News

July 20, 2016

Berkshire Bank’s Charitable Foundation Giving Tops $1.1M During First Half of 2016

Berkshire Bank announced today that its charitable Foundation awarded $1,120,862 in grants from January 1, 2016 to June 30, 2016 to nonprofit organizations across Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut and Vermont.

In addition to supporting organizations within the Foundation’s funding focus areas of education, community and economic development projects, it also donated to youth, cultural and human service organizations that provide vital services to the community. Berkshire Bank Foundation, Inc. plans to award more than $1.8 million this year to nonprofit organizations across the Bank’s service area.

In total, 365 nonprofit organizations received grants from the Foundation during the first half of 2016 including the following recent grant recipients:

Berkshire County, MA:

  • 1Berkshire Strategic Alliance Foundation
  • Berkshire Community Action Council
  • Berkshire Family YMCA
  • Central Berkshire Habitat for Humanity

 Pioneer Valley, MA:

  • Baystate Health Foundation
  • Brightside for Families & Children
  • Chicopee Neighborhood Development Corporation
  • ReGreen Springfield

 Central, MA

  • The New England Center for Children
  • OARS, Inc.
  • Veterans Inc.
  • YWCA of Central Massachusetts

 Eastern, MA:

  • HomeStart, Inc.
  • The Jimmy Fund
  • Merrimack Valley Housing Partnership, Inc.
  • Victory Programs, Inc.

 Capital District, NY:

  • Center for Disability Services
  • Girls, Inc. of the Greater Capital District
  • Parsons Child & Family Center
  • Capital District YMCA

 Central, NY:

  • Hillside Work-Scholarship Connection
  • Mohawk Valley EDGE
  • SUNY Polytechnic Institute Foundation
  • United Way of the Valley & Greater Utica Area

 Connecticut

  • InterCommunity Recovery Centers, Inc.
  • Interval House
  • Connecticut Science Center
  • YMCA of Greater Hartford

 Vermont:

  • Bennington Museum
  • Hunger Free Vermont
  • Vermont Humanities Council
  • United Ways of Vermont

Lori Gazzillo, Vice President and Director of Berkshire Bank Foundation, applauded the efforts of these and many other organizations working to improve and enrich community life throughout the Bank’s footprint: “We are so pleased to be able to continue to support the important work of so many vital organizations making an impact in all of the communities that we serve,” she said.

In addition to financial support, the XTEAM®, Berkshire’s nationally acclaimed Employee Volunteer Program, provides employees with paid time off to volunteer during regular business hours; another way the Bank gives back to the community. Bank employees recently completed their Xtraordinary Day of Service on June 7 in which 95% of the company’s employees donated over 4,500 hours of service to benefit 54 organizations across the Bank’s service area.