Community

The Board of Directors of the Literacy Network of South Berkshire, Inc. (LitNet) has elected Lucy Prashker as President of the 20-year old 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in the Lee Library in Lee, Massachusetts.  Prashker was first elected to the Board in 2012, and served as its vice president in 2013.  She succeeds long-serving co-Presidents Lois Lennett and John Felton. LitNet is the largest provider of one-on-one literacy and ESOL tutoring of adults in the Berkshires.  LitNet’s dedicated professional staff trains volunteer tutors, providing them with materials, as well as logistical and ongoing educational support.  LitNet has more than 120 tutors who donate 11,520 hours annually.  LitNet receives no government funding; all of the revenue to support its important work comes from generous individuals and businesses. “LitNet is a great little organization that has had a profound impact on so many lives in South County.  The transformative power of literacy is compelling, both for LitNet’s students, and for our extraordinarily generous tutors who give so much of their time and their hearts.  I feel privileged to be a part of it,” said Prashker.

Cain Hibbard & Myers sponsored a performance of Baobob, a West African tale told through puppetry, performed by the Theatre Motus at the Mahaiwe in Great Barrington in October 2011. This performance, happily received by an energetic house of elementary school children from South County schools, was part of the A-HA Mahaiwe Daytime educational program. Cain Hibbard is a regular sponsor of this educational series at the Mahaiwe.

The men of Cain Hibbard & Myers endured rainy weather, catcalls and blisters as participants in the first “Walk A Mile in Her Shoes” held in Berkshire County. Donning pink t-shirts and high heeled shoes, these men joined with other community members to walk the mile from Pittsfield’s Park Square to Maplewood Ave. and back as part of an effort to raise awareness about all forms of gender-based violence. Funds raised from the event went to the Elizabeth Freeman Center, the county’s provider of services for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. Cain Hibbard is a strong supporter of the Center and its mission.

Second-grader Jackson Blanchard of Housatonic, is the winner of the logo design contest sponsored by the Berkshire Hills Fun for Excellence. Muddy Brookhonors student achievements

600 students are treated to Chinese acrobats’ matinee at Mahaiwe. Read article from The Berkshire Record.

Cain Hibbard & Myers PC, Berkshire County’s oldest and most diversified law firm, announces its enthusiastic support of Project Sprout with a check for $1,000.00. Project Sprout, the brainchild of Monument Mountain Regional High School’s “Green Team”, is a sustainable food project with the ambitious plan of supplying organic fruits and vegetables to the school cafeterias of the Berkshire Hills Regional School District. Cain Hibbard has a long history of supporting public school initiatives. Lucy Prashker, a managing partner in the firm and an active member of the Berkshire County Enrichment Initiative, stated, “Project Sprout’s objectives — reducing our carbon footprint, promoting local agriculture, and getting healthier foods into our student cafeterias — are all extremely important ones. We were impressed not just by these objectives but by the freshness and determination that the students have brought to the project. The students’ energy, determination and can-do-it-ness are infectious and irresistible.”