Literacy Network of South Berkshire announces partnership with Community Learning in the Berkshires
Lee — The Literacy Network of South Berkshire has announced that it is supporting Community Learning in the Berkshires by helping to bring tutors to CLuB’s April Hill Farm program. This move is one of several recent developments in LitNet’s operations that signal the organization’s expansion into the community to support immigrants during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Per the request of CLuB’s April Hill Farm campus director Maria Rundle, voluntary LitNet tutors will provide support for children who need extra help during their remote learning days, particularly children of frontline, first responder and education workers; single parents; and immigrants from homes in which there is not an immersive English experience. All tutoring at the April Hill CLuB site happens out of doors or in well-ventilated barns, and learners and educators are all masked.
Said LitNet executive director Leigh Doherty: “CLuB represents a noble and necessary endeavor, and we find that its goals align tightly with our mission here at LitNet. Whereas we traditionally work with adult learners, we see it as an extension of our work to help support children who do not have in-school support right now and whose families struggle to find care for those children so that they can remain in the workforce.”
This addition to LitNet’s operations is one of the several ways that LitNet has pivoted throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. This fall, LitNet launched a distance learning initiative aimed at developing best practices for remote one-on-one tutoring of adult learners until it is safe to be in-person again. In recent months, LitNet has trained over 40 new tutors, paired them with learners, and received inquiries from over 60 learners who are seeking to grow their skills in ESOL, high school equivalency, and citizenship preparatory sessions.
–E.E.
* * *
Barrington Stage Company announces Spark Grants for 11 artists
Pittsfield — Barrington Stage Company has announce the first round of Spark Grants of $2,500 each to 11 artists with whom BSC has either collaborated with on past work or looks forward to collaborating with in the future. Each recipient was awarded the grant under the single condition that the money be used to spark the artist’s creativity.
The artists who have received the grants are director/choreographer Camille A. Brown; playwright Joe Calarco; playwright/lyricist Sara Cooper; composer Jenny Giering; activist, professor and playwright Keelay Gipson; actor, writer and art-ivist Daniel K. Isaac; playwright Donja R. Love; actor, singer, writer and composer Grace McLean; director and choreographer Jeffrey Page; composer, actor and writer Joël René Scoville; and singer/songwriter Niko Tsakalakos. The Spark Grants are made possible through the support of the Sydelle Blatt New Works Commissioning Program.
–E.E.
* * *
Mountainside receives highest certification from American Society of Addiction Medicine
Canaan, Conn. — Mountainside has added a new certification from the American Society of Addiction Medicine to its prior achievements. Mountainside’s residential program has earned a 3.7 level of care certification — the highest industry standard — from the ASAM. This makes Mountainside one of only 16 rehabilitation centers in the country that are ASAM 3.7 certified, and one of only three in the entire U.S. to hold this endorsement plus accreditation from CARF International and the Joint Commission.
“We have always striven to uphold a ‘loved one standard of care,’ meaning we continuously ask ourselves whether our clients are receiving the same best-in-class services we would expect and hope that our own family and friends would receive,” said Mountainside CEO Andre Basso. “Our dual accreditation status and ability to meet the selective ASAM criteria reconfirms our commitment to providing vulnerable individuals with highly efficacious medical and clinical treatment for their unique needs.”
–E.E.
* * *
Spencertown Academy meets capital campaign goal
Spencertown, N.Y. — Spencertown Academy Arts Center has announced the completion of its three-year $600,000 capital campaign. It has dedicated $500,000 to complete the restoration of the outside of its building, and $100,000 has been set aside to create a reserve fund for the ongoing maintenance. Restoration projects include a new standing seam metal roof; repaired and restored cornice, chimney, clapboard, columns, windows, steps, and fence; and a new patio and walkways.
“We are thrilled to announce that thanks to the generosity of community friends and supporters, along with an extraordinary gift from Sharon Grubin that finally put us over the top, we have reached our fundraising goal for the restoration and maintenance of our cherished 1847 Greek Revival schoolhouse,” said Nick Van Alstine, president of the Academy’s board of directors. “In return for Sharon’s gift, we will name the auditorium after her dear mother, Blanche H. Grubin. We are grateful to Sharon and to the more than 200 other donors who supported our capital campaign.”
Sharon Grubin has been a member of Spencertown Academy since 1984, when she bought a weekend house in the area. She moved to the area full-time in 2013 after retiring from her position as general counsel of the Metropolitan Opera. About her donation, she said: “I have wanted to make a major gift to the Academy for quite some time. I managed to accumulate some savings over the years, and have now reached an age that causes me to ask why I would wait until after I have died to give gifts that others need now. That thought, and the fact that the Academy was still trying to reach its goal for the restoration of the building — a project that was happening before my eyes as I drove past almost every day — led me to make the gift at this time. My mother loved visiting me in Spencertown, and I am thrilled to be able to honor and thank her for instilling in me her lifetime love of music and the arts.”
–E.E.
* * *
Leger joins Salisbury Bank
Lakeville, Conn. — Salisbury Bank has announced Brian Leger its vice president, loan servicing manager.
Leger will oversee Salisbury Bank’s loan servicing department. For the last eight years, he worked as senior business analyst at Fiserv on the DNA loan team. Prior to that, he managed commercial loan operations for UPS Capital Business Credit for eight years. He lives in Southington.
–E.E.