Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation

Record $35,000 Raised for Berkshire Taconic’s Neighbor-to-Neighbor Program

November 2, 2011

SHEFFIELD, MA—This year marked the sixth in a row that Hammertown Barn, the award-winning home and lifestyle store in Pine Plains, Great Barrington and Rhinebeck, held a reception and auction hosted by Fund for Columbia County and Northeast Dutchess Fund, two charitable funds of Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation. This year the event brought in a record $35,000 for the two funds. The Fund for Columbia County and Northeast Dutchess Fund will direct all proceeds from the event to the Foundation’s Neighbor-to-Neighbor program.

“We are humbled that in these times, our community has once again come out in full force for their neighbors in need,” said Sally Berg, co-chair of the Fund for Columbia County. “The Neighbor-to-Neighbor program continues to be a much-needed source of emergency aid for hundreds of individuals in our rural area.”

In addition to the reception and auction, Hammertown Barn donated 10% of sales during the week following the event. The event was sponsored by Bank of Millbrook, Dutchess Oil & Propane, Film 44-Peter Berg, Green Peas TV, Hammertown Barn, Laura & Arthur Hyde, McLaughlin & Stern, LLP and Salisbury Bank.

The Neighbor-to-Neighbor program helps individuals and families who face serious economic challenges by covering past due utility bills, assisting with rent payments or medical emergencies. All requests to Neighbor-to-Neighbor must come through a social service agency or church. One-time grants of approximately $500 are made directly to the vendors involved (e.g. the landlord or utility company). Families and individuals in Columbia and Northeast Dutchess counties who feel they qualify for assistance from Neighbor-to-Neighbor are urged to contact: Columbia Opportunities in Columbia County at 518.828.4611; in northeast Dutchess: 845.264.4675 or 845.235.5713.

The Fund for Columbia County and the Northeast Dutchess Fund are two of Berkshire Taconic’s area funds. Area funds are community funds that focus on a particular town or cluster of towns within the Foundation’s catchment area. They are overseen by volunteers from the community and their mission is to build philanthropic giving in their specific area. Berkshire Taconic provides all of the legal, administrative, financial, investment support for their work. Over the last decade, these two funds have distributed over $1.1 million in grants to over 230 local nonprofits.

For more information or to donate visit our website or call 413.229.0370.

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.

###