News from our members

Berkshire Bank Announces Nearly $600k in Community Investments in Q1 2023

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Berkshire-XTEAM-Volunteers-assist-with-Habitat-for-Humanity-build-in-Rhode-Island

Caption: Berkshire XTEAM volunteers assist with Habitat for Humanity build in Eastern CT

Pittsfield, MA – Berkshire Bank, a leading, socially responsible community bank with financial centers in New England and New York, announced its foundation provided $584,361 in philanthropic investments during the first quarter of 2023 (January 1- March 31) to foster upward economic mobility, racial equity, and enhance opportunities for success in the regions Berkshire Bank serves. The investments also support the company’s BEST Community Comeback which includes a planned $15 million in community contributions by the end of 2024.

In total, the Berkshire Bank Foundation assisted 120 nonprofit organizations during the quarter with grants to support a wide range of critical projects including small business entrepreneurship, housing, food insecurity, homelessness, educational advancement, youth, arts, culture, diversity, and inclusion. Ultimately, funding helped support the overall health and well-being of communities across New England and New York, particularly for underrepresented populations.

“We are proud to continue our strong support of the communities that Berkshire Bank serves. Beyond our financial contributions, we continue to amplify our impact though our XTEAM employee volunteer program, regularly assisting with projects to help those in need in our communities,” said Lori Gazzillo Kiely, Managing Director of Berkshire Bank Foundation. She continued, “We are pleased to make these contributions to support individuals, families, and small businesses within our markets.”

The grant recipients listed below are just a sample of the projects Berkshire Bank supported to strengthen organizations throughout Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Vermont. They include:
Angel of Edgewood, Inc. (CT)
Berkshire Immigrant Center Inc (MA)
Berkshire Resources for the Integration of Diverse Groups and Education, Inc. (MA)
Berkshire Pride (MA)
Berkshire Agricultural Ventures (MA)
Blackshires Community Empowerment Foundation (MA)
Boys & Girls Club of Worcester (MA)
Capital District Women’s Employment & Resource Center, Inc. (known as WERC) (NY)
Community Access to the Arts (MA)
Community Catalyst, Inc. (MA)
Community Loan Fund of the Capital Region, Inc (NY)
CNY Jazz Central (NY)
Economic Mobility Pathways (MA)
Enfield Pride (CT)
Goodwill Industries of the Berkshires & Southern Vermont, Inc (VT)
Habitat for Humanity of Eastern Connecticut (CT)
Hillcrest Educational Centers, Inc.
Homeless and Travelers Aid Society (NY)
Literacy Volunteers of Greater Hartford (CT)
Make-A-Wish Foundation of Massachusetts and Rhode Island (MA & RI)
Make-It Springfield (MA)
Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance (MA)
Massachusetts Women of Color Coalition Inc (MA)
Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires (NPC) (MA)
Rhode Island Community Food Bank (RI)
Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center Foundation (CT)
Senior Citizens Center of Saratoga Springs Inc (NY)
Seven Hills Foundation (MA)
Soldier On, Inc. f/k/a United Veterans of America, Inc. (MA)
State University Of New York Polytechnic Institute Foundation (NY)
ToLife! Inc (NY)
The Arc Eastern Connecticut (CT)
The Stratton Mountain & Valley Community Benefit Foundation (VT)
UMass Medical School Foundation (MA)
Vermont Green-up Inc (VT)
Vermont Works for Women (VT)
Wildwood Foundation (NY)
Why Me, Inc (MA)

Joeci Gilchrest, You Name It Creatives LLC, Lunenburg, MA: 2023 Rising Star Winner

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“CWE has given me an opportunity to be part of a community of like-minded individuals who are all pulling in the same direction as me and to also finally find the answers to questions I have been asking for a long time.” – Joeci Gilchrest

What inspired Joeci’s Business?
Joeci started her business, You Name It Creatives, the day after Gov. Baker declared a state of emergency in Massachusetts due to the Covid-19 pandemic as a way to spend more time with family. She believes all families, no matter their socioeconomic situation, deserve to live in a home that makes them proud. She offers quality craftsmanship and education to families that need help keeping their homes safe and beautiful. Joeci feels that no matter the socioeconomic situation, all families deserve to live in a home that makes them proud.

