FEMA Awards Over $5.2M to Mass DESE for COVID-19 Test Kits

08:17AM / Saturday, May 20, 2023Print Story | Email Story

BOSTON — The Federal Emergency Management Agency will be sending more than $5.2 million to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to reimburse the state education department for the cost of providing test kits to students and staff during the COVID-19 pandemic to help keeps schools open.

The $5,239,327 Public Assistance grant will reimburse the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for the cost of purchasing and distributing 154,532 at-home COVID-19 diagnostic tests to education facilities across the commonwealth between December 2021 and July 2022.

"FEMA is pleased to be able to assist the Commonwealth of Massachusetts with these costs," said FEMA Region 1 Regional Administrator Lori Ehrlich. "Providing resources for our partners on the front lines of the pandemic fight is critical to their success, and our success as a nation."

FEMA's Public Assistance program is an essential source of funding for states and communities recovering from a federally declared disaster or emergency.

So far, FEMA has provided more than $1.7 billion in Public Assistance grants to Massachusetts to reimburse the commonwealth for pandemic-related expenses.

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BVNA Nurses Raise Funds for Berkshire Bounty

06:38AM / Wednesday, December 24, 2025

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Massachusetts Nursing Association members of the Berkshire Visiting Nurses Association raised $650 to help with food insecurity in Berkshire County.

The nurses and health-care professionals of BVNA have given back to the community every holiday season for the last three years. The first year, they adopted a large family, raised money, bought, wrapped and delivered the gifts for the family. Last year, they sold raffle tickets and the money raised went to the charitable cause of the winner.

This year, with food insecurity as a rising issue, they chose to give to Berkshire Bounty in Great Barrington.

They sold raffle tickets for a drawing to win one of two items: A lottery ticket tree or a gift certificate tree, each worth $100. They will be giving the organization the donation this month.

Berkshire Bounty seeks to improve food security in the county through food donations from retailers and local farms; supplemental purchases of healthy foods; distribution to food sites and home deliveries; and collaborating with partners to address emergencies and improve the food system.

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