St. Stanislaus School benefit, 9 to 4 in Kolbe Hall, Adams. Bake sale, snack bar, games, Chinese auctions, money raffle, crafts, and pierogi.
Blackinton Union Church, 1373 Massachusetts Ave., North Adams; 10 to 2. Crafts table, bake sale, Chinese auction, the Christmas table, and kid's grab bag. Lunch $4, $2 kids.
First Congregational Church, North Adams, 9-2.
Nov. 28 Becket Federated Church, Route 8, holiday bazaar from 9-3. Lunch, crafts, baked goods, holiday and other items. Information: Mary Peltier, Parish House, 413-623-5217.
Dec. 5
Holiday Fair at First Congregational Church, 25 Park Place, Lee, from 10 to 3; handcrafted items, raffles, children's shop, bake sale, cut Christmas trees and lunch from 11 to 1. Includes angel-themed goods from SERRV. Information, 413-243-1033 or www.ucc-lee.org.
Dec. 12-13
North Adams Country Club, crafts 9-4; food from That's a Wrap from 11-2. Information: Sheryl Morehouse at 413-822-3329.
Planning a bazaar this season? Submit information to info@iberkshires.com to have it listed here.
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Mammography Dispute The government's issued controversial new guidelines stating that women shouldn't get annual mammograms until age 50, rather than age 40.
iBerkshires will be meeting with local medical experts Monday. Have a question you'd like answered on this issue? Send it info@iberkshires.com with "mammogram" in the subject line.
By Tammy Daniels iBerkshires Staff 01:58PM / Wednesday, August 13, 2008
NORTH ADAMS — A local aid agency is trying to get ahead of a looming winter crisis by raising funds for emergency heating aid during the dog days of summer.
"I have people calling me already, people who say, 'Marie, I never thought I would have to ask you for help,'" said Marie Harpin, area director for Berkshire Community Action North. The nonprofit agency assists local families in finding find housing, transportation, employment, clothing, food and other necessities, including heating fuel.
Harpin wants to be proactive by raising money for organization's Emergency Fuel Fund through four fundraisers in the coming weeks. The money will go to help families and individuals in Northern Berkshire.
Social agencies throughout the Northeast have been swamped in recent years as the price of heating fuel has continued to climb. This winter may be the worst yet as heating oil prices have nearly doubled, natural gas prices have jumped up to 25 percent and electric rates are rising.
That's biting into the budgets of Sprague Electric retirees, young families and middle income folk who never thought they'd need assistance, said Harpin.
"The elderly people are coming in and asking me what to do," she said.
The local agency, part of Berkshire Community Action based in Pittsield, received some $25,000 last year in donations from businesses, indivuduals and the United Way.
But that kind of money won't go far this year; with heating oil averaging more than $4 a gallon, it will cost upwards of $1,000 to fill a 250-gallon tank. In other words, $25,000 will barely fill the tanks of 25 families — once.
The Northeast is the most dependent on fuel oil to heat homes. More than 60 percent of the region 8 million households use heating oil.
It's important to keep people in their homes, said Harpin, who has rejected suggestions to use the funds for an emergency shelter.
"My focus is to keep people in their apartments, in their homes," she said. "We take people out of their homes and apartments we'll have more problems."
Shelters have to be staffed and maintained; meanwhile, empty homes could suffer from burst pipes and vandalism. Better, she said, to get the fuel to the homes and keep families intact.
The Congress is expected to consider extra funding for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP, a federal fuel assistance program that's the state's congressional delegation says has been underfunded for years. But the income guidelines for LIHEAP won't be available until October.
The first fundraiser for the local Emergency Fuel Fund is Tuesday, Aug. 19, from 5 to 8 at the Bounti-Fare Restaurant on Route 8 in Adams. The restaurant offers a Community Nigh in the Courtyard each Tuesday to help nonprofit groups raise money. Participants will be able to order off the summer menu, take chances on the 50/50 raffle and try for an array of items and services donated by local businesses in a silent auction.
The next event is a spaghetti supper on Thursday, Sept. 4, from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Elk's Lodge on Eagle Street. Tickets are $6 and $5 for seniors and children under age 12. There will also be a 50/50 raffle and another silent auction.
The Northeast is the most dependent on fuel oil to heat homes. More than 60 percent of the region 8 million households use heating oil. 