Pittsfield Rotary Auction

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Pittsfield Rotary Club will hold their annual auction, their largest fundraiser.
 
The annual auction will be held at Berkshire Hills Country Club Saturday April 1 starting at 5:00 p.m. The auction starts at 6:30 p.m.
 
This year's theme is Mardi Gras.
 
Each year, the Pittsfield Rotary Club distributes more than $90,000 in community support raised through special events, fundraisers, and donations during the year. The club's annual food drive results in food donated to local food banks, as well as $1,000 cash donations to each of ten local food pantries and kitchens. 
 
The Club provides grants in support of activities for low-income and under resourced individuals, serving primarily Pittsfield residents. This support is seen in annual scholarships, camperships to many local summer camps, domestic violence and child abuse awareness support, employment support at organizations, and direct funding of local charitable projects.
 
This year, in an effort to ensure increased and continued support of students, the Club is establishing an endowment for their Paul Harris Fellows Scholarship. This endowment will be named in honor of long-time Rotary Club member and champion of local students, Jeffrey Whitehouse.
 
The Rotary Club of Pittsfield is one of over 35,000 Rotary Clubs around the world, who meet every week to provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through fellowship of business, professional, and community leaders. Together, the clubs comprise a global network of 1.2 million neighbors, friends, leaders, and problem-solvers to imagine a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change.
 
 

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Pittsfield CPA Committee Funds Half of FY24 Requests

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A few projects are not getting funded by the Community Preservation Committee because of a tight budget.

The projects not making the cut were in the historic preservation and open space and recreation categories and though they were seen as interesting and valuable projects, the urgency was not prevalent enough for this cycle.

"It's a tough year," Chair Danielle Steinmann said.

The panel made its recommendations on Monday after several meetings of presentations from applications. They will advance to the City Council for final approval.  

Two cemetery projects were scored low by the committee and not funded: A $9,500 request from the city for fencing at the West Part Cemetery as outlined in a preservation plan created in 2021 and a $39,500 request from the St. Joseph Cemetery Commission for tombstone restorations.

"I feel personally that they could be pushed back a year," Elizabeth Herland said. "And I think they're both good projects but they don't have the urgency."

It was also decided that George B. Crane Memorial Center's $73,465 application for the creation of a recreational space would not be funded. Herland said the main reason she scored the project low was because it didn't appear to benefit the larger community as much as other projects do.

There was conversation about not funding The Christian Center's $34,100 request for heating system repairs but the committee ended up voting to give it $21,341 when monies were left over.

The total funding request was more than $1.6 million for FY24 and with a budget of $808,547, only about half could be funded. The panel allocated all of the available monies, breaking down into $107,206 for open space and recreation, $276,341 for historic preservation, and $425,000 for community housing.

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