Early Closing: All locations will close at noon on
Wednesday, June 7th
to allow employees to volunteer in their communities
PITTSFIELD, MA, May 31, 2017 - Berkshire Bank is excited to announce that it will close all locations at noon on Wednesday, June 7th for its company-wide Xtraordinary Day, The Power of Giving Back.
Xtraordinary Day provides all Berkshire Bank employees the opportunity to volunteer in communities the Bank and its affiliates serve. This second annual Xtraordinary Day is set to focus on more than 60 community projects with approximately 90% of employee participation across the country. The previous year's Xtraordinary Day marked the first year the Bank as a whole closed its doors to dedicate an entire afternoon to give back to the communities in which it serves. Last year, employees were able to help 54 different nonprofit organizations and directly impacted more than 100,000 individuals across the Bank's footprint.
With the continued growth of the Bank, this year's Xtraordinary Day will now benefit nonprofit organizations and communities across the United States. Some of this year's community projects include:
Berkshire County, MA – Assembly of literacy kits in partnership with Berkshire United Way; Downtown guide assembly at Downtown Pittsfield; Clean-up of Housatonic River Walk, Burbank Park and Girls Inc.; Painting at Lee Youth Association, Dalton CRA; Meal assembly for Rise Against Hunger; Financial education at Farmington River Elementary School.
Pioneer Valley, MA – Clean-up and landscaping of the Boy Scouts Camp Moses, YMCA of Westfield, ReGreen Springfield and Amelia Park Children's Museum; Interior painting at Girls Club of Greenfield; Bike build at YMCA of Greater Springfield; Gift wrapping at Birthday Wishes.
Central MA/Eastern MA – Sorting and packaging at Cradles to Crayons and Greater Boston Food Bank; Home build at Merrimack Valley and MetroWest/Worcester Habitat for Humanity; Painting at Centre Street Food Pantry; Feeding and cleaning at MetroWest Humane Society; Camp clean-up at Westborough YMCA and New England Base Camp.
Capital District, NY – Painting, cleanup and landscaping at Mountain Road School, Rebuilding Together Saratoga, Northern Rivers Northeast Parent & Parsons Family Services, Montgomery County ASPCA, and Wait House; Sorting at Regional Food Bank and City Mission of Schenectady.
Central NY – Cleaning and painting at Rome Community and Art Center, Thea Bowman House, Root Farm, Herkimer YMCA, Children's Consortium and Syracuse Boys and Girls Club; Various on-site projects at Berkshire Bank's Manlius Center Road office.
Connecticut – Exercise and cooking with students at Grace Academy and Burns Latino Academy in collaboration with 241 Sports; Riverfront clean-up at Riverfront ReCapture.
Vermont – Weeding and landscaping at Merck Forest Foundation in Rupert and Housing Trust of Rutland County at both Rutland and Ludlow, Vermont locations.
Mid-Atlantic and beyond – Bike build at Hamilton YMCA and Trenton Catholic Academy in New Jersey; Painting at Legacy Treatment Center (NJ) and Clean-up at Friends of Wissahickon (PA). Most FCLS employees will volunteer to tackle hunger in their local communities and around the world. The major project locations include Rise Against Hunger – East Brunswick NJ, Rise Against Hunger – Scottsdale, AZ and Rise Against Hunger – Santa Ana, CA.
Xtraordinary Day is fueled by the XTEAM®, the Bank's nationally acclaimed Employee Volunteer Program. The XTEAM provides employees paid time off to volunteer during regular business hours, allowing employees who may not have the free time to commit but the strong desire to participate the opportunity to give back to their community. XTEAM is Berkshire Bank's way of exemplifying the power of giving back. In addition to volunteer service, Berkshire and its Foundation provides over $2 million dollars annually to support nonprofit organizations in the communities that the Bank serves.
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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 2016. To learn more about Berkshire Bank Foundation, visit www.berkshirebank.com/community.
About Berkshire Bank
Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE: BHLB) is the parent of Berkshire Bank, America's Most Exciting Bank®. The Company, recognized for its entrepreneurial approach and distinctive culture, has $9.3 billion in assets and 97 full service branch offices in Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, Vermont, New Jersey and Pennsylvania providing personal and business banking, insurance, and wealth management services. Berkshire Bank was named one of Massachusetts Most Charitable Companies in 2016 by the Boston Business Journal. The Company has a pending agreement to acquire Commerce Bancshares Corp., the parent company of Commerce Bank and Trust Company, a $2.2 billion bank with 16 branches in the Worcester, MA and Boston, MA markets. To learn more, visit www.berkshirebank.com, call 800-773-5601 or follow us on: Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Contact: Heidi Higgins
Berkshire Bank
Phone: (413) 236-3756
E-Mail: hhiggins@berkshirebank.com
Vanessa Pesa
Berkshire Bank
Phone: 4134471851
E-Mail: vpesa@berkshirebank.com