Buccino named Clinician of the Year
Great Barrington — Dr. Deborah Buccino has been selected as the Berkshire District Medical Society’s 2018 Community Clinician of the Year, an award recognizing professionalism and contributions as a physician.
Buccino, who practices general pediatrics at MACONY Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, is a graduate of Yale University and Harvard Medical School, and completed a residency in pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital in 1996. A board-certified pediatrician and fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Buccino serves as school physician at Berkshire School and previously held the same role at Bard College at Simon’s Rock. She is an instructor of pediatrics with Boston University School of Medicine and also engages young medical learners at MACONY Pediatrics, which facilitates students through the year doing pediatric clerkship to gain experience in a rural setting.
Buccino completed the REACH Institute’s mini-fellowship in patient-centered mental health for pediatric primary care and is a credentialed ImPACT concussion specialist. In 2015, Buccino became aware of growing problems in Berkshire County associated with increasing poverty, substance misuse and household dysfunction — Adverse Childhood Experiences associated with later medical and psychological disability. Existing resources could not keep up with the 700 percent increase in emotional disabilities seen at the local elementary school. In response, and often volunteering her time, Buccino partnered with Muddy Brook Regional Elementary School principal Mary Berle and Berkshire Faculty Services’ South County care coordinator Adrian Conklin, RN, to create a collaborative care team.
–E.E.
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Lenox nominated for ‘Best Small Town Cultural Scene’
Lenox — The Lenox Chamber of Commerce has announced that Lenox has been nominated in USA Today’s 10Best Readers’ Choice travel awards contest for “Best Small Town Cultural Scene.”
Contest voters may vote once a day from multiple devices for the run of the contest for the candidate of their choice. Voting will end Monday, May 14, at 11:59 a.m. EDT and the winners will be announced Friday, May 18, at noon EDT.
Last year, Lenox won the 10Best award for “Best Northeastern Small Town.”
–E.E.
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Berkshire United Way to hold Live United community celebration
Great Barrington — Berkshire United Way’s Live United community celebration will be held Thursday, April 26, from 4 to 6 p.m. at Crissey Farm.
The event, which celebrates the organization’s volunteers, will spotlight some of Berkshire United Way’s investments in South County and include the presentation of the Robert K. Agar Jr. Volunteerism Award to Jim Murray and Ray Murray of Ray Murray Inc. In addition, former Construct Inc. executive director Cara Davis will be honored with the Daniel C. Dillon Helping Hands Caring Heart Award. The winner of the Target Employee Campaign Coordinator Award will be announced.
The cost of the event is $25. For more information or to register, see the Berkshire Edge calendar or call (413) 442-6948.
–E.E.
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VIM Berkshires is finalist in Nonprofit Excellence Awards
Great Barrington — Volunteers in Medicine Berkshires has been selected as a finalist for the 2018 Nonprofit Excellence Awards in the Innovation category.
The awards are made annually by the Massachusetts Nonprofit Network, a Boston-based agency representing both large and small nonprofit organizations in the Commonwealth. In addition to Innovation, the Nonprofit Excellence Awards include the categories of Advocacy, Collaboration, Young Professionals, Small Non-Profits and Leadership.
“VIM Berkshires has been an innovator in our Volunteer Drivers, Social Determinants of Health and Non-Opioid Pain Management programs,” said VIM executive director Ilana Steinhauer, FNP. “We’re grateful for the statewide recognition of our ground-breaking work that this finalist status will bring.”
The awards are presented annually at the State House on Nonprofit Awareness Day, a state holiday signed into law by former Gov. Deval Patrick in 2007. This year’s celebration will be held Monday, June 4, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and will be followed by a Lobby Day event.
–E.E.
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Pungl announces matching donation event
Housatonic — Online fundraising marketplace Pungl has announced a new matching-donation initiative. Through Pungl, nonprofits and other organizations can partner with local businesses and individuals who then match donations received through the Pungl marketplace. This allows donors to double their impact with a single gift, providing much-needed funds to a variety of worthy causes.
The first matching donation will take place Tuesday, May 1. T Square Design Studio will match, dollar for dollar, all donations made that day to Music in Common’s Amplify Berkshires fundraising project, a three-week program that kicks off with a MIC JAMMS workshop in which selected musicians will work with professional musicians and producers to write and record their own song. They will spend the remainder of the time learning and rehearsing a dozen JAMMS songs written by previous participants from around the world, which will be performed Sunday, Aug. 26, in a public concert. T Square will match up to 10 donations, which will fund the entire project.
Pungl plans to create monthly matching-donation days. On Friday, June 1, a second match will fund Indwe Learning Centers’ Connecting through Adventure in South Africa project.
–E.E.
