. Listener giveaways and raffles will happen throughout the day, along with live interviews with BHS and Purradise staff and stories from adopters about their wonderful BHS pets.

All proceeds benefit the Ken Freeburg Fund, which provides veterinary care to shelter animals with special medical needs. For more information, call 413-447-7878, ext. 131.

In addition, the CATWALK Boutique, the humane society's women's resale shop, is presenting BerkChique! on April 7-9 in Great Barrington. BerkChique! is a fundraiser in the form of a weekend "pop-up" boutique selling new and gently used clothes and accessories collected from the Berkshire community. The annual event – founded in 2012 by Nancy Fitzpatrick – is a fun way for regional patrons to clear out and/or update their closets while supporting community organizations. As in previous years, a portion of the event's proceeds will be donated to Community Access to the Arts, IS183 Art School of the Berkshires, and WAM Theater.

Donations of gently-used upscale, designer, vintage and/or artful women's clothing, shoes, scarves, handbags and jewelry may be dropped off Tuesday-Sunday at BHS (214 Barker Road, Pittsfield) or Wednesday-Sunday at Purradise Feline Adoption Center (301 Stockbridge Road, Great Barrington). Find more information here.



Good citizens: The Scarborough Salomon Flynt Community Service Award Committee is accepting nominations for its second annual award. The Scarborough Salomon Flynt Award is a result of the merger of the Faith R. Scarborough Award and the Williamstown Community Chest Volunteer of the Year Award. The award honors Faith Scarborough and her dedication and efforts to the town as an active volunteer in the Visiting Nurses Association, St. John's Church, Williamstown Community Chest, League of Women Voters and as the first woman to chair the Board of Selectmen; Edith and Adolph Salomon, who came to Williamstown in 1939 after having fled Nazi Germany and the gratitude they exhibited to the community that provided them refuge and a home for more than 50 years; and Hank and Mary Flynt, whose numerous contributions to the town, both as volunteers and their generous bequests, have all made Williamstown the special place that it is.

The Scarborough Salomon Flynt Award recognizes a person's, persons' or civic group's demonstrated dedication, excellence and integrity to community service in order to make Williamstown a better place. Nominators should provide a narrative of accomplishments in support of their nominee. With many wonderful people nominated in a given year, much of the Committee’s decision making is based on the substance of the reasons given for the nomination and provides the content of the award recipient’s certificate. The committee will select a citizen who has demonstrated integrity, excellence, and dedication in community service.

The award will be presented at town meeting, which is scheduled for Tuesday, May 16, at 7 p.m., at Williamstown Elementary School. The deadline for nominations is April 21. Nominations should be submitted via the nomination form on the Williamstown Community Chest’s website at https://goo.gl/a0ZQTi. Nomination forms will also be available on the table in the Town Hall lobby and can be emailed to the town moderator at afilson@williamstown.net, or submitted in a sealed envelope to the town manager's office.  



Little sprouts: On Sunday, March 12, more than 175 moviegoers attended the 2017 10th Berkshire County Sprout Film Festival at Berkshire Community College's Robert Boland Theatre in Pittsfield, Mass. The event was hosted by Berkshire County Arc's Down Syndrome Family Group.  The Down Syndrome Family Group is comprised of more than 30 families throughout Berkshire County, working to advocate for and educate the public about Down Syndrome and people with disabilities. The festival featured 11 films about individuals with various disabilities, their lives and personal achievements.

The Festival opened with the film "Be My Brother," a story about an aspiring actor who challenges the prejudices of a stranger at a bus stop and his own struggles with acceptance from his brother being embarrassed by him in public. "Go Jackson Doll" was another film that hit home for attendees. With Autism Awareness Month now under way in April, this film was the perfect segway.  Jackson, a 9-year-old boy with autism, is enrolled in ice skating by his mother. The struggles she faces as a parent each week they enter the rink all become worth it in the end when she sees the look of sheer happiness on his face as he glides across the ice. Through acceptance and the safe environment created by the other parents and teachers at the rink, Jackson and his family find so much joy.

The festival ended with a series of four movies about love; solidifying the fact that those with developmental disabilities experience the same feelings, questions and thoughts about love as everyone else. A reception catered by Berkshire Community College followed the Film Festival, featuring photography from local artists with disabilities. All proceeds from the event support children, adults and families of Berkshire County residents with and impacted by Down syndrome.

 

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