Search Results

Keyword search: community

By LAURA SPENCER

It didn’t take long in my time volunteering with Grow Food Northampton to be struck by just how many ways they show up for our community. During early morning shifts, the Community Farm staff guided us in harvesting produce like radishes, kale, garlic, and tomatoes that would be sent to local food pantries and cooked into healthy meals. I watched Molly, the education manager, bring school kids into the strawberry patch for a botanical scavenger hunt, and witnessed the children’s delighted faces when they were each allowed to pick one juicy red fruit right off the vine, all of them asking for more. I signed up for free classes about permaculture and soil health and how to tend to our gardens in the time of climate change.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — A University of Massachusetts student majoring in sociology, Prachi Dayal regularly interacts with survivors of domestic violence as a legal intern at Safe Passage in Northampton, talking to these individuals and ensuring they and their families get the help they need.

ELISE LINSCOTT

HOLYOKE — The crowd roared inside the MassMutual Center in Springfield on Saturday morning as Holyoke Community College conferred associate degrees and certificates to 742 graduates from the class of 2025 at the college’s 78th commencement ceremony.

By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL

To many lay people, the world of tech seems like something almost mythical: a world of innate genius, absurd wealth and complex mathematical algorithms that make the idea of entering the field seem almost impenetrable to those without the talent, the education or the privilege. 

By CHRIS LARABEE

GREENFIELD — The White House’s discretionary budget request for fiscal year 2026, released on May 2, proposes slashing two line items that, if approved, could significantly alter Community Action Pioneer Valley’s services.

By EMILEE KLEIN

NORTHAMPTON — Some people are led by answers, but Catherine Kay’s life has unfolded around a guiding question: What can I do, with my current passions and capabilities, to support myself and my community?

By ANTHONY CAMMALLERI

GREENFIELD — DIAL/SELF Youth and Community Services, a Greenfield nonprofit that serves youths across Franklin, Hampshire and Hampden counties and the North Quabbin region, announced Tuesday that the federal Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is expected to cut nearly 40% of its roughly $2 million budget.

By EMILEE KLEIN

BELCHERTOWN — Lucky drivers on the Mass Pike may look out their windshield to see an industrial-sized recycling container with brightly-colored murals of people gardening in upcycled tire planters, critters playing on the Jabish Brook or even the beloved buildings of Belchertown rather than the typical blue, green and brown neutrals.

By CHRIS LARABEE

If you take a look at the spreadsheets on Mason Smith and Tyler Wolkowicz’s computer screens, you might think they’re undertaking an extensive math project.

By ANTHONY CAMMALLERI

GREENFIELD — Family members, friends and colleagues gathered in Greenfield Community College’s Cohn Family Dining Commons Monday night to mourn the loss of change-maker, activist and beloved community member La Wanza Lett-Brewington.

By DOMENIC POLI

GREENFIELD — The Massachusetts Association for Community Action has launched its Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program that helps low-income taxpayers prepare their tax returns.

By MADISON SCHOFIELD

GREENFIELD — Clare Higgins, executive director of Community Action of Pioneer Valley, will retire this summer after nearly 14 years at the helm of the nonprofit anti-poverty agency, marking an end to a career — she previously served as Northampton’s mayor and on its City Council for about 18 years — that has enabled her to make a difference in the lives of residents up and down the Pioneer Valley for the last three-plus decades.

By EMILEE KLEIN

NORTHAMPTON — Nothing could knock down Claudia Quintero on the day she received her green card and work permit at 17 years old — she was too elated to notice anything else.

By EMILEE KLEIN

SOUTH HADLEY — The public is invited to weigh in on the first draft of preliminary zoning recommendations for the Route 202/33 corridor at the fourth public forum on Thursday night.

By CAROLYN BROWN

Fans of the Disney musical “Newsies” generally know the titular group of characters as boys, but a local theater company’s upcoming production is expanding the show to include female and nonbinary characters.

By EMILEE KLEIN

BELCHERTOWN — Three artists will transform the Belchertown Transfer Station’s brown recycling containers into works of art that incorporate opinions from residents in the design and execution of the murals.A collaboration between the Creative Economy...

By CHRIS LARABEE

SOUTH DEERFIELD — After a national search, Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA) has found a new executive director right here in the Pioneer Valley. The agency has chosen Jennifer Core, a Warwick resident and farmer with a background...

By ERIN-LEIGH HOFFMAN and SAMUEL GELINAS

In the days following the presidential election, local LGBTQ organizations began hosting support sessions to help foster community amid rising fears that a second Trump administration will rollback the progress made on rights and legal protections...

By CHRIS LARABEE

A big change will be coming to families who take advantage of the Healthy Incentives Program (HIP).Beginning in December, all families using HIP benefits, regardless of their household size, will see their monthly incentives reduced to $20, which is,...

The Northampton Community Rowing Club competed in the Youth Northeast Fall Championship Regatta on Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester on Sunday, closing out its season with a handful of amazing achievements.The girls junior novice took first place in the...

By CHRIS LISINSKI

Ten years ago, Sara Guttierez dropped out of college because she could not make the finances work.It was a hard, stressful decision, she recalled Wednesday, one that left her feeling “lost and uncertain” about the future. But today, Guttierez is back...