The shed was built by McCann students and painted and decorated by Habitat volunteers.
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — A shed raffle has raised thousands of dollars for Northern Berkshire Habitat for Humanity.
Habitat construction volunteers took a break from their latest project on Maple Street on Saturday to draw the winning name in the shed raffle.
After a drum roll performed with screwdrivers and paint-stirring sticks, neighbor and elementary school student Mimi pulled out ticket stub number 125, bought by a Hinsdale resident. Sheds-N-Stuff in Cheshire will transport the shed to the winner's home.
"What a fun, successful effort," said Keith Davis, board president.
Close to two hundred people bought tickets, some purchasing a single chance and some 20, raising thousands of dollars for the local Habitat's mission to build safe, decent, and affordable housing for lower-income area residents.
In addition to homebuilding, NBHfH's Brush With Kindness program provides critical external repairs or construction, such as an access ramp, that will enable someone to stay in their home.
Shed materials were paid for by an anonymous donor, the structure was built by students in the McCann Technical School carpentry program, and it was painted and decorated by Habitat volunteers.
All of the money raised stays with the nonprofit.
"We bought the shed materials locally and local volunteers assembled them. A local person wins the shed, and the proceeds from the raffle will help build a house for a family in northern Berkshire County or fund a Brush With Kindness project," said volunteer Thomas Kirby, pausing in his efforts to remove a dent from a duct tube. "We are grateful for such generous community support."
Local media outlets publicized the raffle for free.
Northern Berkshire Habitat for Humanity serves the towns of Adams, Cheshire, Clarksburg, North Adams, and Williamstown as well as Stamford, Vt. Learn more here.
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.
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Clark Art Gifted 331 Works, Endowment to Build New Wing
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Clark Art Institute has received one of the largest gifts in its history from the foundation of the late philanthropist Aso O. Tavitian.
The gift includes 331 works of art from Tavitian's personal collection and more than $45 million to endow a curatorial position to oversee the collection, provide necessary support for the collection's long-term care, and fund construction of a new Aso O. Tavitian Wing at the Clark.
"It is an incredible honor to receive this transformational gift," said Olivier Meslay, Hardymon director of the Clark Art Institute. "During his lifetime, Aso Tavitian was a wonderful friend to the Clark and a generous supporter who provided us with exceptional leadership and dedication. We are deeply moved by his decision to place the heart of his collection in our trust and immensely grateful to the Trustees of his Foundation for their generosity in ensuring that we can fulfill his desire to share these treasures with the world through the addition of the new Aso O. Tavitian Wing that will house these remarkable works of art."
Tavitian, who had homes in New York City and Stockbridge, Massachusetts, died in 2020. He served on the Clark's Board of Trustees from 2006 to 2012 and remained engaged with the Clark throughout his lifetime. In 2011, Tavitian loaned thirty paintings and one sculpture from his collection to the Clark for the exhibition "Eye to Eye: European Portraits," 1450–1850. Prior to his death, Tavitian made the decision to gift a significant portion of his collection to the Clark and had numerous conversations with the Institute's leadership about his intentions.
The 331 works of art in the gift include 132 paintings, 130 sculptures, thirty-nine drawings, and thirty decorative arts objects. The entirety of the Tavitian gift will be on view when the new Aso O. Tavitian Wing opens. Following an introductory presentation at the time of the new wing's opening, the works on paper included in the gift will be made available for study purposes and be presented in periodic displays. The majority of paintings, sculpture, and decorative arts objects will be shown on a continual basis, both in the new Tavitian Wing and in the Clark's permanent collection galleries.
The Tavitian gift includes works by Parmigianino, Peter Paul Rubens, Elizabeth Vigée Lebrun, Jean-Honoré Fragonard, and Jacques- Louis David, among others. Also included in the collection are landscapes by Hubert Robert, Claude-Joseph Vernet, and others, as well as religious paintings by artists including Jan van Eyck and Agnolo Bronzino.
Gifted sculptures include works in bronze, plaster, terracotta, marble, and other materials dating from the Renaissance through the late nineteenth-century by artists including Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Andrea della Robbia, Gil de Siloé, Clodion (Claude Michel), and Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux.
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