image description — Volunteers pack up care packages in Home Depot buckets at the Home Depot store in Pittsfield. The buckets will be distributed by the Christian Center.

Home Depot, Christian Center Distribute 300 Winter Care Packages

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
04:27PM / Wednesday, December 08, 2021Print Story | Email Story

The donations from Home Depot and local retailers is worth about $12,000. Some 300 buckets were filled by around 40 volunteers.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The hallmark orange Home Depot buckets will take on a new meaning for those in need this holiday season.

The Christian Center and the Home Depot Foundation joined forces to donate more than 300 of the distinctive buckets containing winter clothing and personal hygiene items to local veterans and homeless individuals.

On Sunday, an assembly line of around 40 volunteers stocked the care packages at Pittsfield's Home Depot. They will stay within the county, which currently has about 1,000 people without shelter.

Supplies such as socks, hats, gloves, and coats are vital for the cold months. The items were donated by local retailers and will go to the Christian Center for distribution and are valued at about $12,000.

This project is part of the hardware retailer's Operation Surprise campaign focused on giving back.

"Our district, we like every store to try to get one project a quarter, right now we have going on what we call our Operation Surprise, so every year between Veterans Day and the end of the year, we have every store to either donate money or do a project for the community," Home Depot spokesman Andy Shaw said.

"Ideally it would be veterans or any community organization we partner with, so we'll do hundreds across the company this year, we actually donated recently $1,000 to Soldier On and this project is about $12,000."

Shaw added that the monetary donation is on top of the team who contributed a couple of hours to make it happen.

Home Depot employs more than 35,000 veterans and military spouses across the country. The Home Depot Foundation has contributed $400 million for veterans' causes since 2011 and renovated more than 50,000 veterans' homes and facilities.

The Christian Center has been one of the leading local organizations in addressing homelessness. In February, it debuted a warming shelter that offers housing-insecure folks a place to stay in the hours that ServiceNet's shelter at the former St. Joseph's High School is closed.

Tags: donations, good news, holiday story,

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Pittsfield Cannabis Cultivator Plans Dispensary

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
12:57PM / Friday, December 26, 2025

PITTSFIELD. Mass. — A cannabis cultivator and manufacturer has opted to sell its products on site in Downing Parkway.

The Zoning Board of Appeals this month approved a special permit for J-B.A.M. Inc. to operate a dispensary out of its existing grow facility. There will only be changes to the interior of 71 Downing Parkway, as there will be less than 500 square feet of retail space in the 20,000-square-foot building.

"My only concern would be the impact, and really would be traffic, which I don't think is excessive, the odor, if there was one, but that doesn't seem to be an issue, and I think it's a good location for a marijuana facility," board member Thomas Goggins said.

The company's indoor cultivation site plan was approved in 2019, an amendment to add manufacturing and processing in 2021, and on the prior day, a new site plan to add a retail dispensary was approved by the Community Development Board.

J-B.A.M. cannabis products are available in local dispensaries.

The interior of the facility will be divided to accommodate an enclosed check-in area, front entrance, retail lobby, secure storage room, offices, and two bathrooms. There are 27 parking spaces for the facility, which is sufficient for the use.

No medical or recreational cannabis uses are permitted within 500 feet of a school or daycare, a setback that is met, and the space is within an industrial park at the end of a cul-de-sac.

"The applicant desires the restructuring of the business to be more competitive in the industry with the ability to grow and sell their own cannabis products so they have more financial stability," Chair Albert Ingegni III, read from the application.

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