Voices of Hope Raises $50K for Berkshire United Way

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Pianist Roy Gerson plays the piano at the Voices of Hope dinner and dance at the Seven Hills Inn.

LENOX, Mass. — The Seven Hills Inn, in cooperation with the Lenox Chamber of Commerce, raised $50,000 during Voices of Hope, a holiday dinner, dance and auction to benefit the chamber and the Berkshire United Way, on Saturday, Dec. 1.

More than 150 guests from the Berkshires, Boston, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Montreal attended the fundraiser. Representatives from the chamber's board, Tanglewood, Shakespeare & Company and other Berkshire-based groups also attended.
 
Kristine Hazzard, Berkshire United Way's president and CEO, thanked the guests for their support and shared some details about the organization's work in education and employment, including initiatives to promote childhood literacy and reduce teen pregnancy and teen substance use. 
 
Robin Gerson Wong, veteran of the Broadway stage and now proprietor of the Seven Hills Inn, served as the auctioneer for the live luxury auction. In addition, there was a silent auction. Items included gifts from gifts from Kripalu, Blantyre, Ventfort Hall, Tanglewood, Wheatleigh, Canyon Ranch, Cranwell, Tiffany's, Copper Mountain Resort in Colorado, Clifford Oil, Jacob's Pillow, Shakespeare and Company, Berkshire Theatre Group and Berkshire International Film Festival.
 
The event also featured performances from various musicians and theater groups. Performances included pianist Roy Gerson playing tunes from the Great American Songbook and actor Ryan Winkles of Shakespeare & Company presenting his comic monologue, "How to Carve a Turkey."
 
A, three-course, sit-down dinner was prepared by chef Michael Ballon of Castle Street Café, located in Great Barrington.
 
The event is expected to return toward the end of this year.

Tags: Berkshire United Way,   fundraiser,   

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Simon's Rock Awarded Freedom to Read Grant

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Bard College at Simon's Rock was awarded a Freedom to Read Grant by the Newburger Schwartz Family Foundation. 
 
The grant was awarded to support the Alumni Library and Bard Queer Leadership Project in building a more robust collection of queer scholarship, starting a Queer Book Club, and hosting Drag Story Time events in partnership with Drag Story Hour of the Berkshires.
 
According to a press release:
 
In response to current educational threats with book bans affecting schools and libraries across the country and further proposed legislation against LGBTQ+ people's access to basic rights and education, Simon's Rock is actively seeking to create inclusive and equitable spaces for queer individuals. 
 
The Bard Queer Leadership Project and Alumni Library will utilize the grant funding to expand the library's current collection of queer books in order to fully enable the longevity of the Queer Book Club and the Bard Queer Leadership Project. The Queer Book Club will be an intergenerational space, open to local middle school students through rainbow seniors and will partner with local community organizations, to discuss queer books and learn about LGBTQ+ issues and experiences. Bard Queer Leadership Project students will eventually help lead this initiative as part of their leadership project training. 
 
The Queer Book Club will host their first meeting on April 6 at 3:00 p.m. at the Alumni Library, with following meetings on April 27 and May 11. This semester, the selected books are "Obie is Man Enough" and "He/She/They," both by Schuyler Bailar, inspirational speaker and first openly transgender NCAA Division swimmer, who was a guest speaker in the inaugural Queer Leaders Vision Forum in fall 2023 at Simon's Rock. Schuyler Bailar will return to campus for a book signing and pool party at the Kilpatrick Athletic Center on April 19 at 7:00 p.m. Participants in the Queer Book Club will receive a free copy of either book of their choice. 
 
The first Drag Story Time will be on Saturday, March 30 at 2:00 p.m. at the Simon's Rock Alumni Library and is open to all LGBTQ+ affirming individuals. The event is in partnership with Drag Story Hour of the Berkshires with local drag queens JV and Poppy DaBubbly. The second Drag Story Time will be Saturday, April 27 with drag queen Poppy DaBubbly and drag king Sativo Green.
 
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