Berkshire County Arc Awards Scholarships to High School Students

02:19PM / Tuesday, June 07, 2022Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire County Arc, along with BCArc's Down Syndrome Family Group, has awarded $7,000 in scholarship funding to five recent Berkshire County high school graduates who will be pursing undergraduate education in the field of human services.

This year's recipients include:

Quinn Walton (Wahconah Regional High School) is receiving the "Carol Craighead Memorial Scholarship Award" with a BCArc Down Syndrome Family Group Scholarship. She is majoring in Engineering and will be attending Tufts University in Medford.

Lily Robb (Wahconah Regional High School) is majoring in Elementary Education and attending Merrimack College in North Andover.

Kelly Couch (Monument Mountain Regional High School) will be majoring in Social Work and attending the University of New England in Biddeford, Maine.

Caroline Maloney (Lee High School) is "Undecided" for her major and will be attending the College of Charleston, in Charleston, SC.

Jessica Figueroa (Taconic High School) is majoring in Political Science and will be attending UMass., Amherst in Amherst.

Tags: BC Arc,

iBerkshires.com Text Ads

RIBCO Supply

Check out our great lineup of Boss Plows, and spreaders. 2 Locations Clarksburg & Pittsfield!

ribcosupply.com

rk MILES Blding Materials

Are You Ready to Update Your Home? Start With rk MILES. 4 Locations (800)670-7433

www.rkmiles.com

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

Berkshire Towns Can Tap State Seasonal Communities Resources

10:54AM / Monday, December 29, 2025

BOSTON — Governor Maura Healey announced that 18 additional municipalities across Massachusetts have been designated as Seasonal Communities, opening up new tools, support and grant funding to help them manage seasonal housing pressures.

Created as part of the historic Affordable Homes Act signed into law by Governor Healey in 2024, the Seasonal Communities designation was designed to recognize Massachusetts communities that experience substantial variation in seasonal employment and to create distinctive tools to address their unique housing needs. The law also established the Seasonal Communities Advisory Council (SCAC).

The Affordable Homes Act identified several communities to automatically receive the designation, including:

All municipalities in the counties of Dukes and Nantucket;
All municipalities with over 35 percent seasonal housing units in Barnstable County; and
All municipalities with more than 40 percent seasonal housing units in Berkshire County.

To identify additional communities, the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (HLC) reviewed available data, specifically focusing on cities and towns with high levels of short-term rentals and a high share of second- or vacation homes.

In Berkshire County, Egremont, Great Barrington, Lee, Lenox, New Marlborough, Richmond, Sandisfield, Sheffield, West Stockbridge and Williamstown have been designated.

"Our seasonal communities are a vital part of Massachusetts' cultural and economic fabric, but they're also home to essential workers, families, seniors, and longtime residents who deserve a place to live year-round," said Governor Healey. "That's why we're committed to supporting these communities with innovative solutions like the Seasonal Communities designation to meet their unique needs, and I'm thrilled that we're offering this opportunity to 18 additional communities across the state. Everyone who calls these places home should be able to live, work and grow here, no matter the season."

As with the statutorily identified communities, acceptance of the designation for municipalities is voluntary and requires a local legislative vote. HLC will open an application for newly eligible communities that haven't accepted the Seasonal Communities designation to request consideration.

The Affordable Homes Act created several new tools for communities who accept the Seasonal Communities designation to be able to:

Acquire deed restrictions to create or preserve year-round housing
Develop housing with a preference for municipal workers, so that our public safety personnel, teachers, public works and town hall workers have a place to live
Establish a Year-Round Housing Trust Fund to create and preserve affordable and attainable housing for year-round residents
Create year-round housing for artists
Allow seasonal communities to develop a comprehensive housing needs assessment
Permit tiny homes to be built and used as year-round housing
Permit year-round, attainable residential development on undersized lots
Increase the property tax exemption for homes that are the owners' primary residence