image description
A color run is part of the annual fundraising race for Berkshire County Kids' Place. This year's event is set for April 7.

Kids Place Holds Annual Benefit Race on Saturday

By Ashlyn MarciliBerkshires.com
Print Story | Email Story

The 5K race to benefit Kids' Place begins at 10 a.m.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire County Kids' Place will hold its annual Champions Against Child Abuse 5k and 1 Mile Color Fun Run on Saturday, April 7.

The 5K race begins at 10 a.m. at the Kids' Place offices at 63 Wendell Ave. Registration for the 5K is $25 for adults and $20 for children 15 and under. The 1 Mile Color Fun Run kicks off at 11 a.m. Registration for that event is $20 for adults and $15 for children between the ages of 5 and 15. Runners that want to participate in both events receive a $5 discount of both races combined ($40 for adults/$30 for children).

Laura Baran, the Development and Special Events coordinator for Berkshire County Kids' Place, said the event has evolved over the years.

"The 1-mile color run piece was added on to the 5k race put on 13 years ago," she said. "A lot of kids would come to watch the race and we added that component to expand the pool of participants."



A color run is where participants wear white t-shirts and are doused with color as they run through the course. The first year was the most successful, Baran said, though the weather in the past few years hasn't been as cooperative. Saturday's event will go on rain or shine - or snow. Baran said they typically have between 160 and 260 runners for the 5K and between 100 and 200 for the color run.

Organizers hope to raise $12,000 in this event. All of the proceeds go toward supporting the Berkshire County Kids' Place, an official children's advocacy center, which is a nationally accredited organization in helping children who have experienced abuse. The organization has helped over 400 children this past year, providing services like therapy, a simplified intake processes, a forensic interview, and more. The center offers their services to any child experiencing abuse from their Wendell Avenue offices.

The fundraising event is timed to coincide with National Child Abuse Prevention Month in April.

"It's a fun event and is a great way for the community to get together," Baran said.

For more information, contact Berkshire County Kids' Place at 413-499-2800, ext. 114, or find Berkshire County Kids' Place on Facebook.


Tags: Kids Place,   

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

North Adams Regional Reopens With Ribbon-Cutting Celebration

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff

BHS President and CEO Darlene Rodowicz welcomes the gathering to the celebration of the hospital's reopening 10 years to the day it closed. 
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The joyful celebration on Thursday at North Adams Regional Hospital was a far cry from the scene 10 years ago when protests and tears marked the facility's closing
 
Hospital officials, local leaders, medical staff, residents and elected officials gathered under a tent on the campus to mark the efforts over the past decade to restore NARH and cut the ribbon officially reopening the 136-year-old medical center. 
 
"This hospital under previous ownership closed its doors. It was a day that was full of tears, anger and fear in the Northern Berkshire community about where and how residents would be able to receive what should be a fundamental right for everyone — access to health care," said Darlene Rodowicz, president and CEO of Berkshire Health Systems. 
 
"Today the historic opportunity to enhance the health and wellness of Northern Berkshire community is here. And we've been waiting for this moment for 10 years. It is the key to keeping in line with our strategic plan which is to increase access and support coordinated county wide system of care." 
 
Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield, under the BHS umbrella, purchased the campus and affiliated systems when Northern Berkshire Healthcare declared bankruptcy and closed on March 28, 2014. NBH had been beset by falling admissions, reductions in Medicare and Medicaid payments, and investments that had gone sour leaving it more than $30 million in debt. 
 
BMC was able to reopen the ER as an emergency satellite facility and slowly restored and enhanced medical services including outpatient surgery, imaging, dialysis, pharmacy and physician services. 
 
But it would take a slight tweak in the U.S. Health and Human Services' regulations — thank to U.S. Rep. Richie Neal — to bring back inpatient beds and resurrect North Adams Regional Hospital 
 
View Full Story

More Pittsfield Stories