Berkshire Bounty Receives Challenge Grant From Warrior Trading

11:05AM / Friday, November 29, 2024Print Story | Email Story

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Berkshire Bounty, a 501(c)3 food rescue organization, received a challenge grant –a dollar to dollar match--of $10,000 from Warrior Trading.

Berkshire Bounty's goal is to raise $100,000 by the end of 2024. Berkshire Bounty will be fundraising on GivingTuesday. The organization will then follow up with a crowdfunding campaign between Dec. 10 and Dec. 20, in which it will reach out to supporters to complete that goal.

"We are seeing a pressing demand for fresh, nutritious food for people who are food insecure. End-of-year fundraising allows us to meet our community's needs. This match for our campaign is essential to helping us reach our goals, and we're incredibly grateful to Warrior Trading," said Morgan Ovitsky, Berkshire Bounty's Executive Director.

The company was founded in 2012 by Ross Cameron. Warrior Trading, an online educational platform that offers a wide range of courses, training programs, and software for individuals interested in day trading, is providing the grant to inspire donors to give on #GivingTuesday and for Berkshire Bounty's end of year crowdfunding campaign.

The size of the food-insecure population in Berkshire County continues to grow, and Berkshire Bounty has dedicated itself to meeting a need by growing both functionally and geographically. In 2024, Berkshire Bounty:

provided nutritious food for 16,000 individuals weekly
implemented a state-funded initiative to purchase locally grown foods for the food-insecure population
delivered 400,000+ lbs. of food to 31 emergency food sites through the efforts of a network of 130+ volunteers

"We are so pleased to be able to give back to our community. Warrior Trading is proud to support Berkshire Bounty as they help our neighbors in a time of need," said Ross Cameron, CEO and Lauren Cameron, Dir. of Human Resources.

"Donations from individuals and local businesses like Warrior Trading comprise a huge portion of our support. Our community really pulls together, and we are grateful," stated Mark Lefenfeld and Jay Weintraub, co-founders and Board members of Berkshire Bounty.

Donations for Berkshire Bounty's end-of-year campaign can be made online on this dedicated page.

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Great Barrington Public Theater Appoints Artistic Director

09:57AM / Monday, December 29, 2025

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Great Barrington Public Theater announced that Associate Artistic Director Judy Braha will now join Jim Frangione at the helm as Artistic Director of Great Barrington Public Theater.

"We at Great Barrington Public Theater are thrilled that Judy Braha will assume the role of Artistic Director alongside myself. I couldn't have asked for a better partner to help advance the interests of the theater as we move into the next phase of growth as the region's premiere developmental theater," Founder & Artistic Director Jim Frangione said. "Judy brings a tremendous amount of experience and value to our company and has, in just a few short years, grown and greatly enhanced GB Public Theater's signature program, Berkshires Voices, where playwrights develop their work, leading to public readings and in some cases workshops and full productions. I look forward to working more closely with Judy to select the next generation of plays to be presented under the GB Public banner. It's a "Bear" of a job! But we feel great about the direction of our theater."

Judy Braha joined the GB Public artistic leadership team in 2023 as the Associate Artistic Director after 2 years directing for the company. She has since then been collaborating with Founder and Artistic Director Jim Frangione on the selection of new work for readings and full productions in the summer season. Her impressive portfolio of credits and accomplishments strengthened Great Barrington Public's creative programming and offered new perspectives to the body of works and events produced each year.

Judy Braha has been a career director, actor, teacher and artist for social justice for over four decades with directorial credits in theaters and universities throughout New England. She led the M.F.A. Directing Program at Boston University's School of Theater, retiring in 2022 after 29 years of service at BU.

"Judy has the strength of commitment, leadership and passion for theater and how it affects communities that fit hand-in-glove with our founding mission and core beliefs," Founder and Producing Director Deann Halper Simmons explains. "Her artistic integrity, sense of stage esthetic and ability to make important choices that craft life from the script continues to be a great asset to our company and growth."

"Judy's distinguished artistic voice has significantly contributed to the exceptional growth of GB Public in recent years," Managing Director Serena Johnson added. "We are truly excited to have her stepping into this leadership role in the 2026 season."

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