NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The First Congregational Church blew through its $10,000 goal, raising a total of $17,600 during its annual "Share the Love" campaign.

 

"It is just so touching for us. I think it says a great amount about the community," said Linda Rhoads of the Missions MInistry. "And the business community has really been so helpful. We want to have an influence in the community, and we are a small enough congregation that, even with a small amount of money, we are able to spread it around with this campaign."

 

The Berkshire Food Project, the Al Nelson Friendship Center Food Pantry, Louison House, and Greenagers at Many Forks Farm were each gifted $4,400.

 

"We always need money, and we appreciate the church doing this for us," said Mark Rondeau, food pantry president. "... It is very generous."

 

Sue Wells of Many Forks Farm said the funding allows more children to have access to their program.

 

"This church is all about community and kindness and helping others," she said. "It makes it so families can send their kids to our farm program at no cost. So this is huge for us."

 

The Valentine's Day-themed matching fundraiser ran through February, inviting donations from community members and businesses. In total, the public raised $12,100, which the church bolstered with its $5,000 match. Last year, the campaign raised just over $9,000.

 

Berkshire Food Project Executive Director Matthew Alcombright said the need in the area is always growing and shared his gratitude for the church’s community outreach.

 

"Food insecurity is a growing problem," he said. "SNAP benefits are back, but food prices are up, gas prices, everything. From the Food Project perspective, we're seeing an increase in numbers right now, like we did when SNAP was shut off. Our numbers are skyrocketing once again, so this is incredible for the church to do this."

 

Rhoads attributed the increased success to better promotion of the campaign raffle, which allowed donors to win prizes provided by local businesses. She also noted the impact of social media promotion and a few unexpected, larger contributions.

 

"We had a couple of surprises," she said. "A couple of big gifts. You can't ever count on that, but we were surprised."