$15,100 Grant Benefits A Bed For Every Child
Boston, MA, April 24, 2019 – Berkshire Bank announced that the Berkshire Bank Foundation, in partnership with New England Sports Network (NESN), has awarded a $15,100 grant to A Bed For Every Child, a program of the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless, through the Berkshire Bank Exciting Assists Grant Program. Tina Giarla, Program Director for A Bed For Every Child, accepted the contribution from Berkshire Bank on air during NESN’s coverage of the Boston Bruins on March 30.
The Exciting Assists Grant program ran through March 30, 2019 and raised funds to support three charitable causes. Berkshire Bank’s Foundation provided $100 for each Boston Bruins assist during the 2019 season to the program. An assist is defined as a Bruins player who shot, passed or deflected the puck towards the scoring teammate, or touched it in any other way which enabled the goal, meaning that they were "assisting" in the goal. During the final portion of the season the Bruins had 151 assists resulting in a $15,100 grant from the Berkshire Bank Foundation.
A Bed For Every Child, a program of the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless, works with public schools, as well as other community organizations, to provide access to free twin beds for children in need. Studies have shown that for children, the amount of sleep they are able to get directly impacts their academic potential and children who have more sleep achieve higher in math, science, and reading. Last year the program reached more than 1,500 children throughout Massachusetts.
In addition to the A Bed For Every Child program, two other non-profit organizations participated in this year’s program including:
- Massachusetts Mentoring Partnership – Based in Boston, Mass Mentoring Partnership (MMP) is fueling the movement to expand empowering youth-adult relationships across Massachusetts. MMP serves more than 250 mentoring and youth development programs statewide, supporting more than 33,000 youth in mentoring relationships. They assess programmatic needs and organizational capacity, as well as provide customized strategies that empower youth, families and communities. Promotion Period: (October 3 – December 1) Grant Received: $8,000
- Bottom Line – Founded in 1997 on the belief that students need a mentor and a guide during the college application process and throughout college to succeed, Bottom Line has addressed the low college graduation rates of low-income and first-generation students. By providing consistent one-on-one support, Bottom Line has helped thousands of students stay in college and complete their degrees. Promotion Period: (December 2 – February 3, 2019) Grant Received: $14,300
In total this year’s program raised nearly $37,400. This is the third consecutive year that Berkshire Bank and NESN has teamed up to offer the Exciting Assists promotion in connection with NESN’s broadcast of the Boston Bruins. Last year the funds were shared between The Jimmy Fund, Boston Cares and Bridge Over Troubled Waters.
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About Berkshire Bank Foundation
Through foundation grants to nonprofits, scholarships to students, environmental programs, and employee volunteerism, Berkshire Bank is making a difference. Each year the Foundation donates $3 million to nonprofits throughout the Bank's footprint and 100% of bank employees provide over 40,000 hours of service through their XTEAM® corporate volunteer program. Berkshire Bank was named one of Massachusetts' Most Charitable Companies by the Boston Business Journal in 2018. To learn more about Berkshire Bank Foundation, visit www.berkshirebank.com/community.
About Berkshire Bank
Berkshire Bank is recognized for its entrepreneurial approach, relationship customer experience and distinctive culture. With $12.2 billion in assets, Berkshire provides business and consumer banking, mortgage, wealth management, investment and insurance services through 109 full service branch offices throughout New York, Connecticut, Vermont, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts, including Commerce Bank, a division of Berkshire Bank. Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE: BHLB) is the parent of Berkshire Bank. The Company has a pending agreement to acquire SI Financial Group, Inc. and its subsidiary, Savings Institute Bank and Trust Company, a $1.6 billion bank with 18 branches in Eastern CT and 5 branches in Rhode Island. To learn more, visit www.berkshirebank.com, call 800-773-5601 or follow us on: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. Berkshire Bank is the official bank of NESN's Boston Bruins coverage. Life is Exciting. Let us help®
About NESN
NESN has consistently been one of the top-rated regional sports networks in the country with award-winning Red Sox and Bruins coverage. The network is delivered to over 4 million homes throughout the six-state New England region and an additional 5 million homes nationally as NESN National. For six straight years Forbes Magazine has ranked NESN as one of the 10 Most Valuable Sports Business Brands in the World. NESN.com is one of the country’s most-visited sports websites with a state-of-the-art studio dedicated to digital video shows. NESN’s social responsibility program, NESN Connects, is proud to support and connect its employees with charitable organizations in our communities. NESN is owned by Fenway Sports Group (owners of the Boston Red Sox) and Delaware North (owners of the Boston Bruins).