North Adams Share the Love Campaign Surpasses Fundraising Goal

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — First Congregational Church of North Adams' fourth annual "Share the Love" campaign concluded with over $9,000 raised to support local organizations serving individuals in need.

"Share the Love is catching on; people are familiar with it and wish to support the organizations that we have identified," Lois Daunis of the the church's Missions Team said. 

The initiative raised more than $6,000, primarily from North County residents, with additional contributions from church members as far away as Indiana.

The campaign's initial goal was set at $5,000, with a planned 50 percent matching contribution from the church's Missions budget. Because the community exceeded the fundraising goal, the church was able to distribute a total of $9,075.

Each of the designated beneficiary organizations — Berkshire Food Project, Louison House, and Greenagers at Many Forks Farm — received unrestricted gifts of $3,025.

Representatives from the beneficiary organizations received their donations at a presentation held at the church on Friday afternoon.

Daunis said a key factor in this year's success was the implementation of new fundraising strategies and increased participation.

"We tried additional strategies. We did some on-site fundraising. Plus, I think we have more people on missions, so there are just more people to get the word out," she said.

The fundraising efforts included direct solicitation events organized by Heidi Peterson, with events held at Stop & Shop and at Aubuchon in Williamstown. Additionally, a raffle was conducted, featuring contributions from 18 local businesses and 60 individuals contributed to the campaign.

Participating businesses included: Aubuchon, Big Y, Clark Art Institute, Berkshire Emporium, Freight Yard Pub, Images, Limited Editions, M&J's Taste of Home, Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, Meraki Salon, Nature's Closet, Plant Connector, Provisions, Public, Roam, Stop & Shop, Unlimited Nutrition, Where'd You Get That, Wild Oats, and the Williams Shop.

Daunis emphasized the increasing need for support within the community.

"There's more food and housing insecurity right now than there was in the last three years, and certainly, you know, with the SNAP and WIC cuts coming, I imagine Berkshire Food Project, Louison House, and the pantry are going to get hit harder with folks in need," she said. "Certainly, Louison House and Berkshire Food Project have seen an increase in their numbers."

Daunis added that Greenagers and Many Forks Farm are new beneficiaries of the program.  

"We just wanted to identify a youth-serving organization in Northern Berkshires that's doing good things. And Many Forks Farm, they provide [food] shares," she said.

North Adams Glamping Project Teams With Luxury Resort for New Approvals

By Tammy Daniels iBerkshires Staff
05:24AM / Friday, April 17, 2026

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Just last fall, wellness and fancy tents were the core of the glamping proposal for Notch Road.

 

On Monday, developer Benjamin Crespi of 196 Marine LLC, was back before the Planning Board with a dramatically different proposal: 49 two-bedroom tourists cabins with a restaurant and recreational amenities.

 

He was approved with a lengthy list of conditions hammered out between the project and a group of residents represented by attorney Alexandra Glover of Lazan Glover & Puciloski.

 

"After I think multiple rounds and many discussions with neighbors to understand what their reservations about the project were, we went back to the drawing board," said Crespi. "The main critical issues were the fact that my last permit allowed me to be open to the general public.

 

"There was concerns about the number of events and the size of those events. There was concern about noise impact in the neighborhood, traffic volume, traffic routing and wildlife interaction."

 

He detailed the 19 issues that the neighbors had and determined the way forward was to limit access only to paying customers and not open to the public for events.

 

"It was very clear that I had to reduce the volume of people on site. So if I reduce my guest count, and I've lost those profit centers, then I need to offset by going to a higher level of service. That's exactly what I've done," Crespi said.