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Grants Awarded to Local Youth for International Community Service

Mali, Peru, Ghana, and China are among the countries where local youth will perform community services this summer, thanks to grants from the Alice and Richard Henriquez Fund/Youth World Awareness Program, a fund of Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation. Eight high school students and four nonprofit organizations received grants totaling $12,987 from the program, which supports travel and humanitarian work in foreign countries by young people ages 14-22. 

Grants were awarded to: 

Annalena Barrett, Housatonic, MA: To participate in The Enkosini Eco Experience in South Africa where volunteers work with the local land and wildlife. 

Karen Hunt, Hudson, NY: To volunteer at the Drifting Angels Orphanage in the Volta Region of Ghana. 

Peter Moon, Lakeville, CT: To work with towns and villages in Latin America on health and education related project to improve their communities. 

Hallie Novak, Richmond, MA: To volunteer in an orphanage in Hangzhou, China, organized by Red Thread Tours & Services. 

Danika Padilla, Great Barrington, MA: To volunteer in a sustainable community development in Guatemala. 

Rebecca Palmer, Falls Village, CT: To continue her work with Project Muso Ladamunen (Project for the Empowered Woman) in Mali. 

Christopher Stern, Litchfield, CT: To participate in a construction project and cultural immersion program in Peru. 

Church Outreach to Youth Project, Inc., North Adams, MA: To aid student teams participating in the Haiti Plunge Program, which builds infrastructure and helps to create job opportunities for Haitians in Haiti’s Central Plateau. 

“I am so grateful to The Henriquez Fund for helping me on my way to Africa”, said Annalena Barrett. “I can't wait to work with the other volunteers that are coming from around the world and to help out on a nature reserve that fights to protect African wildlife and lands. I could not have done it without this assistance!” 

A committee of local residents reviews the grant applications based on the potential impact of the experience on the applicant, the ability of the applicant to carry out the project, and the likelihood of the project to have a positive impact on the community served.  The next deadline for The Alice and Richard Henriquez Fund/Youth World Awareness Program grant application is February 1, 2012. Applications are available online at www.berkshiretaconic.org/grantseekers

Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation builds stronger communities and improves the quality of life for all residents of northwest Litchfield County, CT; Berkshire County, MA; and Columbia County and northeast Dutchess County, NY, acting as an agent for positive change in the region. Since 1987, Berkshire Taconic has managed a growing collection of charitable funds created by individuals, families and businesses. Each year, the foundation distributes over $7 million through grants and scholarships for programs in the arts and education, health and human services and environmental protection, helping thousands of donors achieve their philanthropic goals and hundreds of nonprofits carry on their good work. Berkshire Taconic is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity.  

Earthwork Programs


ONGOING & UPCOMING PROGRAMS

WolfQuest Amherst After school--Winter Session, starting in February, right after school 

Heron 1/2 Day Homeschool Program
Tuesdays, 1:00-4:00 p.m.

Northampton or Amherst
Ages 6+, $30-$40/class, sliding scale (10-week Spring session)
Call 413-522-0338 if you want MORE information!!
Outdoor adventure with Earthwork Programs; hands-on experiences in animal tracking, wilderness survival, fire making, wild edibles, shelter building, peer mentoring, so much more! Visit www.earthworkprograms.com or call 413-522-0338 for more information!

Leader in Training Wilderness Skills Summer Camp: For preteens and teens who want to practice wilderness skills while learning to peer mentor with Earthwork Programs. June 20-24, 9:00 am-3:00 pm; Conway, MA; $225-$300, sliding scale. LITs can attend At Home in the Woods Summer Camps for 1/2 price! www.earthworkprograms.com. Or call 413-522-0338.

At Home in the Woods Summer Camps
Wilderness skills, nature awareness, animal tracking, fire building, knife safety, games and fun with Earthwork Programs! 7 weeks--attend 1 or all! Various locations in the Pioneer Valley. Ages 8-12. All Camps are Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. $225-$300, sliding scale. Visit www.earthworkprograms.com for schedule and details. Or call 413-522-0338.

EARTHWORK EXPEDITIONS for TEENS Summer Camp
August 8-14, 2011 (overnight), West Chesterfield, MA
Here’s an opportunity for young adults, about to become young women or men, to develop a sense of self, connect deeply with the natural world, experience and reflect profoundly on human community, and grow an identity as leaders, visionaries and team workers. 7 days/6 nights. Activities can include wilderness skills, backpacking, cordage making, knife safety, primitive cooking, orienteering, basket-making and so much more! $1,200 for the week (scholarships are available); limit of 12 teens. Register online, www.earthworkprograms.com, or call Kira at 413-582-0346 for details. 

