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Hall had a display of photos of Toto when he was first rescued from the tree.
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Brimfield paramedics and firefighters cared for the cat until the shelter took Toto in.
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Toto has become a local hero and has been photographed all over the place.

Cat Who Survived Tornado Visits Pittsfield's Berkshire Pathways

By Andy McKeeveriBerkshires Staff
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Jane Skorput pets Toto the Tornado Kitten on Wednesday when the now grown cat made a visit to Berkshire Pathways.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The town of Brimfield was in chaos after a tornado had ripped through it in 2011.

Paramedic Jonathan Hall was in the fire station the day after when a tree worker carried in a 6-day-old kitten that he found in a tree.

Somehow, the kitten had been sucked into the winds and deposited in the tree unharmed. Workers cleaning up the destruction found the kitty alone, grasping onto a tree limb. Hall and his fellow paramedics and firefighters took care of the little cat until the Animal Rescue League of Boston took him in.
 
On Wednesday, the now 3-year-old cat, appropriately named Toto, found himself on a much safer journey — this time to Berkshire Pathways on Eagle Street to help raise money for the Eleanor Sonsini Animal Shelter.
 
"We couldn't take care of him then, so we gave him to the animal shelter and then when we got our house together we were able to adopt him back," Hall said. "I wrote a book about him and now it's taken off. We've raised $49,000."
 
Hall penned a children's book of Toto's journey into the tornado and expected the 200 copies he had printed to do nothing but take up space in his house. He wanted to sell the copies and donate the proceeds to the Animal Rescue League of Boston.
 
But the story had gotten out through the news and word of mouth, and his project grew exponentially. 
 
"It's been a fun project. ... We wanted to do something to give back," Hall said. "I don't take a penny for the project."
 
He started finding himself in libraries, schools, nursing homes and places like Berkshire Pathways nearly twice a week with Toto, telling the story and collecting donations for the local shelters. Brimfield's Country Bank gave him a grant to print more books, boxes of which he brings to events.
 
Meanwhile, the books continue to sell for the Animal Rescue League of Boston. 
 
And the "perfect media storm" followed. Toto has been featured in an array of cat magazines and on websites. A Japanese magazine even flew out a photographer to take photos of Toto for a story in the publication. 
 
Berkshire Pathways Program Coordinator Donna Sorensen heard the story, too, and started following Toto on Facebook.
 
"I've been a Toto follower since he showed up on Facebook," she said.
 
When she saw he was making an appearance at the annual Emergency Medical Services Committee of Berkshire County, she got a chance to meet Toto and Hall. Sorensen wanted the rest of the Berkshire Pathways "clubhouse" to meet the two, and Hall was willing to arrange it.
 
The members of Berkshire Pathways volunteer at the Sonsini Animal Shelter so it was a "natural thing" for them to have Wednesday's meeting be a shelter fundraiser. And the members showed their support with a box full of donations and a jar full of cash for Sonsini.
 
Jonathan Hall wrote a book of Toto's adventure and is using it to raise money for animal shelters.
"It just seemed like a natural thing. We have been working with them. We volunteer there with our members," Sorensen said.
 
Berkshire Pathways is a nonprofit funded through the Department of Mental Health; its focus is on helping those with mental health issues learn vocational skills and then get jobs in the community.
 
But, unlike other similar programs in the county, they use a "clubhouse" model.
 
"The core mission of the clubhouse is to be a place to belong," said Senior Employment Coordinator Francine Mead. "Just because they have a mental illness doesn't mean they don't do anything."
 
The model stems from the 1940s when a group of people with mental illnesses lived in an apartment together. They handled all of the bills, shopping, cleaning, etc., and it proved to be helpful to those who lived there. The model has since been developed and replicated across the country to help those with mental illness.
 
Berkshire Pathways opened last year and has 130 total members, 88 of which are considered active. They have jobs within the clubhouse, whether it is cooking or working on the finances or administrative duties, and each task teaches job skills.
 
The members manage the clubhouse and organize events such as apple picking trips or group dinners or holding fundraisers like Wednesday's event with Toto.
 
"Every unit has a purpose to teach a new skill," Mead said, using an example of a new member who had an interest in finances, so they have him working on budgets and billing.
 
While there are some paid staff members, Mead said employees don't have any extra authority unless there is a safety issue. Their votes on an issue count the same as the members.
 
"Members and staff work side by side," she said.
 
Berkshire Pathways is a branch of Human Resources Unlimited.



Tags: animal shelter,   authors,   cats,   domestic animals,   fundraiser,   mental health,   tornados,   

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Central Berkshire School Officials OK $35M Budget

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
DALTON, Mass. — The Central Berkshire Regional School Committee approved a $35 million budget for fiscal 2025 during its meeting on Thursday.
 
Much of the proposed spending plan is similar to what was predicted in the initial and tentative budget presentations, however, the district did work with the Finance subcommittee to further offset the assessments to the towns, Superintendent Leslie Blake-Davis said. 
 
"What you're going see in this budget is a lower average assessment to the towns than what you saw in the other in the tentative budget that was approved," she said. 
 
The fiscal 2025 budget is $35,428,892, a 5.56 percent or $1,867,649, over this year's $33,561,243.
 
"This is using our operating funds, revolving revenue or grant revenue. So what made up the budget for the tentative budget is pretty much the same," Director of Finance and Operations Gregory Boino said.
 
"We're just moving around funds … so, we're using more of the FY25 rural aid funds instead of operating funds next year."
 
Increases the district has in the FY25 operating budget are from active employee health insurance, retiree health insurance, special education out-of-district tuition, temporary bond principal and interest payment, pupil transportation, Berkshire County Retirement contributions, and the federal payroll tax. 
 
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