Louison House Community Picnic and Fundraiser

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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Louison House will host a community celebration and fundraiser at noon on Saturday, June 20, 2026, at the Historic Valley Campground pavilion at Windsor Lake.
 
The baseball-themed event serves a dual purpose: honoring local athletes and marking a major milestone for the housing and social services organization. 
 
This June marks 10 years since a fire impacted the Louison House property on June 28, 2016. At 1:00 p.m., organizers will briefly reflect on the organization's progress and recovery over the decade since the incident.
 
The event will also welcome and honor the North Adams SteepleCats collegiate baseball team, alongside local high school baseball and softball graduates. SteepleCats players will be on-site to sign autographs and take photos with attendees.
 
Festivities include a lunch from noon. to 1:00 p.m. featuring hot dogs, veggie burgers, pasta salad, beans, and drinks, with food donated by Bounti-Fair in Adams. Activities scheduled for the day include a T-Ball Home Run Derby, a dunk tank, cornhole, and various baseball-themed raffles and games.
 
Admission is $10 for individuals and $25 for families (up to two adults and four children), which includes the cost of lunch. While some games are free, others require a small fee to play, and all proceeds will directly benefit Louison House. Payments can be made via cash, check, or Venmo at the gate. Advance tickets are available by contacting the organization.
 
On-site parking is located near the campground office, and the new Louison House passenger van will provide a continuous shuttle service to the pavilion. A limited number of handicapped parking spaces are available directly next to the pavilion, and a drop-off zone will be open for guests before drivers park.
 

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Northern Berkshire United Way: 1980s Sees Double the Growth, Double the Need

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
Northern Berkshire United Way is celebrating its 90th anniversary this year. Each month, we will take a look back at the agency's milestones over the decades. 
 
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Northern Berkshire United Way rolled through the "Me Decade" on a high. 
 
The "Massachusetts Miracle" ushered in a boomtime — despite gloomy local indicators like the relocation of Sprague Electric, loss of Adams Print Works in a massive blaze, and Photech's bankruptcy.
 
The agency failed to reach its fundraising goals only two times during the decade even as the region's needs grew. For the first time, homelessness and substance abuse were listed among its allocations.
 
Fundraising grew by leaps and bounds as critical human service relief agencies asked for more. An estimated 36,000 people in North County were being served by the agency's affiliates. The funds went to support between 14 and 17 agencies over the decade for health services, youth support, mental health, child care, and family needs. 
 
NBUW was making enough toward the end of the 1980s that it could provide help to nonmembers such as the Dalton Community Chest, a rape crisis center and two homelessness initiatives. It also worked with the Piton Foundation of Colorado on venture funding, including for a peer mentoring program at Drury High School 
 
Mary G. Dailey had given her first dollar to the original Community Chest in 1935 as a worker at Arnold Print Works. As keynote speaker at the 1981 kick off, she credited North Berkshire's generosity as "enthusiasm."
 
"I'm all for enthusiasm," she told the 150 gathered at the Eagles Hall that fall, with her sister, Catherine, as toastmaster. "No other characteristic, with the possible exception of kindness, has contributed so much to happy and successful living."
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