Business Highlight
Joeci has gained an applicable understanding of what it takes to operate and scale a small business. By discovering her true value is family and community, she was able to transition from scaling her business toward major projects to focusing on lower-income households that other companies won’t consider. She offers home and office improvement through maintaining, repairing, or even replacing your home or office. Her services include carpentry, painting, gutter cleaning, and pressure washing. She specializes in basement finishing, deck building, and interior/exterior painting and also maintains relationships with her clients through her ongoing handyman services!

How Has CWE Helped Her in Her Journey?
Joeci’s connection with CWE helped her finally find the answers to questions she had been looking for and was not able to find anywhere else. Her coursework, student interaction and experiences with CWE have provided her with a better understanding of what it takes to operate a small-scale business and have also enabled her to discover a community of supportive and like-minded individuals who are pulling in the same direction as her. With CWE, Joeci has discovered that her true value is family and community and this knowledge has helped her transition from scaling her business towards major profits to focusing on lower-income households that other companies do not consider.

First Line Supervisor Training

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Front Line Supervisor TrainingUpskill Your Employees, Build Your Supervisory Pool

This 90-hour, practical supervisory course takes strong performers and develops them into strong leaders. This course is designed for employees that were promoted to supervisor as well as those employees you are cultivating to a supervisory position.

Key topics include:

  • Effective Communication
  • Team Building
  • Time Management
  • Planning and Goal Setting
  • Problem Solving and Decision Making
  • Performance Management

100% grant reimbursement is available for companies with fewer than 100 employees or 50% reimbursement for those with greater than 100 employees.

The course is offered in either a 90-hour or 150-hour length, with live instructor-led sessions via Zoom.

The next open session runs from June 20 through October 26. Don’t wait! Contact us today to sign up!

Contact Kristine Asselin at 978-630-9156 or email .

Learn More

Spring Breakfast

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Spring Breakfast

It’s the start of the busy spring building season — help us to kick it off at the Habitat NCM annual Spring Breakfast!

You’ll enjoy a scrumptious breakfast and hear news of our latest builds in Acton and Fitchburg, our Critical Home Repair program, meet our newest Acton homeowners, and celebrate long-term volunteers.

Our Keynote Speaker this year is RoxanaTrabulsi, author of Of Mud and Honey, a book about how strength, love and faith are pushed to their limits overnight as one family in Yemen embarks on the fight of their lives.

We really hope you can come to this fun and FREE event.

Register Now

3D Printing Basics Class

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WBI Flyer 3D-Printing Classes

Learn the fundamentals of 3D Printing at one of our 2-hour sessions including:

  • How 3D printers work
  • How to “slice” your model for printing
  • How to troubleshoot common problems

Where: Wachusett Business Incubator, 31 Lake Street, Gardner, MA 01440. Each class will be

Class Size: Up to 5 participants for each available session

When: Select from May 2 at 7 PM; May 3 at 4 PM or 7 PM; or May 6 at 10 AM or 1 PM

Instructor: Glenn Eaton

Cost: FREE

Register Now

NEH grant will support downtown theater project

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Fitchburg State Black Box interiorThe National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has awarded Fitchburg State University $500,000 to support the development of a performing arts center on Main Street.

The grant, announced Tuesday, April 18, was awarded by the NEH Challenge Grant program, and will catalyze additional fundraising efforts by the university.

The NEH grant will support the construction of a 15,830-square-foot “black box” theater adjacent to the historic theater at 717 Main St. in the heart of downtown Fitchburg. The new space will support university students and the community, serving as an applied humanities learning laboratory for students as well as a mechanism to drive downtown revitalization through expanded arts and cultural experiences.

University President Richard S. Lapidus said the successful application for these competitive grant dollars was a validation of the institutional belief in the importance of the humanities in the future of higher education.

“We are grateful to the NEH for supporting this public-private partnership that will be transformative for our students while enhancing the quality of life in the city and region,” President Lapidus said. “This theater space will create singular learning opportunities for students, provide a state of the art resource for community groups, and drive the continuing revitalization of downtown Fitchburg.”

The 250-seat, black box theater represents the second phase of the project, which began with the university’s purchase of the historic theater in 2016. The building is already home to the university’s game studio for senior students in the game design major, as well as the interdisciplinary ideaLab that supports the development and growth of new and existing businesses in the community. Since its inception, the ideaLab has served 257 small businesses, including 150 low-moderate income owners, 115 women owners, 88 immigrant/ESL owners, and provided grants and loans totaling $3.37 million.

