Market 32, Price Chopper Launch Fundraising Campaign for Special Olympics

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Through Jan. 30, Market 32 and Price Chopper customers will have the chance to help Special Olympics athletes score big by rounding up their change at checkout in all 129 stores.
 
The campaign will raise funds for Special Olympics programs that provide year-round athletic training and competition for children and adults with intellectual disabilities—promoting inclusion, confidence, and a sense of belonging through sports.
 
Every dollar raised will help provide the coaching, equipment, and opportunities needed for these athletes across Market 32 and Price Chopper's six-state footprint. Market 32 and Price Chopper will also match donations, up to $10,000.
 
"Market 32 and Price Chopper are committed to nourishing life by supporting organizations that strengthen families and communities," said Pam Cerrone, the company's director of community relations. "Special Olympics plays a vital role in creating opportunities for athletes of all abilities to compete, connect, and succeed. Through this round-up campaign, our guests can make a meaningful difference by directly supporting an organization that champions inclusion."
 
The round-up campaign for Special Olympics is one of many ways the company partners with guests to give back to causes that reflect its mission of helping people feed and care for their families.
 
"Retail campaigns like this play a powerful role in advancing the Special Olympics movement and ensuring inclusive opportunities for athletes with intellectual disabilities," said Stacey Hengsterman, president and CEO of Special Olympics New York. "Thanks in large part to partners like Market 32 and Price Chopper and their customers, we are able to provide opportunities to athletes at no charge to them or their families. Please choose to round up; every donation helps change an athlete's life." 
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

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

Staff Reports
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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