Picture This

On the Bright Side

The 27th Annual Brightside Golf Classic raised more than $150,000 to benefit the programs and services at Brightside for Families and Children in West Springfield. A total of 325 golfers participated in the golf tournament, staged in July at three locations: Crestview Country Club in Agawam, Springfield Country Club in West Springfield, and Twin Hills Country Club in Longmeadow. Michael Oleksak, regional president of Berkshire Bank, and James Hagan, president of Westfield Bank, served as co-chairmen of the event. From left are Hagan; Oleksak; Linda Foster, vice president of Outpatient Services at Brightside; and Karl Wiggins, vice president of Residential Services at Brightside.

Comfort for Kids

Baystate Franklin Medical Center’s Comfort for Kids wagon is getting some creative donations from the community, thanks to a group of women from the Greenfield Senior Center. Led by Alice Fisk, who is a BFMC volunteer, the group has been knitting soft, colorful cloth balls and stuffing and sewing little cloth dolls and teddy bears for the hospital. The Comfort for Kids wagons, filled with age-appropriate toys including dolls, action figures, miniature cars, and games, are located in areas in the hospital where children tend to go for tests or treatment. Here, several of the volunteers are hard at work.

Physically and ‘Fiscally’ Fit Triathletes

More than 50 agents and employees of MassMutual and their family and friends recently participated in the Danskin Women’s Triathlon in Webster. Many triathletes participating in the race, which MassMutual sponsors nationally, raised money through pledges to benefit the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. MassMutual also hosted a pre-race ‘Pearls of Wisdom’ seminar, as it does in each of the triathlon series’ cities, to educate participants about ‘fiscal’ fitness. For each attendee, MassMutual donated $10 to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Last year, MassMutual donated more than $7,000 to the foundation as part of its involvement, and expects the total to be even higher this year.

A Day of Caring

The United Way of the Pioneer Valley staged its 14th annual Day of Caring on Sept. 7. Hosted by Peter and Melissa Picknelly, the event included more than 1,700 employees, representing 48 companies, who completed 209 projects in several area communities.

Volunteers from MassMutual Financial Group, Baystate Health, and Hamilton Sundstrand participated in a project to benefit Child and Family Services. Activities included maintaining and repairing adaptive sports equipment (Hamilton volunteers) and cleaning a storage unit (Mass Mutual and Baystate Health).

Volunteers from Sisters of Providence Health System, the Junior League of Greater Springfield Inc., Westfield Bank, Mass Mutual Financial Group, and Meyers Brothers Kalicka, P.C. participated in activities to benefit Springfield Day Nursery, such as spending time with and reading to the children, cleaning the closets and playgrounds of the nursery, painting, and washing the nursery’s vehicles.

As part of a project for the Whispering Hose Therapeutic Riding Center in East Longmeadow, volunteers from Health New England and Monarch Life Insurance Co. participated in projects such as painting a barn and fences, and cleaning their pasture.