PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Controy Pavilion at Onota Lake was filled with some of Berkshire United Way's funded partners for its second annual "thank you" summer celebration picnic. 

 

The event gives the agency the opportunity to show its appreciation to its nonprofit partners, who do essential work daily to make the Berkshire County community a better place, Director of Community Impact Katherine von Haefen said. 

 

"Nonprofit folks don't do this work because of the money. They don't do this because it's a fancy job. They really care deeply about our fellow neighbors and the community," Haefen said. 

 

"And so this is an opportunity for us to say, 'Thank you. We know that you're not in this for the money,' but we appreciate the hard work that all these folks do every single day to serve our neighbors."

 

President and CEO Thomas Bernard said the event is to share appreciation, good company, and, fortunately, nice weather. The partners will come in, relax, and build connections outside their regular work meetings and agendas. 

 

"Our funding partners do this boots-on-the-ground, deep work. they don't get a breather a lot and then that chance to do the elevating work, the strategic, [and] the planning work. So, that's a place where we're able to step in, bridge the gap, and that build that connection," Bernard said.

 

"But [the event] also gives folks a little bit of a respite and that's as important, a little bit of a breather." 

 

There were 52 attendees across about 30 funded partners who registered for the event, which featured  yard and indoor games and picnic food such as sandwiches, pasta and potato salad, chips and soda.

 

"[The picnic] brings organizations together in a friendly, fun way. We're usually always meeting for a purpose. This is actually a good time to actually be able to talk to and sit down and enjoy each other's company," Karen Vogel, Berkshire Fallon Health Collaborative flex services coordinator, said.

 

"I think it provides some recognition, the value that all of these people have, and an opportunity for unity," Elise Weller, 18 Degrees senior director of childcare services, said. 

 

These partners work to not only provide events to the community but also host events and welcome people in. This picnic allows Berkshire United Way to welcome them as guests and give to them what they give to the community, Bernard said. 

 

Something "really magical happens" at events like this, he said, because people build relationships with one another and bridge gaps between the needed resources, opening the door for future collaboration.

 

Berkshire United Way wants to provide more than just funding to its partners, so one of the things it has recently been doing is convenings on different issues. 

 

"So, bringing nonprofit staff together to work on identified challenges, sharing information, sharing resources, so that at the end of the day, it will provide a more seamless opportunity for us to work directly with families," Haefen said. 

 

Networking has become critically important post-COVID because everyone is re-emerging from everyday work, and it allows everyone to make better connections and put faces to names, she said. 

 

"No one could do this work alone. We have so many client members that have a complex list of problems going on, and there's no one organization that can solve it. And the more that we come together, the better off it is for the community," Vogel said. 

 

Weller echoed this, adding that "we are better together. We have more resources together. Together, we have more power. Together, we have more understanding. And when you share challenges, each one of us grows, and you learn from each other, and we can make a better difference when we're doing this together." 

 

You work with people over the phone and email, and this event is an "opportunity to meet them face to face" and get to know them a little better, Habitat for Humanity Communications Manager Erin O'Brien said. 

 

"The more we connect and know what services each other provides, the better we can help people that come in," O'Brien said. 

 

People will come in and ask for aid, such as Residential Assistance for Families in Transition or temporary housing, and knowing the organizations in the area allows the nonprofit to refer them to the right resources, she said. 

 

"It's really important for the community so that we all know each other across the organizations that are doing human service work so that we know who directly to reach out to when clients need our support,"  Habitat for Humanity lead community navigator Tonya Frazier said. 

 

Homeowner specialist Mark Sternlof has only just started working for Habitat, so this picnic was a great opportunity to not only see people but to know the organizations involved with Berkshire United Way and get his own face out there. 

 

Berkshire United Way has spent a year seeding community and building relationships and trust. In the fall, it will launch shared training on topics that the group has determined collectively, Haefen said. 

 

"I think that's really important, too. It's not United Way dictating what they do and how they do, but we're really listening to the nonprofit community and the staff about what they need, [and] what their challenges are," Haefen said.

 

"So, we're really looking forward to putting in some shared trainings, which I think will be really exciting next year."