BRPC to Receive $50K National Endowment for the Arts Grant

Print Story | Email Story
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire Regional Planning Commission (BRPC) announced it has been approved by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to receive a Grants for Arts Projects award of $50,000. 
 
This grant will support the Creative Compact for Collaborative and Collective Impact (C4) Initiative. This grant is one of 1,251 Grants for Arts Projects awards totaling nearly $28.8 million that were announced by the NEA as part of its first round of fiscal year 2023 grants.
 
"The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support arts projects in communities nationwide," said NEA Chair Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD. "Projects such as this one strengthen arts and cultural ecosystems, provide equitable opportunities for arts participation and practice, and contribute to the health of our communities and our economy."
 
According to a press release, for seven years, the C4 Initiative has fostered cross-sector regional alignment and community development, centering equitable access to artistic and educational resources to tackle widespread regional challenges. In partnership with various educational advocacy networks, the C4 Initiative, in collaboration with Berkshire Regional Planning Commission will execute region-wide collaboration for creative placemaking and address regional needs in Berkshire County's 13 school districts. This initiative was launched in collaboration with Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and the North Adams Public Schools.
 
"Engaging in the arts develops creative capacities that prepare young people for lives and work across sectors," Lisa Donovan, Director of the C4 Initiative said. "The rich cultural resources we have in the Berkshires distinguish us as a region and should be central to every young person's experience growing up in the county. This generous funding from the National Endowment for the Arts will allow us to develop clear career pathways that support high school and college students' needs, maximize access to our cultural resources, and make visible how arts learning builds creative workforce skills."
 
The next phase of C4's work will focus on cultivating a creative workforce by broadening the region's awareness of the myriad of career opportunities in the arts and culture sector. This will include establishing formalized career pathways in arts/cultural organizations, making visible the internships in the arts/culture sector available to Berkshire high school and college students, and producing a student-hosted podcast focused on the connections between early creative learning and arts exposure and critical workforce skills.

Tags: BRPC,   NEA,   

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Companion Corner: Princess at Berkshire Humane Society

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — There is an energetic girl waiting to find her new home at the Berkshire Humane Society.

iBerkshire's Companion Corner is a weekly series spotlighting an animal in our local shelters that is ready to find a home.  

Princess is a six year old shepherd mix that has been at the shelter for just over a month.

Canine caregiver and adoption counselor Simone Olivieri told us about Princess.

"She's very social, very friendly. When you're out walking her, she just wants to go say hi to every single new person. Loves to make new friends. She's a lot of fun. She's very active. She's very spunky. She's very playful, and she's going to need a very very active family who's going to do a lot with her." 

But Princess is no stranger to the shelter. She was a puppy five years ago and got adopted quickly, but now she needs a new family to take care of her.

"She was adopted out fairly quickly as a young puppy. She's been in the same home for the past five years. Unfortunately, they were moving out of state somewhere," Olivieri said. "They could not take her with them, so she ended up coming as a return to shelter, and she came back to stay with us."

Princess needs to go to a home as the only animal or with other male dogs that are her size or bigger.

"Her perfect home would be kids eight and up. No cats. No small animals. She has quite a prey drive. She could go to a home with another dog around her size or larger, preferably a male dog. She does a little bit better with male dogs, and she's looking for a home where people are home quite a bit, so that she's not left alone for too long. She has some separation anxiety," Olivieri said. 

She also needs a very active home that can let her use her energy every day, as she is very rambunctious. Especially with playing with her favorite toy, the flirt pole.

"She could use a home where people are going to give her a lot of attention and more than just a few walks a day; she's going to need lots of exercise, lots of playtime, lots of mental stimulation," Olivieri said. "She likes to learn, so someone who would be willing to take her to training classes or work on some training with her, as well as hikes, getting out and about, doing new things, different things. She is very athletic. She'd excel at things like agility, some dog sports. Just someone who is really going to want to engage and do a lot of different kinds of activities with her." 

Once you let her get her energy out, she is a cuddler who wouldn't mind being held like a baby from time to time.

"She's very sweet. She's very cuddly. She's very affectionate, but she is not a couch potato. She will stay on that couch with you for a little bit, and then she's ready to go off and do something else. So she's very busy. She's very active," Olivieri said. "Once all of her exercise needs are met during the day, she will settle down nicely, and she will want to be right by your side, cuddle with you at night on the couch, sleep with you."

Princess is very healthy but does experience some anxiety and is not fully potty trained and might have the occasional accident.

"She does have a little bit of anxiety, so she is on some medication for it right now," Olivieri said. "So a lot of structure, a lot of outlets, and familiarity, getting used to a new routine and everything is gonna be really good for her. I mean, she's just lovely. Like I said, she's very social. She likes to play with other dogs. She likes to meet new people."

View Full Story

More Pittsfield Stories