Company Notebook

UMass Amherst to Create Retail, Event, Meeting Space

AMHERST — UMass Amherst announced the creation of UMass Downtown, a multi-purpose retail, event, and meeting space in downtown Amherst. Chancellor Javier Reyes announced the project Tuesday at the 57th annual Community Breakfast, hosted by UMass Amherst and the Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce. UMass Downtown, scheduled to open in the 2024-25 academic year at 108 North Pleasant St., will provide a dynamic UMass experience in the heart of the Amherst’s central business district. Serving as a boutique retail location and campus information and welcome center during regular business hours, in the evenings it will be a regular site for small lectures, readings, and workshops. Additionally, the space will act as a welcome center for prospective students and their families and a hub of town-gown interaction with community members. UMass Downtown will be managed by the Office of Community Relations and University Events, in partnership with UMass Auxiliary Services. Other campus partners include UMass Athletics, Student Affairs and Campus Life, the Dean of Students Office, Admissions, and the UMass Amherst Foundation. UMass enlisted Kuhn Riddle Architects to help develop the vision that project leads Nancy Buffone, associate vice chancellor for University Relations, and Tony Maroulis, executive director of Community and Strategic Initiatives, put forward after consultation with campus leadership. The Kuhn Riddle team, led by Mallory Nurse, have achieved a design that aims to welcome visitors and community members while creating instantly recognizable, even Instagram-worthy moments to drive foot traffic to the space.

STEM Program at STCC Lauded by Magazine

SPRINGFIELD —The STEM Starter Academy at Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) received the Inspiring Programs in STEM Award from the magazine Insight Into Diversity. The STEM Starter Academy (SSA) has been instrumental in creating opportunities for STCC students who might otherwise face significant barriers to entering and succeeding in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, and math). SSA is designed to support STCC’s underrepresented student populations by providing equity and access to STEM majors and pathways and to promote positive and equitable outcomes through intense student support and guidance. The Inspiring Programs in STEM award is a measure of an institution’s individual college programs and initiatives that encourage and support the recruitment and retention of women and underrepresented students into all STEM fields. STCC was one of only two community colleges recognized for this award.

Springfield Museums Partners with Ireland’s Office of Public Works

SPRINGFIELD — The Springfield Museums announced a partnership with the Office of Public Works (OPW) of Ireland on Sept. 17. Together with the OPW, the Museums will explore the development of exhibitions, educational resources, and community events that enrich and promote the deep and enduring cultural and personal ties between Western Mass. and County Kerry. The first effort in this partnership is the exhibition “Gone Now, to Springfield: Celebrating the Legacy of the Blasket Islands,” currently on view in the lobby of the Wood Museum. The Blasket Islands (Na Blascaodaí) are a group of islands off the west coast of the Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry, Ireland, uninhabited since 1954. Many Blasket Islanders immigrated to Springfield and Greater Western Mass. throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, bringing with them the language, literature, culinary traditions, and familial connections that continue to shape the city today.

Organization INK Inc. Acquires My Office LLC

GREAT BARRINGTON — Organization INK Inc., a provider of bookkeeping, accounting, payroll, and human-resources services in Western Mass. and the surrounding areas, acquired My Office LLC, a firm based in Torrington, Conn. The acquisition, which was finalized on Sept. 2, comes as My Office LLC’s owner, Cynthia Rines, seeks to retire after 13 years in business. The majority of My Office’s staff, including Rines, will join Organization INK, ensuring continuity of service for existing clients and contributing to the expanding regional presence of Organization INK. Clients of My Office can expect a seamless transition, with enhanced access to human-resources services, which are not offered by My Office. My Office LLC provides bookkeeping, accounting, and payroll services to businesses, nonprofits, and government agencies in the northwest corner of Connecticut. The acquisition further solidifies Organization INK’s position as a regional leader in financial solutions, providing businesses with expert bookkeeping, accounting, payroll, and human-resources services.

Carr Hardware to Remodel Downtown Pittsfield Store

PITTSFIELD — Carr Hardware announced a major investment in its downtown Pittsfield location, which will undergo a $400,000 remodel this fall. The project underscores Carr Hardware’s commitment to the community and its confidence in the future of downtown Pittsfield. The remodel will be completed with all local contractors, highlighting the dedication and appreciation Carr Hardware has for supporting fellow local businesses and contributing to the local economy. The store will remain open through the remodel. With plans to expand and diversify products, customers will have a wider range of shopping opportunities. The newly remodeled store aims to enhance the shopping experience for customers while preserving the store’s welcoming and friendly atmosphere.

Women’s Fund Announces $240,000 in Grant Awards

SPRINGFIELD — The Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts recently announced $240,000 in grant awards this year and through 2026 to 17 organizations serving women, girls, and transgender and gender-diverse people across Berkshire, Franklin, Hampden, and Hampshire counties. The Women’s Fund’s general grant cycle will provide $100,000 in awards to 13 organizations in both 2024 and 2025. An additional four gifts totaling $40,000 were also made from the organization’s Young Women’s Initiative for the current year. Grant recipients for this funding round include 50 Arrow Gallery in Easthampton, A Queen’s Narrative in Springfield, Berkshire Community Diaper Project in West Stockbridge, Elizabeth Freeman Center in Pittsfield, It Takes a Village in Huntington, Make-It Springfield, Mother Root Farm in West Cummington, New England Learning Center for Women in Transition in Greenfield, Pioneer Valley Workers Center in Northampton, Somali Bantu Community in Springfield, Springfield No One Leaves/Nadie Se Mude, Visioning B.E.A.R. Circle Intertribal Coalition in Greenfield, and Western Massachusetts Parasol Patrol in Montague.

