Your vote can help zoo earn $5,000 grant
Date: 1/18/2010
Jan. 18, 2010By G. Michael Dobbs
Managing Editor
SPRINGFIELD - Want to help the
Zoo in Forest Park receive a $5,000 grant? All you have to do is vote.
The zoo is participating in the "Join the Excitement Grant" sponsored by the Berkshire Bank Foundation, explained Doreen Robinson, the community relations director for the zoo.
The foundation will be awarding four $5,000 grants to non-profit organizations in Berkshire County, the Pioneer Valley, eastern New York and southern Vermont. The awarding of the grants will be based simply on the number of votes the foundation receives for an organization.
"It's the most easy funding opportunity I've seen," she said.
People wishing to support the zoo can vote one of two ways, she explained, by either sending a postcard to the foundation or by going online to
the Berkshire Bank Web site.
"It takes two seconds [to vote on the Web site]," Robinson said,
People can also vote by mail. On a plain 3" by 5" card, legibly handwrite or type "Join the Excitement Grant," your name and the name of the non-profit of your choosing, your age, complete address, city, state, zip code, home and business phone numbers (including area code) and an e-mail address (if any). Then, mail your card in a stamped, sealed envelope to Berkshire Bank Foundation, Berkshire Bank, P.O. Box 1308, Pittsfield, MA 01202.
Mail entries must be received by Jan. 31.
No mechanically or programatically reproduced entries are permitted. Each entry is considered one vote.
Robinson said the grant, if awarded to the zoo, would go into the general operating fund.
