MCLA Radio Station to Hold Fundraising Marathon, Record Album Sale

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — WJJW, 91.1 FM, the student-operated non-commercial radio station at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, will hold a 24-hour fundraising marathon and album sale on Saturday, May 8.

  The marathon begins at midnight (Friday night) and ends at 11:59 p.m. Saturday. Listeners can call the station at 413-662-5110 with a donation pledge, or stop by the studio on the third floor of the Campus Center. Any amount is appreciated, and there will be prizes available.

The album sale will be held from noon to 4 p.m., Saturday, also on the third floor of the Campus Center. WJJW has thousands of used vinyl records from all music genres dating back to the late 1960s. Bulk discounts will be available. The sale is cash only, and all sales will be final.

Proceeds from the events will be used toward the purchase of a new sound board and equipment for web streaming.

Donations can also be sent to WJJW, Student Government Association, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, 375 Church St., North Adams, MA 01247; checks should be made payable to the Student Government Association/WJJW.

For more information on the marathon, contact station manager Charlie Schnitzlein at CS3967@mcla.edu; on the album sale, contact WJJW faculty adviser Jim Niedbalski at 413-662-5418.

Northern Berkshire United Way to Hold Victory Celebration

The Northern Berkshire United Way  invites the public to attend its annual Victory Celebration breakfast, to be held on Thursday, May 27 at the Williams Inn.

The program will include a wrap up of the 2009 – 2010 campaign, and will honor volunteers and donors from the campaign. The Northern Berkshire United Way supports 23 member agencies in meeting the needs of the Northern Berkshire community.

The breakfast begins at 7:45 and is open to the community. Tickets are $15.  RSVP to the Northern Berkshire United way at 413-663-9062 by May 24.

Ground Broken on New Habitat for Humanity Home

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Central Berkshire Habitat for Humanity held a dedication and groundbreaking ceremony for a new home they will be building in the city's Morningside area to help a low-income family achieve home ownership. Attendees of Saturday's groundbreaking at 94 Lincoln St. included Mayor James M. Ruberto, Ward 2 Councilor Peter White, members of the Morningside Advisory Committee and Central Berkshire Habitat for Humanity’s Executive Director Carolyn Valli.

The Kehoes, a family of 11 (nine kids and two parents) will move into their new six-bedroom, two-bathroom home when work is completed. Members of the family have helped with the building of other families' homes in Pittsfield, learning such skills as installing sheetrock, framing, siding, insulating, and electrical work. Work on their home is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Central Berkshire Habitat for Humanity is collaborating with community partner Taconic High School, whose carpentry students will be working on the home, along with Habitat for Humanity volunteers coming from as far away as New York City. See more photos, passed on to us by Kimberly Rawson and Dawn Carberry, on our Facebook page.

United Way, Letter Carriers Holding Food Drive Next Saturday

Next Saturday, mail carriers with routes in Pittsield, Dalton, Hinsdale and Lanesborough will be doing more than delivering and picking up mail.

Letter carriers will be collecting non-perishable donations for a food drive conducted by local branch No. 286 of the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC), in conjunction with the U.S. Postal Service and Berkshire United Way, on May 8. Donations will be distributed later to a number of local food pantries by volunteers from Berkshire United Way, Berkshire Community Action Council and Berkshire Youth United.

The NALC "Stamp Out Hunger" food drive is held nationwide and is the largest one-day food drive in the country. According to NALC, last year 73.4 million pounds of non-perishable donations were collected across the country, and this year the NALC expects to reach a record one billion pounds collected since the drive's inception in 1993.

The drive is held annually on the second Saturday in May in more than 10,000 cities and towns in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam.

Residents interested in donating food should put their non-perishable items in bags and leave them by their mailbox.

For more information visit www.berkshireunitedway.org. or www.nalc.org/commun/foodrive/

Railroad Street Youth Project Plans 10th Anniversary Celebration

Railroad Street Youth Project, an organization serving young people ages 14-25 in South Berkshire County, is getting ready to celebrate its 10th anniversary next month. Several activities, open to the public, are planned.

On Friday, May 14 at 7 p.m., RSYP'S board of directors will host a barbecue to honor former and current staff and youth outside the Schneider Youth Building, at the skate park in Great Barrington. Youth under 25 may attend for free; tickets are $10 for others.

On Saturday, May 15 from 1 to 7 p.m., there will be an afternoon full of free community events outside the Scheider Youth Building, including an art project work day at the skatepark, youth artwork market, planting a home garden with Greenagers, skate competition, basketball tournament, local food vendors, child-friendly activities, and music by young people. From 8 to 11 p.m., there will be a Higher Organix concert with youth performers and a supersonic dance party outside the building. Tickets for the concert and party are $10.

On Sunday, May 16 from 11 a.m. to 1  p.m., there will be a brunch at Castle Street Cafe honoring RSYP's founding board chairman, Erik Bruun. Tickets are $100. Afterwards, from 1:30 to 2:30, the celebration moves to the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, featuring an interactive presentation of past and present youth projects. Town of Great Barrington Manager Kevin O’Donnell and State Rep. William "Smitty" Pignatelli will speak; the event honors RSYP founder Amanda Root. Tickets are $10.

From 2:45 to 4:30, the Mahaiwe will put on a performance of Eric Bogosian's play "SubUrbia." Tickets are $10, but anyone who attended the 1999 performance (the very first RSYP youth-inspired project) can see the play for free.

For more information, call 413-528-2475 or visit rsyp.org