The black box will also include infrastructure that will serve the future renovation of the historic theater itself. When completed, the site will comprise the Fitchburg State University Performing Arts Center. The project complements major development efforts downtown including the restoration of City Hall, the upcoming renovation of the Fitchburg Public Library, and the conversion of the former B.F. Brown School into 60 units of artist live/work space.

Construction of the black box is expected to begin in 2024.

The Profit Finders Event for April 12th – Take the $100K Challenge

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Do you feel like your business is stuck? Frustrated because you’ve tried so many things to grow your business and nothing seems to work?

On April 12th, challenge The Chamber’s “Profit Finder”, Brian Carmody, who says he can find $100,000 in new revenue and profit for your business in under 1 hour!

Only 9 appointment slots are available for business owners that day.

Sign up before your competition does for this potentially life-changing experience.

Berkshire Bank Recognized as one of America’s Most Trustworthy Companies

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Boston – Berkshire Bank, a leading, socially responsible community bank with financial centers in New England and New York, is excited to announce it was recently recognized in Newsweek magazine’s list of America’s Most Trustworthy Companies 2023.  The list features the top 700 most trustworthy companies across 23 industries.

The Newsweek list recognized companies for their dedication to building trust with all stakeholders. Results were based on a holistic approach to evaluating trust that considered customer trust, employee trust, and investor trust.

“Trust is the foundation of all banking relationships,” said Berkshire Bank CEO Nitin Mhatre. “This award reflects the passionate commitment of all Berkshire bankers working hard every day to earn the trust of our customers by treating them fairly and with respect, safeguarding and growing their hard-earned assets, being there for them in good times and bad, and prioritizing transparency and integrity at every stakeholder touchpoint. We are proud to be ranked as one of the most trustworthy companies and banks in the country for the second consecutive year.”

America’s Most Trustworthy Companies 2023 were identified in an independent survey based on a vast sample of approximately 25,000 U.S. residents who rated companies they know in terms of on all three touchpoints of trust. A total of 95,000 evaluations were submitted. This prestigious award is presented by Newsweek and Statista Inc., the world-leading statistics portal and industry ranking provider.

About Berkshire Bank
Berkshire Bank, founded in 1846, is becoming a high-performing, leading, socially responsible community bank. It empowers the financial potential of its stakeholders by making banking available where, when and how it’s needed through an uncompromising focus on exceptional customer service, digital banking, and positive community impact. Providing a wide range of financial solutions through its consumer banking, commercial banking and wealth management divisions, the bank has approximately $11.7 billion in assets and a community-based footprint of 100 financial centers in Massachusetts, New York, Vermont, Connecticut and Rhode Island. Headquartered in Boston, Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE: BHLB) is the parent of Berkshire Bank. Named one of America’s Most Trusted Companies by Newsweek and America’s Best Midsize Employers by Forbes, Berkshire is also listed in the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index and a Best Place to Work for LGBTQ+ Equality. To learn more, visit www.berkshirebank.com or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. 

NewVue Communities Chooses Dolores Thibault-Munoz as its New Deputy Director

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Dolores Thibault-Muñoz

NewVue Communities is excited to welcome Dolores Thibault-Muñoz in the newly-created position of Deputy Director. Dolores started in the role on March 10th and will be overseeing NewVue’s housing services, community organizing, small business development, and fundraising and communications teams.

NewVue’s Executive Director, Marc Dohan said, “Dolores brings a combination of skills, leadership experience, and an understanding of the region’s economic development needs that will support NewVue’s mission, strengthen our programs and stretch our impact. She offers a breadth and depth of human service experience in a variety of work settings, and we are fortunate to have her join our team.”

Dolores moved to Fitchburg, MA in 2006, where she became the executive director of the Cleghorn Neighborhood Center. She then became interim executive director of Growing Places and House of Peace and Education Inc. Dolores has served on multiple boards of local organizations. She was also the first Latina elected City Councilor in the City of Fitchburg. Dolores graduated from DePaul University with a BA in Women’s and Gender Studies with a concentration in Public Policy and graduated with a JD from The Massachusetts School of Law. She most recently was a criminal defense attorney who represented indigent clients for the Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS), Massachusetts’ Public Defender Agency in Worcester County. She currently lives in Gardner, MA.