PITTSFIELD, Mass. – Berkshire Bank announced today that its two charitable foundations awarded $1,026,588.00 in grants from January 1, 2015 to June 30, 2015 to non-profit organizations across Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, and Vermont.

While the two foundations’ funding focus areas are education and community & economic development projects, they also donated to youth, cultural and human service organizations that provide vital services to the community. Berkshire Bank Foundation, Inc. and Berkshire Bank Foundation-Hampden Region, the bank’s two charitable Foundations, plan to award more than $1.6 million this year to non-profit organizations across the bank’s service area.

In total, 301 non-profit organizations received grants from the two foundations during the first half of 2015 including the following recent grant recipients:

Berkshire County, MA:

• Downtown Pittsfield, Inc.
• Northern Berkshire YMCA
• Berkshire County Regional Employment Board
• Barrington Stage Company

Pioneer Valley, MA:

• Springfield Rescue Mission
• Wellspring Cooperative Corporation
• Center for Human Development
• Springfield Boys & Girls Club

Central, MA

• Boys & Girls Club of MetroWest Greater Worcester
• Habitat for Humanity Metro-West
• UMASS Medicine Center
• Dress for Success Worcester

Eastern, MA:

• Greater Boston Habitat For Humanity
• Community Servings
• Cradles to Crayons
• HomeStart, Inc.

Capital District, NY:

• Shelters of Saratoga
• Sunnyside Child Development Center
• Junior Achievement of Northeastern New York
• Albany Housing Coalition

Central, NY:

• Faxton St. Luke’s Healthcare
• Home Headquarters, Inc.
• Mohawk Valley EDGE
• Utica Food Bank

Connecticut

• YMCA of Greater Hartford
• Community Solutions
• Connecticut Science Center
• ConnectiKids Inc.

Vermont:

• Bennington Area Habitat for Humanity
• Burr & Burton Academy
• Rutland Area VNA & Hospice
• The Mentor Connector

Lori Gazzillo, Vice President and Director of Berkshire Bank Foundation stated “We are so pleased to support these many non-profit organizations with grants so they can continue to provide critical services and enhance opportunities for children and adults across our service area. On behalf of the entire Berkshire Bank team, we applaud these organizations, their supporters and volunteers for all that they do to contribute to the vitality of the communities that we serve.”

In addition to financial support, the XTEAM^®, Berkshire’s nationally acclaimed Employee Volunteer Program, provides employees with paid time off to volunteer during regular business hours. In 2014, over 70% of Berkshire Bank’s employees donated more than 40,000 hours of service to benefit community organizations across the bank’s service area. The volunteer program is another way for the bank to give back to the communities where it does business.

About Berkshire Bank Foundation

Through foundation grants to nonprofits, scholarships to students, and employee volunteerism, Berkshire Bank is making a difference. Each year the Foundations donates approximately $1.6 million to non-profits in the bank’s footprint and employees provide over 40,000 hours of service —all on the company dime. In 2014, Berkshire Bank was named one of Massachusetts’ Most Charitable Companies by the Boston Business Journal. This year, Berkshire Bank and NESN teamed up to raise $37,600 for Habitat for Humanity by donating funds to the Hockey 4 Housing campaign each time the Boston Bruins achieved a penalty kill. To learn more about Berkshire Bank Foundation, visit www.berkshirebank.com/community.

About Berkshire Bank

Berkshire Hills Bancorp is the parent of Berkshire Bank – America's Most Exciting Bank®. Berkshire has $7.5 billion in assets and 93 ongoing full-service branch offices in Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, and Vermont providing personal and business banking, insurance, and wealth management services. Berkshire has a pending agreement to acquire Firestone Financial Corp., a commercial specialty finance company with $190 million in assets, located in Needham, Massachusetts.