Northern Berkshire United Way Ends Drive Just Short of Goal

Northern Berkshire United Way Executive Director Joseph McGovern welcomed 150 people to a breakfast celebrating the conclusion of its annual campaign.

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Northern Berkshire United Way came very close to meeting its annual campaign goal this year.

At a campaign celebration at the Williams Inn on Friday morning, campaign Chairman Tom Rumbolt announced that the organization had raised $520,000. Its goal was $560,000.

Rumbolt opened his announcement with a quote by American writer Robert Brault: "Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were big things."

This was applicable to the campaign, Rumbolt said, because past donations of $35,000 or $40,000 that had seemed "little" at the time now seem like big losses.

"One donor in particular we can't help but notice is North Adams Regional Hospital," said Rumbolt, who said the hospital's closure in March eliminated it as a donor. "You realize now how big the little things they did were."

That loss was evident this year, after the 2013 campaign delivered more than the $550,000 goal.

Still, NBUW is dedicated to helping its 22 member agencies, many of whom are also experiencing rough times, by actually slightly increasing its allocation pool, board President Amy Giroux said.

"It's the amazing work you do that gives the NBUW our purpose," she said.

One of those agencies, Berkshire Community Action Council, was highlighted at the breakfast when employee Mindy Shoestock spoke to the 150 people gathered there about how the BCAC, with the support of the United Way, has helped her become a better person. A single mother of three, Shoestock said she was working in many seasonal and service industry jobs but longed to give her children a more stable home. After volunteering with BCAC, she applied for an open position and was accepted, and now she has a job she loves that she can inspire her own children with.

"If I can be successful, anyone can," she said. "You just have to never give up."

That kind of spirit embodies the NBUW's member agencies, Executive Director Joseph McGovern said.

"We are truly making a difference," he said. "North County residents truly come through for each other."

After the breakfast, McGovern said that sense of community is especially apparent in that NBUW came so close to its goal, which he said was an amazing feat.

"There were a lot of challenges this year," he said. "We feel really good about what we achieved."

Cost, Access to NBCTC High Among Concerns North Berkshire Residents

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
06:15PM / Thursday, April 25, 2024

Adams Select Chair Christine Hoyt, NBCTC Executive Director David Fabiano and William Solomon, the attorney representing the four communities, talk after the session. 

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Public access channels should be supported and made more available to the public — and not be subject to a charge.

 

More than three dozen community members in-person and online attended the public hearing  Wednesday on public access and service from Spectrum/Charter Communications. The session at City Hall was held for residents in Adams, Cheshire, Clarksburg and North Adams to express their concerns to Spectrum ahead of another 10-year contract that starts in October.

 

Listening via Zoom but not speaking was Jennifer Young, director state government affairs at Charter.

 

One speaker after another conveyed how critical local access television is to the community and emphasized the need for affordable and reliable services, particularly for vulnerable populations like the elderly. 

 

"I don't know if everybody else feels the same way but they have a monopoly," said Clarksburg resident David Emery. "They control everything we do because there's nobody else to go to. You're stuck with with them."

 

Public access television, like the 30-year-old Northern Berkshire Community Television, is funded by cable television companies through franchise fees, member fees, grants and contributions.

 

Spectrum is the only cable provider in the region and while residents can shift to satellite providers or streaming, Northern Berkshire Community Television is not available on those alternatives and they may not be easy for some to navigate. For instance, the Spectrum app is available on smart televisions but it doesn't include PEG, the public, educational and governmental channels provided by NBCTC.