Berkshire Bank Foundation awards Bennington Area Habitat for Humanity $3,000 grant

Berkshire Bank Foundation has announced that it has awarded Bennington Area Habitat for Humanity a $3,000 grant to support their Jennifer Lane Housing project in Manchester, Vermont. Bennington Area Habitat plans to use the grants funds to purchase building supplies for each of two homes Habitat is building in the summer and fall of 2013.
Bennington Area Habitat for Humanity brings together people of all backgrounds, races and religions to build, renovate, or preserve homes in partnership with families in need. Habitat not only builds homes, but communities and hope, by partnering with others to accelerate and broaden access to affordable housing as a foundation for breaking the cycle of poverty. Consistent with the goals of Habitat for Humanity, the Bennington Area affiliate seeks to address the issues of low-income housing by pursuing new construction and rehabilitation of homes to be occupied by families seeking to improve the quality of their lives through safe, sufficient, and affordable home ownership. The Bennington Area affiliate serves all of Bennington County, Vermont.
Bennington Area Habitat for Humanity’s Jennifer Lane Housing project began in 2011 with plans to build as many as 22 single-family homes on the property. Since the groundbreaking considerable infrastructure work has been completed including a community septic system for twenty-two homes, strategic tree planting for the privacy, clearing of land, and a 450’extension of the existing road. Habitat estimates that it will cost approximately $130,000 to construct each home which range in size between 1050 and 1250 square feet of living space depending upon the number of people living in the home. Habitat builds homes that use the most environmentally responsible materials while making the homes easy for volunteers to build, simple for first time homeowners to maintain, and affordable for the long-term.
Peter J. Lafayette, Executive Director of Berkshire Bank Foundation said ‘Berkshire Bank is pleased to once again provide this grant to support the work of Bennington Area Habitat for Humanity as they help make the dream of homeownership a reality for dozens of deserving families. Our Berkshire Bank employees are extensively involved with Habitat’s work through the bank’s employee volunteer program and plan to continue their involvement in 2013. At Berkshire Bank, we believe life is exciting, and helping people achieve the dream of homeownership by supporting Habitat for Humanity is one way we can help people realize that exciting goal.’
In addition to financial support, Berkshire Bank administers a large Employee Volunteer Program that carries out community service projects benefiting schools, nonprofit organizations and communities within the bank’s service area. In 2012, Berkshire Bank employees completed 95 volunteer projects in which over 50% of the bank’s employees participated donating over 37,000 hours of service through both company-sponsored and individual volunteer efforts to help their local communities.
Background
Berkshire Bank Foundation Inc. and Berkshire Bank Foundation ‘Legacy Region, the charitable arms of Berkshire Bank, America’s Most Exciting Bankâ ¢, are leaders in philanthropy and community involvement. The foundations’mission is to enhance the quality of life in Berkshire Bank’s footprint by providing priority funding to education and community/economic development projects. They also fund programs dedicated to the arts, education, and human services. Each year the two foundations award nearly $1.5 million to nonprofit organizations in their footprint. For more information, visitwww.berkshirebank.com/foundation.
PITTSFIELD, MASS, July 2,, 2013 ‘Berkshire Bank Foundation