GREENFIELD — To support the Greenfield Community College (GCC) Foundation, alumni and professors attended a fundraising concert at Hawks & Reed Performing Arts Center last week.
With a performance from Jessica Dow, followed by headliner gypsy jazz band Swing Caravan, a crowd of about 40 gathered in the ballroom for the fundraiser. Tickets were $15 each.
GCC Foundation Executive Director Regina Curtis said the event supported a great cause while showcasing talent from the community college, including Matthew Shippee, the singer and guitar player in Swing Caravan.
“Matt (Shippee) is a professor and the director of the Music Department,” Curtis explained. “Jessica Dow, the opener, is a graduate of GCC, as well as many people in the audience tonight.”
Working at GCC for almost 20 years, Shippee said he wanted to support the GCC Foundation, which has been supporting students who work, students who cannot afford tuition and students who cannot travel to other educational institutions since 1968.
“I think supporting these two community hubs — GCC and Hawks & Reed — is important,” he said. “It’s great to have these entities, and to increase connections in Greenfield and surrounding areas. We wanted to be able to have something fun that was centered around music.”
“It’s a good cause,” Steven Goldsher, Hawks & Reed owner, said of the arts center’s motivation to host a GCC Foundation fundraiser. “We’re fortunate to have Greenfield Community College, a place where there is a gathering of minds of the future. We want to be part of that and keep Greenfield sustainable.”
Reach Melina Bourdeau at mbourdeau@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 263.