Company Notebook
Liberty Bank Opens First Branch in Massachusetts
EAST LONGMEADOW — On Dec. 5, Liberty Bank officially opened its first bank branch in Massachusetts, located at 94 Shaker Road in East Longmeadow. As part of the grand opening, teammates from Liberty Bank, which is headquartered in Middletown, Conn., presented two grants totaling $10,000 to representatives from the East Longmeadow Food Pantry and Greater Springfield Habitat for Humanity. As part of Liberty’s growth strategy to build its presence along the I-91 corridor from New Haven to Hartford and now into Greater Springfield, it established a commercial loan production office in East Longmeadow in 2021. The relationship managers and support teams based in this market have been successful in maintaining and building new relationships within East Longmeadow and Greater Springfield, attracting new customers to the bank, networking with prospects, and building a strong community presence. This nearly 3,000-square-foot, full-service branch includes a drive-up banking lane, ATM, and night drop. The branch team, led by Teresa Parker, have been entrenched in the Western Mass. and Greater Springfield communities for many years, working, volunteering, and residing in the area.
Thunderbirds Contribute $15,000 to Mayflower Marathon
SPRINGFIELD — The Springfield Thunderbirds announced, in collaboration with Rock 102 and the Mayflower Marathon, that the team successfully generated more than $15,000 for this year’s Marathon. A contribution of $10,000 in cash was made by the Thunderbirds to Open Pantry, a result of generous donations throughout November and the funds raised during the T-Birds’ celebrity bartending event at White Lion Brewing earlier this month. Additionally, Ray Berry, founder of White Lion Brewing, will contribute an extra $800 from the proceeds of Thunderboom beers and burgers sold at White Lion. The Mayflower Marathon achieved another historic milestone, amassing a record-breaking total of $234,733.71 in food and monetary contributions. The non-perishable food donations filled four full-size Mayflower trailers and an additional one-and-a-half box trucks, marking a remarkable increase of more than $55,000 from the 2022 Marathon. Throughout November, the Thunderbirds actively collected donations at the team office and during home games inside the MassMutual Center. Leading up to Mayflower Marathon Night on Nov. 22, fans making contributions were rewarded with tickets to the T-Birds game.
Merged Agency to Be Called Big Brothers Big Sisters of Western Massachusetts
WESTERN MASS. — The mentorship agencies of Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) of Franklin County and BBBS of Hampden County, both founded in 1967, announced they will merge into one organization. The combined agencies, operating under the name Big Brothers Big Sisters of Western Massachusetts (BBBSWM), will become the largest mentorship organization in the region. David Beturne, executive director of BBBS of Hampden County, who has been acting as interim executive director in Franklin County since April, will lead the new agency. Beturne brings 23 years of experience with BBBS and plans to maintain all staff at both locations. Both agencies have a long history of fostering connections in their respective counties, and plan to grow to serve areas without an established BBBS office. The merger does not include the Center for Human Development’s BBBS program, which will continue to serve the Hampshire County area. BBBS creates connections between children (Littles) with qualified and vetted mentors (Bigs) in the community to create fulfilling relationships. BBBS monitors all matches to ensure safety standards are upheld and that the relationship is positive and empowering for the children involved.
UMassFive Employees Support Local Nonprofits
HADLEY — UMassFive College Federal Credit Union announced that its employees have raised more than $18,000 for two local nonprofits during the fall of 2023: $13,677 in support of the UMass Cancer Center via participation in the UMass Cancer Walk and Run, and $4,800 for the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts via participation in Will Bike 4 Food. A longstanding and top supporter of the UMass Cancer Walk and Run event for more than 20 years, UMassFive employees join together annually as Team UMassFive to raise funds for the cause, both personally and in branch locations. In 2023, fundraising efforts included raffle baskets, bake sales, candy sales, and art and jewelry sales. Donations were also sought from credit union corporate partners, whose support helps bolster efforts each year. Including the $13,677 raised in 2023, Team UMassFive has raised over $186,600 in donations to the UMass Cancer Center over the lifetime of its participation. Since 2020, UMassFive employees have also jumped on their bicycles in support of Will Bike 4 Food, a major fundraising event for the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts. In 2023, seven riders teamed up to raise $4,800 in support of their cumulative 300-mile ride. Including the 2023 efforts, Team UMassFive has raised $17,500 in just four years of participation, which equates to providing 70,332 meals to neighbors in need.
Smith Brothers Insurance Merges with the Quintal Agency
NORTHAMPTON — The Quintal Agency, an independent insurance agency led by Lynne Quintal-Hill and located in Plainfield, Conn., has merged its operations with Smith Brothers Insurance. Smith Brothers has offices across Connecticut, Massachusetts (including Northampton), New Jersey, and New York. Quintal-Hill will be fully engaged in client service and business development, and will continue to serve clients as she and her team members join Smith Brothers. The team will continue to work from their office in Plainfield while leveraging the resources of Smith Brothers.
