Big Y Kicks Off Partners of Hope Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign

04:05PM / Saturday, October 12, 2024Print Story | Email Story

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Big Y has kicked off their annual Partners of Hope campaign.

Each October the initiative helps raise awareness and funds for breast cancer research and treatment. The Partners of Hope campaign enables Big Y to give assistance to local breast cancer organizations, hospitals and medical centers. In 2023, the campaign raised over $40,000. In addition, Big Y matches the donations made each year.

In Berkshire County the beneficiaries this year will include Pittsfield Berkshire Medical Center Women's Imaging Center.

To participate, customers can purchase a Partners of Hope ribbon for $1 dollar when checking out at any Big Y location or donate directly at https://www.bigy.com/community/breast-cancer-awareness, now through Oct. 23.

All proceeds from Big Y's Partners of Hope Campaign are donated to 33 local breast cancer support groups throughout Massachusetts and Connecticut.

"The support from Big Y and their customers is incredibly helpful to the Karl J. Krapek, Sr. Comprehensive Women's Health Center at Saint Francis Hospital and our patients. The funds raised go directly to our free mammogram program and patient assistance fund, which helps support women in our community who may not otherwise have access to these lifesaving procedures. Thank you for supporting our mission to provide high-quality, equitable care to all," said Christina Metcalf, Division Director, Breast Surgery, Saint Francis Hospital.

Since 2007, the initiative has raised more than $2.7 Million dollars. In addition, many products have special pink packaging, that indicates the product manufacturers will be donating a portion of their proceeds to breast cancer research and education throughout Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

According to Michael P. D'Amour, President and CEO of Big Y: "Breast cancer affects thousands of people in our community each year. The purpose of our Partners of Hope campaign is to raise awareness about education, early detection and help provide vital resources to empower individuals in their journey. We invite everyone to join us in this

important fight."

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Tina Packer, Founder of Shakespeare & Company, Dies at 87

Staff Reports 06:51PM / Saturday, January 10, 2026

LENOX, Mass. — The doyenne of Shakespeare's plays, Tina Packer, died Friday at the age of 87.

Shakespeare & Company, which Packer co-founded in 1978, made the announcement Saturday on its Facebook page.

"It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Tina Packer, Shakespeare & Company's founding artistic director and acclaimed director, actor, writer, and teacher," the company said on its post and in a press release.

Packer, who retired a the theater company's artistic director in 2009, had directed all of Shakespeare's plays, some several times, acted in eight of them, and taught the whole canon at more than 30 colleges, including Harvard. She continued to direct, teach, and advocate for the company until her passing.

At Columbia University, she taught in the master of business administration program for four years, resulting in the publication of "Power Plays: Shakespeare's Lessons in Leadership and Management with Deming Professor John Whitney" for Simon and Schuster. For Scholastic, she wrote "Tales from Shakespeare," a children's book and recipient of the Parent's Gold Medal Award.

Most recently her book "Women of Will" was published by Knopf and she had been performing "Women of Will" with Nigel Gore, in New York, Mexico, England, The Hague, China, and across the United States. She's the recipient of numerous awards and honorary degrees, including the Commonwealth Award.

"Our hearts are heavy with the passing of Tina Packer, a fiery force of nature with an indomitable spirit," said Artistic Director Allyn Burrows. "Tina affected everyone she encountered with her warmth, generosity, wit, and insatiable curiosity. She delighted in people's stories, and reached into their hearts with tender humanity. The world was her stage, and she furthered the Berkshires as a destination for the imagination.

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