Wild Food Immersion Series
Sunday, May 15, Late Spring Edibles, 1:00-4:00 pm

Earthwork Programs presents a Wild Food Immersion Series...a “how to” experience that builds confidence and competence in gathering. Join us for 8 classes throughout the Spring and Summer. Learn to identify, process, prepare, cook, preserve and eat on the spot! A unique experience for teens, families, adults (limit of 6). $35, family rates are available. Various locations in the Pioneer Valley. Visit www.earthworkprograms.com or call 413-522-0338 for more information! 

Pothole Pictures

Memorial Hall Theater, 51 Bridge Street, Shelburne Falls
www.shelburnefallsmemorialhall.org 

Pothole Pictures to screen “Striking A Chord” documentary on Saturday, May 21 As the season opener for its Summer film series Musician Nell Bryden to perform live in concert after the film and talk about her USO tour to Iraq, along with local veterans and support groups. 

How far would you go to support our troops?  Nell Bryden, who grew up in the Amherst area and moved on to an international music career, traveled twice to Iraq last year to perform for U.S. combat troops.  A 2010 documentary, Striking A Chord, follows Bryden and her band on her USO concert tour through the war zone as she performs and visits with U.S. soldiers in the field.  The film connects music with the challenges of combat stress for many returning soldiers.

Striking A Chord will be screened on Saturday, May 21 at 7:30 pm at Pothole Pictures in the historic 400-seat Memorial Hall Theater, located at 51 Bridge Street in downtown Shelburne Falls.  The one-night-only showing will be the opening film of Pothole Pictures’ summer season of classic and independent films.   

Nell Bryden, who now makes her home in London, will appear in Shelburne Falls the night of the film, and will perform a mini-concert after the screening featuring several songs she has written and composed that are on the pop music charts in England and Ireland.  She will also talk briefly about the film and take audience questions.  Area veterans and veteran support organizations are invited to join the discussion.

The 39-minute film, directed by Susan Cohn Rockefeller, reveals the bridging and healing role music can play, communicating in a different mode apart from the politics of the war.  Interviews with soldiers address the post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD) and other challenges facing many on their return home.  Veteran support groups invited to participate in the post-film discussion include Soldier On, a non-profit based in Leeds that provides housing and social services for homeless veterans, and local veterans who are members of Veterans for Peace.

Striking A Chord  at Pothole Pictures May 21 

According to Pothole Pictures volunteer, Andrew Baker, “Pothole Pictures documentary film screenings present lively opportunities to discuss current issues as a community and to meet and talk with local people involved in making films.  Nell Bryden grew up here in the Pioneer Valley and is becoming an honest-to-God pop star.  As her cousin, I’m particularly proud to welcome her to Sheburne Falls to present her film.”  He added, “Striking A Chord documents an amazing personal journey through music to talk about the challenges of combat stress for soldiers returning home.  With the Iraq war now winding down, our task as a society is to support all who served, whether we supported the war or not. Nell Bryden went to Iraq to participate in that homecoming welcome.” 

Nell Bryden’s 2009 album “What Does It Take” has enjoyed critical acclaim, reaching #1 on the iTunes Blues chart in September, 2010.  Janice Long of BBC radio writes, “Nell takes bluegrass, jazz and country mashes it up and belts it out. She can play, has a voice to die for, writes great songs and I am starting to think I hate her. Too much talent should not be allowed.”  The Irish Times reports, “The new disc marks yet another step for this talented performer; she still tugs heartstrings in ballads like “Only Life I Know,” but “Tonight” and “Late Night Call” reveal a playful sass previously reserved for her live dates.” 

Nell Bryden was born in Brooklyn, NY and raised by artist parents.  She graduated from Amherst Regional High School and now lives in London.  She tours primarily in the UK and Ireland and her music features regularly on the BBC Playlist and on the British charts.  For more information on Nell Bryden and her music, visit www.nellbryden.com.

Pothole Pictures is a volunteer-run community movie theater that has been showing classic, independent and locally made films on the big screen in a historic town hall theater since 1995.  Movie tickets can be purchased in advance (Five tickets for $20) or at the door ($6 adults, $4 children).  For more information, contact Fred DeVecca at (413) 625-2896 or visit the web site at www.shelburnefallsmemorialhall.org.

