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Bob St. Pierre speaks to the packed dining room at Bounti-Fare on Saturday night. The annual fundraiser is so popular that PopCares had to turn some people way.
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Bill and Tammy St. Pierre presented a Community Partner Award to Charlie O'Brien, president of Adams Community Bank.
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Becky Miner is recognized for the efforts of she and her husband, Caleb.
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Bounti-Fare owner David Nicholas was honored for his community support.
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Dolores St. Pierre was given a gift for making everything possible.
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The St. Pierre brothers pull the 50/50 prize.
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Desserts were auctioned off after the meal.
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Some 295 tickets were sold for the event and many turned away because of space.
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Pat Mancuso presented the quilt to Dolores St. Pierre.
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The Dabrowskis tell their story to the gathering.

PopCares Annual Dinner Draws Hundreds to Bounti-Fare

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
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Jessica and Nicholas Dabrowski and their daughter, Jordan. Jessica was diagnosed with an uncommon form of blood myeloma five years ago and within days learned she was pregnant. The couple has made it through with support from the community, including help from PopCares.

ADAMS, Mass. — It was a tough Wednesday about a year ago for Jessica and Nicholas Dabrowski.

They were struggling with work, taking care of their young daughter, Jordan, and the resurfacing of Jessica's cancer. There was chemotherapy at Berkshire Medical Center and visits to Massachusetts General Hospital, while both were working full time or more at stressful jobs.

It was a day when they'd felt defeated, until Nick found an envelope in the mailbox.

"Inside the envelope was a simple card that said 'you are in our thoughts, PopCares,'" Jessica read to the packed dining room at Bounti-Fare on Saturday night. It also contained two gas gift cards and a check. "This random act of kindness came on just the right day and touched both of our hearts."

Created in honor of the late William "Pop" St. Pierre by his family nearly four years ago, PopCares has disbursed some $175,000 to more than 400 people in North Berkshire just like the Dabrowskis, helping them with the day-to-day items and acts of kindness so they can focus on getting better.

Some 295 tickets alone were sold to Saturday's annual dinner, one of the nonprofit's biggest fundraisers, which seems poised to blow past last year's $18,000 raised.

"We wanted to do something in his honor," said St. Pierre's son Bob, in explaining PopCares' creation. "We came up with this crazy plan to raise money to help local families battling cancer."

A lot of hands went up when Tammy St. Pierre asked for those who had been affected by cancer.
 
"Cancer has an incredible way of sneaking into your life and completely overtaking it because it's all about doctor visits treatments, bills that keep adding up because of of it," she said, speaking of her own diagnosis 13 years ago. "The fears and worries never seem to go away."

She remembered how her father-in-law continued to do for himself as much as possible as he, too, battled the disease.

"He always had kind words, a helping hand, or really bad jokes to tell ... he always had a smile on his face and love in his heart. The words 'I can't' were not in his vocabulary."


PopCares has quickly established itself as a major charity in North Berkshire in support of families and individuals suffering from cancer. It offers funds to help with such things as groceries, lodging, gas and utilities as well as "random acts" to

Bob St. Pierre said a cancer patient had come up to him at a recent event to say he had received a check from the charity just that week. 

"He had given up ... there was no money coming in for food and necessities," he said. "This man's few kind words has given us the strength to reach our goal to help every family in this community battling cancer. Keep in mind that every penny you spend tonight will go to someone battling this awful disease."

That spending included a chinese auction with donated items and services, a 50/50 that raised more than $600, a silent auction, a live auction that included a number of unique furniture pieces by Michael St. Pierre, and a raffle for desserts that saw platters of cookies going for $30 to $50 and a basket of whoopie pies that went for a cool $100.

The St. Pierre said the community and local businesses play a large role in PopCares success, ticking off a number of fund drives and contributions. PopCare also presented  Community Partner Awards to individuals and businesses that have supported the charity:

Adams Community Bank, accepted by President Charlie O'Brien, for this year alone having donated some $25,000 to PopCares and Moments House among its many other contributions.

Caleb and Becky Miner "for giving back to the community that they love." Among their many community efforts the annual Zumba Dancing in the Streets in North Adams that this year raised $5,500 for the charity.