Westfield Bank Donates Food to Local Communities
WESTFIELD — Westfield Bank invited its customers and community members across Western Mass. and Northern Conn. to help fight hunger in local communities as part of its 2023 food drive. From Oct. 25 through Nov. 18, all Westfield Bank branches collected non-perishable food items and monetary donations. Food items included items for Thanksgiving meals, including canned fruit, boxed stuffing and potatoes, gravy, jelly, cranberry sauce, and more. Each branch donated to a food pantry or community kitchen local to their service area. Some branch managers also gathered to cook for a local soup kitchen with the donated food items, donating a total of 126 pounds of food, which would be able to feed about 100 people that day.
Freedom Credit Union Supports Unify Against Bullying
SPRINGFIELD — Throughout the month of October, Freedom Credit Union and its members raised more than $1,000 for Unify Against Bullying. “Unify Against Bullying is an organization we are very proud to support,” said Debra Mainolfi, the credit union’s West Springfield branch officer and a member of the Unify Against Bullying executive board. “Every year in the U.S., over 3.2 million students are victims of bullying, and Western Massachusetts is no exception. Most children who experience bullying don’t report it. Unify Against Bullying makes a positive impact in our schools and communities to bring people together to speak out against bullying in a unified voice.” Unify Against Bullying pledges to bring an end to bullying through the celebration of true diversity. The organization works to ensure that victims of bullying know they are not alone — that they are, in fact, supported by a loving, caring community of fellow students, teachers, parents, siblings, business leaders, and many others.
Easthampton Learning Foundation Invests in STEAM Program at Mountain View School
EASTHAMPTON — The Easthampton Learning Foundation is investing significantly in enhancing the STEAM program at Mountain View School. Priscilla Kane Hellweg, founder of the Arts Integration Studio, and Megan Kelley-Bagg, Easthampton Public Schools STEAM teacher, are collaborating to expand STEAM opportunities for K-5 students. STEAM, an educational approach integrating science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics, fosters 21st-century skills like creative thinking and collaboration. Hellweg and Kelley-Bagg aim to strengthen interdisciplinary collaboration, elevate arts education within STEAM, and develop replicable content for teachers. A dedicated STEAM cohort has been formed, starting with fifth-grade teachers engaging in collaborative professional development. The focus is on weather, climate, and earth systems, with two hands-on curriculum units created for fifth grade. New STEAM content units will be developed monthly during the pilot year. With the success of the fifth-grade team, the program aims to inspire more teachers to embrace creative arts integration in the coming years. The STEAM program, launched last year, aims to promote collaboration among educators and introduce captivating, project-based learning opportunities into the academic day.
MCLA Receives $306,000 Grant to Fund Mental-health Support
NORTH ADAMS — Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) announced it has received the Garrett Lee Smith (GLS) Suicide Prevention Grant for $306,000 from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Over the next three years, this funding will launch the MCLA Cares Project, an initiative to build campus-wide infrastructure to support student mental health. The MCLA Cares Project will utilize a multi-pronged approach to address mental-health support deficits across campus. This project will engage a health promotion coordinator, a new position designed to plan and implement the grant’s activities as well as produce additional mental-health and wellness programming. Grant funds will contribute significantly to training the student-facing faculty and staff in suicide awareness and prevention. The MCLA Cares Project was developed in accordance with MCLA’s mission to provide an accessible liberal-arts education to students traditionally underrepresented in higher education, such as first-generation students, students of color, and LGBTQIA+ students. The health promotion coordinator will collaborate with these groups to identify their specific needs and challenges in order to create responsive programming.
Springfield College Awarded $240,000 for Mental-health Needs
SPRINGFIELD — In partnership with the city of Springfield, Springfield College was awarded $240,000 to help assist in combating the growing mental-health needs among college students and the local community. Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno and Chief Development Officer Tim Sheehan announced the partnership as part of the Sarno administration’s Higher Education ARPA Fund at City Hall on Dec. 6. Sarno had previously announced the creation of the $750,000 Higher Education ARPA Fund as part of his 13th round of ARPA awards in July, as Springfield College was joined by American International College and Western New England University as recipients of the funding. The $240,000 allocation that Springfield College received will create additional opportunities to further support youth and families in the city of Springfield and provide collaboration between Springfield College students and Springfield Public Schools to enhance their learning and simultaneously support the community. With the funding, Springfield College intends to hire case managers to provide support and advocacy for both college students and children and families in Springfield Public Schools who have difficulty navigating the often-complex web of available resources, hire a psychiatric nurse practitioner to support critical needs within area colleges and the community, and strengthen relationships between school counseling and clinical mental-health counseling student interns at Springfield College and Springfield Public Schools to provide additional community-based mental-health services and support.
