Biz Briefs: Big Y Bag Program Now Benefitting Hillcrest Educational Centers, BCARC

Bags for a cause

Hillcrest Educational Centers and Berkshire County Arc begun generating donations through the Big Y Community Bag and Giving Tag Program. The Big Y Community Bag and Giving Tag Program, which launched in January 2019, is a reusable bag program that facilitates community support with the goal to make a difference in the communities where shoppers live and work. When a shopper purchases the reusable Community Bag at any Big Y store, they have the opportunity to direct a $1 donation to a local nonprofit by using the attached Giving Tag.

"Participating in Big Y's Community Bag and Giving Tag program is an exciting opportunity for us," said Hillcrest Educational Centers' President and CEO Gerard Burke. "Hillcrest has been apart of the Berkshire community for 34 years. Support from Big Y's program and others like it ensure that we’ll continue to provide a healing environment for our students for years to come." Hillcrest Educational Centers plans to add the donations they receive to their endowment fund, which ensures they will continue to support their students, regardless of economic climate.

"A joint effort to help our community go green and to generate donations for our organization that will go directly back to helping the individuals and families that we serve is a win-win for us," said Berkshire County Arc President and CEO Kenneth W. Singer. Berkshire County Arc hopes to raise $1,000 through directed Giving Tag donations.

The Big Y Community Bag and Giving Tag Program is an ongoing fundraiser. Every month, Big Y contributes money to approximately 73 non-profits local to the communities in which each Big Y serves. Recipient organizations change monthly based on the selections made by store leadership. For more information on the Big Y Community Bag and Giving Tag Program, visit the website.

Nonprofit Center grant

The Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires has received its first major program grant from Berkshire Bank Foundation. The funding will be used to support four core NPC programs in 2019: The Berkshire Nonprofit Awards on May 21, Berkshire Nonprofit Connections Magazine, Board Trainings for community members, and the annual Giving Back guide.

"Berkshire Bank's support is significant for an entrepreneurial organization like the Nonprofit Center," said NPC founder Liana Toscanini. "This type of funding allows us to offer all of our services free or at very low cost to nonprofits. Since we serve hundreds of Berkshire nonprofits, this grant really goes a long way in supporting the sector."

Sotheby's upswing

A report detailing annual 2018 market results in Fairfield, Litchfield and Hartford Counties and the Shoreline in Connecticut, the Berkshires in Massachusetts, and Westchester County, New York, has been released by William Pitt-Julia B. Fee Sotheby’s International Realty. The report stated that 2018 began with virtually every market the company serves experiencing sales decreases in single family home sales versus the first quarter the prior year. Yet by year’s end, many markets climbed ahead of 2017, while others still trailed slightly behind.

Westchester and Fairfield County markets saw modest decreases in unit sales and dollar volume, while the Connecticut Shoreline saw minimal decreases in unit sales even as dollar volume improved. Litchfield and Berkshire Counties experienced sales growth and the Farmington Valley was flat with steady sales.

In examining economic indicators, the report contended that there were reasons for optimism in the housing market. The recent drop in mortgage rates, strong job growth, the ongoing historic lows among Federal Reserve interest rates, and consistently elevated consumer confidence all come together to support a healthy outlook for real estate, according to the report.

"Key economic indicators all remain favorable to a strong economy, and lay a stable foundation for a healthy real estate market," said Paul Breunich, president and CEO of William Pitt-Julia B. Fee Sotheby's International Realty. "If there was a pause in the marketplace early in 2018 due to uncertainty surrounding the tax reform bill that passed in late 2017, the year painted a more positive picture by the time it reached its conclusion. We're still not certain of the tax bill's impact, and it's only this year that we may begin to understand the full effect, if any. For now, observable economic data leaves us feeling bullish on the market as we enter the new year."

NAMI Raises Sugar With 10th Annual Cupcake Wars

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
06:09PM / Saturday, April 25, 2026

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. To contact the Crisis Text Line, text HELLO to 741741. More information on crisis hotlines in Massachusetts can be found here. 

Whitney's Farm baker Jenn Carchedi holds her awards for People's Choice and Best Tasting.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) of Berkshire County held its 10th annual cupcake wars fundraiser Thursday night at the Country Club of Pittsfield.

The event brought local bakeries and others together to raise money for the organization while enjoying a friendly competition of cupcake tasting.

Local bakeries Odd Bird Farm, Canyon Ranch, Whitney's Farm and Garden, and Monarch butterfly bakery each created a certain flavor of cupcake and presented their goods to the theme of "Backyard Barbecue." When Sweet Confections bakery had to drop out because to health reasons, NAMI introduced a mystery baker which turned out to be Big Y supermarket.

The funds raised Thursday night through auctions of donated items, the cupcakes, raffles, and more will go toward the youth mental health wellness fair, peer and family support groups, and more. 

During the event, the board members mentioned the many ways the funds have been used, stating that they were able to host their first wellness fair that brought in more than 250 people because of the funds raised from last year and plan to again this year on July 11. 

"We're really trying to gear towards the teen community, because there's such a stigma with mental illness, and they sometimes are hesitant to come forward and admit they have a problem, so they try to self medicate and then get themselves into a worse situation," said NAMI President Ruth Healy.

"We're really trying to focus on that group, and that's going to be the focus of our youth mental health wellness fair is more the teen community. So every penny that we raise helps us to do more programming, and the more we can do, the more people recognize that we're there to help and that there is hope."

They mentioned they are now able to host twice monthly peer and family support groups at no cost for individuals and families with local training facilitators. They also are now able to partner with Berkshire Medical Center to perform citizenship monitoring where they have volunteers go to different behavioral mental health units to listen to patients and staff to provide service suggestions to help make the unit more effective. Lastly, they also spoke of how they now have a physical office space, and that they were able to attend the Berkshire Coalition for Suicide Prevention as part of the panel discussion to help offer resources and have also been able to have gift bags for patients at BMC Jones 2 and 3.

Healy said they are also hoping to expand into the schools in the county and bring programming and resources to them.

She said the programs they raise money for are important in reaching someone with mental issues sooner.

"To share the importance of recognizing, maybe an emerging diagnosis of a mental health condition in their family member or themselves, that maybe they could get help before the situation becomes so dire that they're thinking about suicide as a solution, the sooner we can reach somebody, the better the outcome," she said.

The cupcakes were judged by Downtown Pittsfield Inc. Managing Director Rebecca Brien, Pittsfield High culinary teacher Todd Eddy, and Lindsay Cornwell, executive director Second Street Second Chances.

The 100 guests got miniature versions of the cupcakes to decide the Peoples' Choice award.

The winners were:

• Best Tasting: Whitney's Farm (Honey buttermilk cornbread cupcakes)
• Best Presentation: Odd Bird Farm Bakery (Blueberry lemon cupcakes)
• Best Presentation of Theme: Canyon Ranch (Strawberry shortcake)
• People's Choice: Whitney's Farm

Jenn Carchedi has been the baker at Whitney's for six years and this was her third time participating in an event she cares deeply about.

"It meant a lot. Because personally, for me, mental health awareness is really important. I feel like coming together as a community, and Whitney's Farm is more like a community kind of place," she said