Berkshire Nursing Families Launches Fundraising Campaign

Berkshire Nursing Families, a local nonprofit breastfeeding education and support organization, has begun a major fundraising campaign called “Double Down 4 BNF.”

Every dollar pledged to Berkshire Nursing Families before Dec. 31 will be matched up to $40,000 by a generous donor, who supports BNF’s mission to improve the lifelong health of Berkshire County through the promotion and support of breastfeeding.

“This past spring when North Adams Regional Hospital closed we lost our home and partner of 16 years and almost half of our operating budget," said Rosalie Girard, executive director of Berkshire Nursing Families. “It has been a bumpy year, but we have served over 700 families in 2014, the most in our almost 20 year history.”

BNF provides free professional breastfeeding consultations, seven days a week, in client homes, in clinics, and by phone, to all Northern and Central County residents and those delivering at local hospitals. In close collaboration with Berkshire Medical Center, the VNA, local family resource agencies and the WIC Program, BNF also offers childbirth and breastfeeding classes, the Teen to 23 Project and pump rentals, and serves as a model for community lactation support. Weekly playgroups are held at the Family Resource Center in North Adams and the Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield.

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.