Pittsfield, MA – Berkshire Bank, America's Most Exciting Bank®, announced that in partnership with New England Sports Network (NESN), has awarded a $14,000 grant to The Jimmy Fund & Dana Farber Cancer Institute through the Berkshire Bank Exciting Assists Grant Program. Dr. Pasi Janne, Program Director, Lowe Center for Thoracic Oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute accepted the contribution from Gary Levante, Berkshire Bank's Assistant Vice President of Community Engagement during NESN's broadcast of the Boston Bruins hockey game on December 16. To view this on air feature, please visit https://vimeo.com/247989570
The Exciting Assists Grant program runs through March 31, 2018 and raises funds to support three charitable causes. Berkshire Bank's Foundation provides $100 per hockey play assist to the program. An assist is defined as a Boston 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 first portion of the season the Bruins had 140 assists resulting in a $14,000 grant from Berkshire Bank Foundation.
The Jimmy Fund, the first non-profit beneficiary of the Exciting Assists Grant program, sole purpose is to support Boston's Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, raising funds for adult and pediatric cancer care and research to improve the chances of survival for cancer patients around the world. The Jimmy Fund has raised millions of dollars through thousands of community fundraising events since its inception.
In addition to The Jimmy Fund, two other non-profit organizations will receive funding during the remainder of the season including:
- Bridge Over Trouble Waters – Provides life-changing services for homeless and high-risk youth ages 14 to 24 because every kid deserves a chance for a healthy, productive, independent life. After more than forty years, Bridge Over Troubled Waters remains a national model for youth development services. Promotion Period: (December 16 – February 9)
- Boston Cares – As the largest volunteer agency in New England and member of the national HandsOn Network, Boston Cares mobilizes and trains individual and corporate volunteers filling more than 20,000 volunteer spots annually in support of more than 165 Greater Boston schools and non-profit agencies. Promotion Period: (February 10 – March 31)
This is the second consecutive year that Berkshire Bank and NESN have teamed up to offer the Exciting Assists promotion in connection with NESN's broadcast of the Boston Bruins. Last year more than $32,000 was raised and shared between Soldier On, Cradles to Crayons and Birthday Wishes.
###
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 $2 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 2017. To learn more about Berkshire Bank Foundation, visit www.berkshirebank.com/community.
About Berkshire Bank
Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE: BHLB) is the parent of Berkshire Bank, America's Most Exciting Bank®. The Company, recognized for its entrepreneurial approach and distinctive culture, has $11.6 billion in assets and 113 full service branch offices in Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, Vermont, New Jersey and Pennsylvania providing personal and business banking, insurance, and wealth management services. To learn more, call 800-773-5601 or follow us on: Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Berkshire Bank is the official bank of NESN's Boston Bruins coverage and the community partner of Boston Seasons at City Hall Plaza.
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 four 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 Top 12 sports web sites in the U.S. 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).