David Nicholas, owner of Bounti-Fare, was recognized with an award as a business owner who has gone above and beyond showing that loving caring and kindness still exists right here today..

In special presentation, Dolores St. Pierre was presented with a quilt made Diane Morrissey and Nancy Rumboldt. Patricia Mancuso said the quilt was being given to "somebody who is very appreciated by everyone and without her the St. Pierre family — Mike and Bill and Bob and Cindy and Pop from Heaven — would not be here. This is for Dolores for everything that has happened for PopCares."


Tags: cancer,   cancer support,   fundraiser,   

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Cheshire Opens Tree Festival, Clarksburg Children Sing

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

Santa arrives in Cheshire to lead the parade to the tree lighting. 

CHESHIRE, Mass. — The town center was alive with holiday cheer on Sunday evening as Santa Claus led a brigade of hay rides from the Festival of Trees to the Christmas tree lighting.

Cheshire was one of three North Berkshire communities on Sunday that marked the beginning of the holiday season with tree lightings and events.

The third annual festival, which opened on Sunday, showcases more than 70 decorated trees from local businesses and town departments. It has grown yearly, with 32 trees in the first year and 53 in the second year.

DPW Director Corey McGrath said the event exceeded expectations and the camaraderie between town departments made it easy to plan.

"It falls into place," he said. "… you put it out there, you build it, and they come."

McGrath sais when he started the event, there were going to be 13 town committee trees to match the windows of the Cheshire Community House's main room "and they said 'No, go big.'"

"That's what we've got now," he said. "Through the whole month, it will just be endless people all day."

The evening began at the tree show with live holiday music and adorned greenery around every corner.  Santa arrived in a firetruck and attendees were transported to the Old Town Hall for the Christmas tree lighting, later returning to the Community House for refreshments.

Town Administrator Jennifer Morse said businesses and departments called to reserve trees donated by Whitney's Farm and voters will choose a winner by the end of the festival. The best in show will get a free tree from the farm next year.

There was also a raffle to benefit the Recreation Committee.

"It’s open all the way until the 29th," Morse said. "So people are welcome to come in at any point [during open hours] and look at it."

Selectwoman Michelle Francesconi said planning has been "really smooth."

"I think that the town employees and volunteers have all kind of settled in now that it is the third year of the event and the festive atmosphere starts the week of Thanksgiving when all of the trees start getting set up and Christmas music is playing in town offices," she explained.

"There is so much interest that we have more interest than we have space for the trees so, at some point in time we'll be pretty full but I think that the community is anticipating the event now every year and the word is spreading."

She added that there is a lot of interest in tree theming and that volunteers and businesses are enthusiastic about creating something new and exciting.

The tree at Old Town Hall was donated by Youth Center Inc. and a child was selected to help Santa light it.

"Differences are always put aside when it comes to something like this," McGrath said.

Adams also hosted carriage rides around the downtown, a visit with Santa Claus in the Town Common's gazebo and hot cocoa and candy from the Adams Lions Club. The tree was lighted about 4:30.


Santa, or one of his helpers, was also in Clarksburg, above, and in Adams.

In Clarksburg, preschoolers and kindergartners from school serenaded the crowd at annual Christmas tree lighting at Peter Cooke Memorial Town Field.

More than 100 people turned out to welcome Santa Claus as he arrived by fire engine and cheer as he threw the switch to illuminate the tannenbaum and get the season going in the town of 1,600.
 
The scene then shifted to the park's gazebo, where the youngest pupils from the town school — joined by a few first-graders — sang "Must Be Santa" and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas."
 
Then it was time for the main purpose of the season: giving to others.
 
The Clarksburg Veterans of Foreign Wars once again distributed checks to local non-profits.
 
The VFW chapter distributed $10,250 that it raised over the past year from a mail campaign and its annual golf tournament.
 
The biggest beneficiary was the Parent-Teacher Group at the elementary school, which received $4,000. Other groups benefiting from the VFW program included the cancer support groups AYJ Fund and PopCares, the Drury High School band, the St. Elizabeth's Rosary Society, the Clarksburg Historical Commission, town library and Council on Aging.
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