Pittsfield, MA – – Berkshire Bank, America's Most Exciting Bank®, announced that in partnership with New England Sports Network (NESN), it has awarded a $23,000 grant to Boston Cares through the Berkshire Bank Exciting Assists Grant Program. It's the single largest grant ever given through the program. Sara Hamilton, Director of Programs of Boston Cares accepted the contribution from Gary Levante, VP Corporate Social Responsibility for Berkshire Bank during NESN's broadcast of the Boston Bruins hockey game on April 8th.
To view this on air feature, please visit: https://youtu.be/neS4FhIEwzQ
The Exciting Assists Grant program ran through March 31, 2018 and raised funds to support three charitable causes. Berkshire Bank's Foundation provided $100 per hockey play assist to the program. An assist is defined as a Boston Bruins player who shot, passed or deflected the puck towards the scoring teammate, or touched it in any other way which enabled the goal, meaning that they were "assisting" in the goal.
Boston Cares, the final non-profit beneficiary of the Exciting Assists Grant program, is the largest volunteer agency in New England and member of the national HandsOn Network. Boston Cares mobilizes and trains individual and corporate volunteers filling more than 20,000 volunteer spots annually in support of more than 165 Greater Boston schools and non-profit agencies.
In addition to Boston Cares, two other non-profit organizations received funding during the season including:
- The Jimmy Fund – Founded in 1948, The Jimmy Fund's sole purpose is to support Boston's Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, raising funds for adult and pediatric cancer care and research to improve the chances of survival for cancer patients around the world. The Jimmy Fund has raised millions of dollars through thousands of community fundraising events since its inception. Promotion Period: (October 15 – December 15) Grant Received: $14,000
- Bridge Over Troubled Waters – Provides life-changing services for homeless and high-risk youth ages 14 to 24 because every kid deserves a chance for a healthy, productive, independent life. After more than forty years, Bridge Over Troubled Waters remains a national model for youth development services. Promotion Period: (December 16 – February 9) Grant received: $13,000
In total this year's Exciting Assists promotion raised a record $50,000. This was the second consecutive year that Berkshire Bank and NESN have teamed up to offer the Exciting Assists promotion in connection with NESN's broadcast of the Boston Bruins. Last year more than $32,000 was raised and shared between Soldier On, Cradles to Crayons and Birthday Wishes.
About Berkshire Bank Foundation
Through foundation grants to nonprofits, scholarships to students, environmental programs, and employee volunteerism, Berkshire Bank is making a difference. Each year the Foundation donates $2 million to nonprofits throughout the Bank's footprint and 100% of bank employees provide over 40,000 hours of service through their XTEAM® corporate volunteer program. Berkshire Bank was named one of Massachusetts' Most Charitable Companies by the Boston Business Journal in 2017. To learn more about Berkshire Bank Foundation, visit www.berkshirebank.com/community
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About Berkshire Bank
Berkshire Bank, America's Most Exciting Bank®, is recognized for its entrepreneurial approach, relationship customer experience and distinctive culture. With $11.6 billion in assets, Berkshire provides business and consumer banking, mortgage, wealth management, investment and insurance services through 114 full service branch offices, including Commerce Bank, a division of Berkshire Bank, in Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, Vermont, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Berkshire Bank was named one of Massachusetts Most Charitable Companies in 2017 by the Boston Business Journal. Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE: BHLB) is the parent of Berkshire Bank. To learn more, visit www.berkshirebank.com, call 800-773-5601 or follow us on: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. Berkshire Bank is the official bank of NESN's Boston Bruins coverage, the Official Bank of the Pan-Mass Challenge, and the community partner of Boston Seasons at City Hall Plaza.
About NESN
NESN has consistently been one of the top-rated regional sports networks in the country with award-winning Red Sox and Bruins coverage. The network is delivered to over 4 million homes throughout the six-state New England region and an additional 5 million homes nationally as NESN National. For four straight years Forbes Magazine has ranked NESN as one of the 10 Most Valuable Sports Business Brands in the World. NESN.com is one of the Top 12 sports web sites in the U.S. NESN's social responsibility program, NESN Connects, is proud to support and connect its employees with charitable organizations in our communities. NESN is owned by Fenway Sports Group (owners of the Boston Red Sox) and Delaware North (owners of the Boston Bruins).