Berkshire Co-op to offer needs-based and senior discounts
Great Barrington — The Berkshire Co-op Market will launch its Healthy Eats for Lower Prices (HELP) program on Saturday, Oct.1, which will give eligible shoppers a 10 percent discount on all Co-op purchases and allow greater community access to local and sustainable foods. Additionally, the Co-op will extend its current discount for seniors who are Co-op owners so that it applies to all seniors who shop at the Co-op whether or not they are Co-op owners. The 10 percent senior discount, which will also take effect on Oct. 1, will replace the current owner-only 7 percent senior discount and will be available on Wednesdays and Sundays.
Customers who currently qualify for other state or federal assistance programs will automatically be eligible for the HELP program. “We didn’t want to create a complicated application process and get into the business of income verification,” said Co-op General Manager Daniel Esko, “So we chose a list of agencies with reasonable requirements that represent a variety of needs and let them to do the research. On our end, all we require is some proof of eligibility and we don’t even need to keep the paperwork.”
Details about how to sign up for the program will be available at the Co-op when the program rolls out on Oct. 1. For more information, contact the Berkshire Co-op Market at (413) 528-9697 or community@berkshire.coop.
–E.E.
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BerkShares to offer workshops on doing business locally
Great Barrington — BerkShares, Inc. and the Berkshire Office of the Massachusetts Small Business Development Center Network are teaming up to co-facilitate a series of interactive workshops with host organizations across Berkshire County to strengthen efforts to “buy local” by aggregating community-generated local business ideas.
Workshop participants will be lead through a Rapid Business Build-Out process to develop a one-page plan for viable local business opportunities. Collectively these will become a library of business possibilities that seed the next cohort of youth entrepreneurs in BerkShares, Inc.’s Entry To Entrepreneurship program in January 2017. Each workshop will muster community support for small business success and highlight the importance of investing in youth entrepreneurship in Berkshire County while also offering the chance to learn and exercise key business planning principles.
The workshops will be:
- Monday, Sept. 12, at 12:30 p.m. at the Adams Council on Aging, Adams. Co-host: Adams Council on Aging.
- Tuesday, Sept. 20, at 5:30 p.m., at the Williams Inn, Williamstown. Co-host: Williamstown Chamber of Commerce. Register here.
- Wednesday, Sept. 28, at 4:30 p.m., at Bard College at Simon’s Rock’s Blodgett House, Great Barrington. Co-host: Southern Berkshire Chamber of Commerce.
- Saturday, Oct. 1, at 1 p.m. at the Common, First Street, Pittsfield. Co-host: Manos Unidas Harvest of Hope Festival.
- Monday, Dec. 12, at 5:30 p.m., location TBA. Co-host: Berkshire Young Professionals.
For more information, contact BerkShares, Inc., at (413) 528-1737 or info@berkshares.org.
–E.E.
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Pittsfield Cultural Council to hold grant application workshop
Pittsfield — The Pittsfield Cultural Council will present a grant application workshop along with a question-and-answer session designed to assist anyone interested in applying for funds for their 2017 arts- or culture-related projects on Wednesday, Sept. 14, from 6:30 – 7 p.m. at Hotel on North. The workshop will be followed by a reception from 7 – 8 p.m. in honor of the Council’s 2016 grant award recipients. Hors d’oeuvres will be served and there will be a cash bar. Both the workshop and the reception are free and open to all.
This year, the Council funded 37 grants totaling more than $24,000. The Council will seek applications again in the fall for the 2017 grant cycle for which it has received $24,800 in grant funding. Applications are due by Monday, Oct. 17.
For more information, contact pittsfieldculture@yahoo.com.
–E.E.
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Ventfort Hall receives grants for elevator project
Lenox — Ventfort Hall has announced that it has been awarded two grants totaling $38,000 for the installation of an elevator.
The Jane & Jack Fitzpatrick Trust has awarded Ventfort Hall a grant of $28,000 toward the elevator. Ventfort Hall has also received a $10,000 Quality of Life grant from the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation. Ventfort Hall will use the two grant awards to make its second floor fully accessible by installing an elevator. The first floor of the mansion is fully accessible, however, at this time, the second floor can only be reached by climbing a large staircase. The plan to install a two-floor lift in the 1893 mansion’s original elevator shaft will meet the need for accessibility while also maintaining the historic character of the house.
–E.E.
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Williams College seeks public input on Williams Inn design
Williamstown — Williams College is inviting members of the public to give input on the design of the new Williams Inn on Tuesday, Sept. 13, at 7 p.m. at a session to be held at the current Inn.
The college plans to build a new Inn at the base of Spring Street as part of a multi-pronged effort to bring more life to Williamstown’s commercial center. The new building is scheduled to open in 2019 with 85-95 guest rooms, function space for up to 200 people, and a restaurant/bar.
Representatives of the architecture, landscape, and interior design teams of Cambridge Seven Associates; Stephen Stimson Associates; and Bill Rooney Studio, Inc. will be at the meeting to participate in the conversation.
–E.E.
