Generosity has long been a hallmark of Franklin County’s character, even though this region is among the poorest in the state. Sometimes the generosity comes from one or a few well-off benefactors, and more often from many people with small budgets but big hearts.
We’ve seen this evidenced again recently when the landlords of a three-apartment dwelling in Greenfield ravaged by a fire earlier this month donated $1,000 to help their tenants buy replacement furniture and helped arrange for other donations of money and furnishings.
Debra and Dale Matthey know something about the county and appreciate the emotional toll fires can take on a household. While they have since moved to the Carolinas, they lived here more than 30 years. Dale Mathey worked for the Greenfield Fire Department most of that time and Debra Mathey was an Erving firerfighter for about seven years. So perhaps their unusual genrosity toward their tenants should not be a surprise.
And at Greenfield Community College Foundation, the non-profit group that provides monetary support each year for the local college fueled in large part by the good will of alumni, an anonymous donor has offered a $100,000 challenge grant to propel the foundation closer to its annual goal of $825,000. The matching money should help the 75 Foundation volunteers who are deployed across the county looking for pledges.
According to Regina Curtis, executive director of resource development at the college, the campaign has reached 80 percent of its goal with about a week to go.
In Orange, at the annual North Quabbin Food-A-Thon last week volunteers gathered truck loads of food and thousands in cash donations to help their less fortunate neighbors. Richard Kwiatkowski, who founded the drive with radio station WJDF and Athol-Orange Television 13 years ago, reported this year’s drive was closing in on $22,000 and 11,000 pounds of food. A nice community effort with neighbors helping neighbors.
Sadly, the news isn’t all rosy.
Franklin County United Way Executive Director Sandy Sayers says the agency’s annual charity drive has been bringing in less money each year for the past few years, which she attributes to a drop in the number of companies holding employee campaigns and less giving from employees at companies that do.
Typically, the campaign nets about $500,000 to be allocated among the umbrella charity’s 28 partner agencies like the Girls Scouts, anti-povety agency Community Action and Big Brothers, Big Sisters, according to figures provided by Sayers. But with just a month and a half to go, the agency only has about $389,000 to give out so far.
With any luck, contributions will pick up before the campaign ends, and we encourage everyone to help to the extend they can afford.
“We’re just hoping that the community understands that by supporting United Way, they’re supporting local nonprofits in their community,” Sayers said.
Sayers said the agency’s campaign ends June 30. To make a donation, visit:
uw-fc.org/give/