Dalton — The Community Recreation Association (CRA) is the recent recipient of over $1.5 million in property and capital donations thanks to a gift from Mill Town, through its affiliate Trimix Foundation.
In 2018, Trimix Foundation, a 501(c)(3) private foundation founded by Dave and Gail Mixer, purchased the former home of John and Judy Kittredge at 444 Main Street. The foundation worked to restore the property and funded the building expenses, enabling the CRA to utilize the facility and assess the fit within its footprint. Mill Town founder Dave Mixer was the visionary behind the concept, with an intent to connect the CRA campus for the benefit of the community for years to come. This week, the Pittsfield-based impact investment enterprise officially gifted the property—now known as Mill & Main—to the CRA and pledged another five years of operational and capital improvement support.
“The CRA has consistently and continuously evolved to remain at the center of this community, providing programs and services that have engaged and connected this region for over a century,” said Mill Town CEO Tim Burke. “We are excited by their direction, leadership, and focus on youth initiatives as part of their current strategic plan.”
CRA Executive Director Alison Peters said the Mill & Main property gives the CRA flexibility to move some concepts from aspirational to attainable, enabling strategic plan goals such as preschool and teen programming to move forward. Local studies, as well as the CRA’s own needs assessment findings, show a lack of preschool options in Berkshire County. Preschool prepares children to enter kindergarten ready to learn academically and socially, and early-childhood education is strongly linked to later student success and positive health outcomes. “Investing in preschool sets children up for success later in life, leading to greater economic growth for them and the community,” Peters said. “We’re also developing programs that allow teens to spend time with peers, discover new interests, and express themselves in ways that help them become more self-confident, self-aware, connected, and independent.”
The Mill & Main property has been instrumental to CRA programming over the last several years and has helped create a united campus, as it is situated between the CRA’s W. Murray Crane Community House on Main Street and its Dalton Youth Center on South Carson Avenue. The CRA has moved its administrative offices to Mill & Main, freeing up space for the more than 100 social, educational, recreational, cultural, and wellness programs it offers to people of all ages.
“We know that Dave has fond memories of participating in CRA programs when he was growing up in Dalton, and we can’t thank him, and the entire Mill Town team, enough for the generosity they’ve shown the CRA,” Peters said. “Their gift has provided us more flexibility to respond to local demands and will continue to benefit us for years to come as we continue to evolve in order to meet the ever-changing needs of our community.”
Mill Town’s mission is to improve the quality of life in the Berkshire County community through sustainable investments and projects. Mill Town was founded in 2016 with a vision of driving positive business development and community impact throughout the region. Since then, their focus and activities have evolved into a unique blend of traditional investment, impact investment, and sustainable philanthropy.
The CRA’s mission is to build a sense of community by offering social, educational, recreational, cultural, and wellness programs to the central Berkshire community in a safe, welcoming, and inclusive environment.
