Belchertown Education Foundation awards $23K in grants

The Belchertown Education Foundation (BEF) has awarded seven grants totaling nearly $23,000 to Belchertown Public Schools for the 2026-2027 school year, and $133,000 over the last decade. 

“Our mission is to enrich the education of Belchertown Public School students by funding innovative, high-impact initiatives that would otherwise go unfunded,” BEF Board President Jennifer Faulkner said. “Soon we will celebrate 10 years of impact and share gratitude with all who have touched the Foundation in some way. It’s because of our community that we continue to grow. This year we’ve granted one of the largest amounts in our history.”

The Foundation’s grant administrator, Stephen Bourgeois, notes that this year’s grants range from an outdoor classroom to projects that welcome students entering new schools due to the closure of Cold Spring School.

“We awarded a grant to school nurses for the first time that enhances student safety during field trips. We also had the opportunity to expand upon past grants for a dyslexia library and new ovens to enhance baking skills leading to greater independence for Transitions Classroom students,” Bourgeois said. 

The awards include:

  • Window World of Western Mass Outdoor Classroom, Jabish Brook Middle School. This grant supports the Jabish’s first outdoor classroom. This alternative learning environment will include convertible benches, umbrella coverage and additional seating to enhance academic skills, address social-emotional needs and reduce stress through outdoor learning.
  • Welcoming Environment Through Arts and Crafts, Jabish Brook Middle School. Sixth graders joined seventh and eighth graders for the first time this September. Supporting the transition, this grant supports art to foster empathy and connection. Students are engaging in welcoming art projects such as painting rocks, making posters and other positive visual messaging.
  • Nurses’ First Aid Kits for Safer Field Trips, Districtwide. School nurses at each school will receive new heavy-duty backpacks fully stocked with first-aid and other supplies for field trips, upgrading from a shared backpack.
  • Sketch to Story Language Arts Workshop, Chestnut Hill Community School. Aligned with the language arts curriculum, Jarett J. Krosoczka, an award-winning New York Times bestselling author and illustrator of books for young readers, will conduct a workshop of real-life examples of the writing process.
  • Expanded Dyslexia Resource Library, Chestnut Hill Community School. This grant expands the library to include books for incoming third graders, building on a grant in 2023 that provided resources for fourth- and fifth-grade readers with dyslexia and learning disabilities.
  • Calming Corner for Social-emotional Well-being, Chestnut Hill Community School. The Calming Corner creates a dedicated space supporting the social-emotional well-being of students. It provides a safe environment for reflection, self-regulation and emotional reset.
  • Transition Classroom Kitchen Oven Upgrade, Belchertown High School. The Transitions Classroom helps young adults with disabilities practice adult daily living skills that prepare them to live more independently. This grant provides double wall ovens that create the capacity for more students to practice important baking skills to gain independence and operate appliances safely and efficiently. 

The BEF is an independent, nonprofit that depends on volunteers and donations from the community. Tax-deductible donations to sustain this work may be made at BelchertownEducationFoundation.org.

Fall pickleball clinics in Northampton

Northampton Parks & Recreation is offering fall Pickleball Clinics at the Ellerbrook Pickleball courts. The clinics will take place on Monday evenings, Oct. 12 and Oct. 19.

Each week’s instruction will focus on a different set of pickleball skills. The first clinic will focus on consistent deep serves, safe returns and gaining kitchen dominance and the second clinic will focus on kitchen line patience, paddle placement and high-ball management. Individuals can register for one or both clinics.

The clinics are led by Matthew Smith, a Level One Professional Pickleball Registry certified coach. Clinics will be a maximum of eight participants for focused and personalized instruction.

Preregistration is required for each clinic. For more information, contact the Parks & Recreation Department at 413-587-1040, stop by the office at 100A Bridge Road on the grounds of JFK Middle School, or visit our website at www.northamptonma.gov/recreation.

Co-op bank, Salvation Army partner for kids’ coat drive

Greenfield Cooperative Bank will again partner with The Salvation Army for its annual Coats for Kids drive, a community initiative that helps ensure children have access to warm winter essentials. All 10 Co-op branches will serve as collection sites, inviting customers and community members to donate new or gently-used winter coats and other essentials like hats, gloves, scarves, and boots.

Community members can drop donations off at any co-op branch during regular business hours between Oct. 1-15. All collected items will be distributed by The Salvation Army to ensure that local children benefit directly from the generosity of donors.

The Salvation Army’s Coats for Kids program has been meeting a vital need for decades, distributing hundreds of thousands of coats to children in need. In addition to coats, donations of hats, gloves, scarves, snow pants and boots are encouraged. The Salvation Army reminds donors that coats and winter gear should be in good condition, with working zippers and fasteners, and free from major damage.

The bank’s branches in Hampshire County and southern Franklin County are located at 67 King St. in Northampton, 6 Main St. in Florence, 487 Newton St. in South Hadley, 390 College St. in Amherst, and 18 Amherst Road in Sunderland.

Big Y holding walk-in vaccination clinics this week

Big Y supermarkets are holding walk-in vaccine clinics this week through Sunday, Oct. 4, as part of the chain’s sixth annual Big Vax Week.

All locations will offer seasonal flu shots and the 2026-2027 COVID-19 vaccine, with no appointment needed. Stores with on-site pharmacies will also provide vaccines for pneumonia, shingles, Tdap, hepatitis A and B, meningococcal disease, RSV, MMR and HPV throughout the week. Locations without a pharmacy will hold a single designated clinic day staffed by a pharmacist.

An insurance card is required. In Massachusetts, flu vaccines are available to those 5 and older and COVID-19 vaccines to those 12 and older. Connecticut recipients must be at least 18.

Anyone vaccinated during the week will receive a coupon for $5 off a purchase of $25 or more. Big Y pharmacy teams gave more than 8,000 flu and COVID-19 vaccines during last year’s event, the company said.

Clinic dates and times for each store are listed at bigy.com.