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Help Wanted:   Pet Loving People

Pampered Pet Sitting, LLC now has openings for pet sitters, in the Hampshire County area.  Applicants must be reliable, dependable and somewhat flexible. We are hiring for more than one position. Areas that we need sitters:   Ashfield, Chesterfield, Worthington, Whately and Hatfield. Someone able to do multiple towns, would be a bonus. This is a part time, as needed position. Please email for an application and more information. Candy@PamperedPetSit.net.

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ZOAR OUTDOOR HOSTS 8TH ANNUAL DEMOFEST

Zoar Outdoor will be hosting the 7th Annual DemoFest, June 24 - 26, 2011 on the Deerfield River in western, Massachusetts. DemoFest is a free event open to the public designed to give paddlers the latest information on the whitewater industry. It is an opportunity to test out boats, use paddles, and get some instruction from some of the most accomplished paddlers in the country. 
This year will be a free clinic- "Smart Start/Intro to Kayaking" for beginners 9 am - 12 noon on Saturday and Sunday. This clinic will use sit-on-top kayaks which provide an easy way for beginner paddlers to try out kayaking. The paddler sits on top of the boat instead of being inside the boat wearing a sprayskirt. The boats are more stable and less tippy than whitewater kayaks.
Manufacturer representatives, Team Z members and Zoar Outdoor instruction staff will give free technique clinics on the Deerfield River through out the weekend. There will be the full line of whitewater boats will be available for demo. Saturday evening will feature a BBQ from 5 - 6:30 pm and a film presentation from 6:30 - 8 pm.
Free mini-clinics include improving your roll, river runs, freestyle, kids clinics, stroke timing & efficiency to name a few. Demofest runs from 9 am - 4 pm each day. A more detailed schedule is available at www.zoaroutdoor.com/demofest.htm.
Pre-registration is highly recommended since space is limited space available for the mini-clinics.    Walk-ins are welcome on a space-availabile basis.  All boat demos are first come, first served and can not be reserved ahead of time.  Boat Demos are available for mini-clinics, but no more than 2 hrs.  Pre-order a lunch for $8.50. Reservations can be made by calling 800-532-7483.

Volunteers keep 115 year old Trolley on Track

Open House Training and Orientation Day May 21st for interested individuals of all ages

With a “ding-ding” of the bell, Sam Bartlett ratchets up the electric power on car Number Ten. The hundred and fifteen year old wooden trolley responds and pulls away from the station at Salmon Falls. Sam is a motorman and wears several other hats at the Shelburne Falls Trolley museum, a stone’s throw from the glacial potholes and Historic Bridge of Flowers in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts.
Volunteers at the museum provide rides on the trolley and other historic railroad equipment, guide interpretive tours, repair the railroad tracks and are in the process of restoring many of the historic buildings and railroad equipment in the former Boston and Main railroad yard.
As the museum gears up for the spring operating season and opening day , they are on the lookout for fresh recruits interested in restoring and  carrying on the traditions of the trolley car era.
On Saturday, May 21st, the museum will host a training and orientation day for seasoned members as well as interested individuals.

Date: May 21st, 2011

Time: 10:00a – 1 PM

Where: Shelburne Falls Trolley Museum, Depot Street, Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts

E-mail: Trolley@sftm.org for more information

“There are opportunities for almost every interest in railroads and history here at the museum”, says Bartlett.  There are also volunteers working in restoration programs of various railroad equipment and structures, including a track mobile and caboose. “We have had a number of volunteers who just wanted to learn about the railroad tracks and repairing them” adds Bartlett. “Recently, we spent the spring replacing railroad ties on our main track to improve ride comfort and stability”. Most of the museum’s rail infrastructure dates back to the twenties and thirties, and the museum volunteers have rehabilitated about 50% of the railroad thus far.  The museum has an extensive collection of historic rail road equipment which is still used to repair the track. This includes a hundred year old “pump car” used by track repair crews which also rolls out on the weekends for visitor rides.

Besides the physical aspects of track repair at the museum, volunteers are also working on many interesting projects, including:

·         Operating Trolley Number Ten on the weekends and Holidays for passengers as Motormen and Conductors

·         Restoring a beautiful old wooden Caboose that still operates on special event days 

·         Starting on a restoration project of another Springfield Wason Car, which now resides as a living room attached to a home and will be moved soon to the museum

·         Painting and making routine repairs to Trolley Number Ten

·         Restoring a Freight House which once handled nearly all the freight commerce in the town

·         Updating the archives at the Interpretative Museum

·         Working on Engineering and Planning for several railroad track extensions and expansions, including an extension down Depot Street to the Bridge of Flowers

Last year, the Shelburne Falls Trolley museum was one of the few area attractions to report a nearly record year of attendance, with visitors from around the United States. It is ideally positioned adjacent to the scenic town of Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts. In fact, the museum and town have important historical ties, since Trolley Number 10 is the original Trolley which ran across the Bridge of Flowers. The Bridge became a flower bridge after the trolley closed in the late twenties.

