Berkshire Bank Makes $8,000 Grant to Benefit Mass Mentoring Partnership

BOSTON — Berkshire Bank announced that the Berkshire Bank Foundation, in partnership with New England Sports Network (NESN), has awarded an $8,000 grant to the Mass Mentoring Partnership through the Berkshire Bank Exciting Assists Grant Program.

Lily Mendez, president and CEO of Mass Mentoring Partnership, accepted the contribution from Gary Levante, Berkshire Bank’s vice president of Corporate Social Responsibility, during NESN’s coverage of the Boston Bruins on Dec. 1.

The Exciting Assists Grant program runs through March 30, 2019 and raises funds to support three charitable causes. The Berkshire Bank Foundation provides $100 per assist to the program. An assist is defined as a Boston Bruins player who shoots, passes, or deflects the puck toward a scoring teammate, or touched it in any other way which enabled the goal, meaning they were ‘assisting’ in the goal. During the first portion of the season, the Bruins had 80 assists, resulting in an $8,000 grant from the Berkshire Bank Foundation.

Based in Boston, Mass Mentoring Partnership (MMP) is fueling the movement to expand empowering youth-adult relationships across Massachusetts. MMP serves more than 250 mentoring and youth-development programs statewide, supporting more than 33,000 youth in mentoring relationships.

In addition to Mass Mentoring Partnership, two other nonprofit organizations will receive funding during the remainder of the season, including:

• Bottom Line. Founded in 1997 on the belief that students need a mentor and a guide during the college-application process and throughout college to succeed, Bottom Line has addressed the low college-graduation rates of low-income and first-generation students. By providing consistent, one-on-one support, Bottom Line has helped thousands of students stay in college to complete their degrees. The promotion period runs from Dec. 2 to Feb. 3.

• Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless, “A Bed For Every Child.” The mission of the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless is to eradicate homelessness across the state. It aims to meet this mission through advocacy, technical assistance, education, and programming, including its “A Bed For Every Child” initiative.  The promotion period runs from Feb. 4 to March 30.

This is the third consecutive year that Berkshire Bank and NESN have teamed up to offer the Exciting Assists promotion in connection with NESN’s broadcast of the Boston Bruins.  Last year, more than $50,000 was raised and shared among the Jimmy Fund, Boston Cares, and Bridge Over Troubled Waters.