Greylock Insurance Agency Makes Donation to Breaking Bread Kitchen

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. – Greylock Insurance Agency recently made a $250 donation to the Breaking Bread Kitchen.
The donation was matched with a $500 donation from the Arbella Insurance Foundation’s “Let’s Drive Out Hunger” initiative. The $750 check was presented by Jessica Havens, GIA Account Manager, to Paul Mulholland, Co-Chair, Breaking Bread Kitchen.

Breaking Bread is a partnership of eight South County churches and groups that volunteer on Thursday evenings to serve free hot meals to 60 to 80 community residents at the Sheffield American Legion.

 “Organizations such as the Breaking Bread Kitchen do great work by providing meals and fellowship for deserving residents," Sharon MacEachern, AVP, GIA Insurance Operations said. "GIA is always happy to support our community, and very appreciative for the matching donation given by the Arbella Foundation to help Breaking Bread continue their efforts.”


Mulholland said he is grateful for the donations.

The funds will be put to good use buying food and supplies for the Thursday night dinners that are free to all who would like to attend," he said.

Now in its seventh year, Arbella’s “Let’s Drive Out Hunger” initiative collects contributions from Arbella’s nearly 500 partner independent agents and matches each donation on a two-to-one basis up to $500 for emergency food programs, soup kitchens, food pantries, and homeless shelters throughout New England.

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BCC Sees $1M in Federal Funds for Trades Academy

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

U.S. Rep. Richard Neal secured $995,000 to begin design and construction of the academy. The congressman had earlier attended the Norman Rockwell Museum business breakfast, which celebrated Laurie Norton Moffatt's 49 years leading the institution.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire Community College was awarded nearly $1 million in federal funds to support a Trades Academy. 

On Thursday, U.S. Rep. Richard Neal visited the college to highlight the $995,000 he secured through congressionally directed spending. Executive Director of Workforce and Community Education Linda Clairmont said BCC can be a destination for adults who want to learn a skilled trade. 

"I want to join up with the amazing work that Taconic and McCann (vocational high schools) are doing to prepare people for these really specific skills, helping people become confident professionals with a direct path to high-wage, high-demand jobs," she explained. 

"And we're also addressing the labor shortage that exists in this county, around the state, and around the country, in the skilled trades." 

The federal funding will support a feasibility study of an existing vacant building on campus, as well as the evaluation and abatement of any hazardous materials at the location, because it was once a power plant. 

BCC will dip its toe into the skilled trades with its first HVAC training program, for which it received $1.2 million from the state in support. The $995,000 in federal funds will go toward creating the academy in a building located on the main campus, and the HVAC heat pump training program will be funded by the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center. 

The $1 million in federal monies will get the college to construction documents, maybe fund some construction, and help identify the necessary equipment and other learning space needs for a skilled trade, Clairmont reported. 

The funding is part of more than $14 million in congressionally directed spending secured by the congressman to support economic development, workforce training, and community infrastructure across the Berkshires.

Neal said there are about 6.5 million jobs in the United States that go unanswered every day.

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