Llumin Inc. Receives $69,800 Workforce Training Grant

BOSTON — State Sen. Adam Gomez recently joined Secretary Lauren Jones of the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development to announce a $69,800 grant being awarded to Springfield-based Llumin Inc. as part of the Healey-Driscoll administration’s Workforce Training Fund. The grant being awarded will go toward training 16 workers at the software company, with eight additional jobs expected by 2026. Funded by Massachusetts employers via contributions made to unemployment insurance, the Workforce Training Fund helps companies improve productivity and competitiveness by providing resources to invest in the Massachusetts workforce.

Greenfield Cooperative Bank Launches New Mortgage Product

GREENFIELD — Greenfield Cooperative Bank (GCB) announced the launch of its new Homegrown Heroes mortgage product, designed to provide special financing options for police officers, EMTs, RNs and CRNs, firefighters, school employees, and military personnel. This initiative aims to recognize the contributions of these dedicated individuals to their communities and offer them a helping hand in achieving their homeownership dreams. The Homegrown Heroes program offers a variety of benefits, including reduced interest rates for eligible borrowers, making their monthly mortgage payments more affordable; and the flexibility to choose between a fixed-rate mortgage with predictable monthly payments or an adjustable-rate mortgage that offers potential interest-rate savings initially but may fluctuate over time.

AIC Awarded Grant to Modernize Science Labs

SPRINGFIELD — American International College (AIC) has been awarded a $500,000 grant from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center’s Workforce Development Capital Grant Program to support the renovation and upgrade of the college’s Old Science Building and fund the purchase of new equipment for life-sciences courses within the School of Business, Arts, and Sciences. Renovation work is scheduled to begin this fall. The grant was part of a broader $13.1 million in funding announced on July 22 by the Healey-Driscoll administration. The Old Science Building, constructed in 1956, marked the beginning of a new era of development on AIC’s historic campus. Located on the eastern side of the main quadrangle and notable for its small greenhouse at the center of its façade, the brick building was originally designed to accommodate the biology and chemistry labs and classrooms, which had previously been housed in Olde Hall, a wooden structure built in 1892. Today, the Old Science Building continues to serve as the venue for courses in biology and chemistry. The effort to secure this funding was led by Susanne Swanker, dean of the School of Business, Arts, and Sciences, along with a dedicated team of life-sciences faculty members who supported the grant application and will oversee the improvements. In addition to the physical upgrades, the funding will also help purchase new equipment for teaching labs in molecular biology, cell biology, genetics, and microbiology. These state-of-the-art facilities will provide students with hands-on experience in settings that closely replicate real-world labs, enhancing their learning and ensuring the curriculum reflects current industry standards.

HCC Celebrates Relocation, Expansion of Food Pantry

HOLYOKE — The new Holyoke Community College (HCC) food pantry is more than four times the size of the old one. More than that, it is now just steps away from the HCC Campus Center and cafeteria. On Sept. 10, HCC held a ribbon-cutting celebration marking the relocation and expansion of both the HCC Thrive Center and the food pantry. Prior to the move, the food pantry occupied a small space within the Thrive Center, which was located in a tight, reconfigured classroom on the second floor of the Frost Building. Now, the Thrive Center and food pantry occupy dedicated, more spacious rooms side by side on the second floor of the Kittredge Center for Business and Workforce Development, which adjoins the Campus Center. The Thrive Center (formerly called the Thrive Student Resource Center) helps students address non-academic issues that can interfere with their studies, such as food and housing insecurity, transportation, healthcare, childcare, utilities, and credit. Thrive also manages the food pantry.

Food Bank Receives $50,000 from Point32Health Foundation

CHICOPEE — The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts received a $50,000 general operating grant from Point32Health Foundation to support its work of increasing access to local, affordable, nutritious food. The Food Bank provides nutritious food to an average of 114,000 people each month over the last 12 months, an 18% increase over the prior year. The grant is one of 31 new community investments totaling nearly $3 million from Point32Health Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Point32Health and its family of companies, including Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Tufts Health Plan, and Care Partners of Connecticut. The grants support community-led solutions to advance healthier communities and equity in aging in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island.

Nonotuck Resource Associates to Dedicate Lee Office

LEE — Nonotuck Resource Associates Inc. announced the dedication of its Lee office in memory of Kathleen “Kitty” Kelly-Curtin. The historical building, located at 14 Park Place, was publicly dedicated on Sept. 21, during Founders Day Weekend in Lee. The Lee Historical Commission unanimously approved the dedication last spring. Previously, the house was named for Edward Bosworth, a local businessman who made it his home in 1872. Kelly-Curtin, who passed away in July, served as the driving force behind the creation of Nonotuck Resource Associates’ Adult Family Care program, spent 26 years as a Shared Living caregiver, and worked for Nonotuck for 17 years, most recently as executive vice president of Operations. She left behind two sons, her life partner, and a large network of family and friends. Founded in 1972, Nonotuck offers Shared Living, Adult Family Care, and individualized day services for people with disabilities. Providing support and services at locations throughout Massachusetts, it is the largest shared-living organization in the state.