For more information about joining this exciting museum as a volunteer, log onto www.sftm.org or call the museum at 413-625-9443.

Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation Sponsors Two Local Executive Directors for Harvard Business School Intensive Nonprofit Management Program  

Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation announced today that full scholarships have been awarded to two executive directors: Jenny Hansell of North East Community Center in Millerton, NY and Bryan Ayars of Community Health Programs in Great Barrington, MA. They will attend Harvard Business School for a week-long intensive training program: Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management. This program is designed to strengthen the capacity of nonprofit directors to lead their organizations effectively. The program will take place July 17-23 2011. 
Through a partnership with Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, Harvard Business School has, for the second year, provided two scholarships, valued at $4,900 each for the week-long program. Ms. Hansell and Mr. Ayars were selected from a pool of thirteen applicants.  The advisory board of Berkshire Taconic’s Center for Nonprofit Excellence accepted them based on the quality of their applications and the diversity of experience that these CEOs would bring to the program.  
“We are thrilled to be sending two such worthy nonprofit leaders to this wonderful program,” said Jennifer Dowley, Berkshire Taconic’s president, who attended the program herself in July of 2008. “It is an invaluable experience to learn from the best, both faculty and fellow attendees.  In these challenging times, it is important for us all to remain attuned to the best thinking there is on management strategies.”  
Jenny Hansell currently serves as the Executive Director of North East Community Center (NECC). In that capacity, she oversees a multitude of programs including an after school program for middle and elementary school students, The Millerton Farmers Market, a farm and food education program and a family support program, among others that work to support NECC’s mission to build a healthy, caring, responsive and welcoming community and act as a catalyst for that community vision.
“It's a rare gift to have a week to read, think, discuss and reflect, along with other nonprofit leaders and some of the best thinkers in the field, about how to prepare NECC to meet the challenges of this next phase,” said Ms. Hansell. “We have some new projects on the horizon that will allow us to make a greater impact on our community than we ever have before, and I want to make sure we have the sharpest, most effective tools and strategies we possibly can.”
Bryan Ayars is Executive Director of Community Health Programs, a 35 year old nonprofit with the mission of providing residents of Berkshire County with high quality preventative and primary care services. These services are integrated with a broad spectrum of support services-regardless of ability to pay insurance status or immigrant status. 
"I am thrilled to have opportunity to learn from the leaders in nonprofit leadership, and anxious to share what I learn with CHP and other organizations working to improve our communities," said Mr. Ayars. 
The participants will attend the program with over 140 other nonprofit leaders from around the world, using a case study method of learning. The program encompasses several themes, such as formulating strategy in complex environments, achieving internal alignment with strategic vision, bridging mission and markets, and leading change. The program is part of the Harvard Business School’s Social Enterprise Initiative, which helps leaders in all sectors apply management skills to create social value.  Through an integrated approach to social enterprise-related teaching, research and activities, the Social Enterprise Initiative engages with leaders in the nonprofit, for–profit and public sectors to generate and disseminate practicable resources, tools and knowledge with the ultimate goal of bettering society. 
The scholarship is offered through Berkshire Taconic’s Center for Nonprofit Excellence, which offers services and resources to help the staff, board and volunteers of nonprofits think strategically, govern effectively and operate efficiently. In addition to this scholarship, the Center offers seminars in nonprofit management; two national grants research databases; and the Nonprofit Learning Program in northwest Connecticut which provides teams from several nonprofits with an intensive learning opportunity each spring.
Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation builds stronger communities and improves the quality of life for all residents of northwest Litchfield County, CT; Berkshire County, MA; and Columbia County and northeast Dutchess County, NY, acting as an agent for positive change in the region. Since 1987, Berkshire Taconic has managed a growing collection of charitable funds created by individuals, families and businesses. Each year, the foundation distributes over $7 million through grants and scholarships for programs in the arts and education, health and human services and environmental protection, helping thousands of donors achieve their philanthropic goals and hundreds of nonprofits carry on their good work. Berkshire Taconic is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity.