Pittsfield's Christian Center Announces Community Day, 'Big News'
PITTSFIELD, Mass.— After collecting community input about a potential new name and programming opportunities, the Christian Center says it will make a big announcement this summer.
The nonprofit plans to unveil "big news" during its annual Community Day on Aug. 22, Executive Director Jessica Jones told the Homelessness Advisory Committee on Wednesday.
To accommodate different work schedules, Monday through Friday pantry hours were extended to include the second and fourth Saturday of every month; the pantry and lunch open from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
"Having some Saturday availability, we're hoping, is going to be helpful for those whose work schedules don't allow for weekday visits to the pantry," Jones said.
"And we also know that more and more working people are having to make tough decisions about whether or not they spend their money on food or gas or rent or any of the other things that they have to make decisions about."
HAC Chair Kim Borden said the Saturday hours are very exciting.
"And I love your thinking on that, because you're right, limited hours when folks are working and picking up kiddos from daycare, there isn't always enough time," she added.
The Christian Center was incorporated in 1974, but it dates back to the early 1890s, when it was the Epworth Mission, founded by the Methodist Church.
Today, its main focus is food insecurity, but it also provides clothing, household items, and sanitary supplies to those who need them. Breakfast and lunch are served Monday through Friday; Jones noted that they are pretty much the only pantry in town open five days a week.
In January and February, The Christian Center held community listening sessions and released a survey to ask people about their needs, what the center can do better, and what it can do differently.
Another consideration for change on the survey was the center's name, as it hasn’t provided religious services or activities in decades, and leadership worried that the name might exclude people who believe it’s a church-related organization.
It was not disclosed whether the name is a part of the upcoming announcement.
Many people were looking for more youth programs in response; however, Jones said they found that Berkshire County has quite a bit of youth programming and didn’t want to reinvent the wheel.
"So we're kind of steering away from doing youth programming ourselves and instead inviting other agencies doing that work to come into our space," she explained, reporting that there was a container gardening workshop the prior weekend.
"…We really want to re-engage the community in the center, just in general getting people to come in and have a social connection."
Last year, the Christian Center served about 7,000 people; while the number itself hasn’t increased much, the number of new guests has been "off the charts." Other local pantries are also seeing influxes of new faces, Jones confirmed from monthly meetings with other organizations.
She said that the most responsible way to provide food donations is with cash, as the center can buy food for a much lower price, or with nonperishable goods.
Community Day will be at The Christian Center on Saturday, Aug. 22, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
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