Avangrid Foundation Provides $45,000 in Grants to Berkshire County Arts Organizations

The Avangrid Foundation, the primary philanthropic arm of Berkshire Gas’s parent company Avangrid, Inc. (NYSE: AGR), announced today that it has provided a total of $45,000 in grants to four nonprofits in the Berkshires dedicated to the arts: Barrington Stage Company, Hancock Shaker Village, Mahaiwe Performing Arts and MASS MoCA.

“I am pleased for the Avangrid Foundation to support these four organizations that are taking impactful steps to increase access to the arts in the Berkshires,” said Pedro Azagra, Avangrid CEO. “At Avangrid, we recognize the critical need to protect, preserve and promote cultural and artistic heritage. These grants will help to accomplish this mission by funding programs that increase access to these resources for our most disadvantaged populations.”

“Each of these programs provides a different avenue of access to the arts for youth, families and our communities as a whole,” said Pablo Colón, director of corporate citizenship at Avangrid and executive director of the Avangrid Foundation. “Inclusivity and equity are key components of thriving communities, and the Avangrid Foundation is proud to support efforts that increase access to the arts with these grants.”

Barrington Stage Company, a regional theatre company in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts, will use the $15,000 Avangrid Foundation grant to support their Playwright Mentoring Program. This six-month out-of-school program uses theater as a means of providing a safe, creative and empowering experience for Berkshire County youth. The participants, ages 12 to 19, work with a playwright to create short plays and performance pieces based on their personal stories. The goal is for the participants to develop conflict-resolution and creative risk-taking skills and use the foundation of theater to educate and empower themselves and their peers.

“As the participants create short plays based on their personal stories, we provide them with an artistic outlet, and a place where they will feel welcome as they develop positive relationships with their peers and adult role models (mentors),” said Martin Mansfield, director of institutional giving at Barrington Stage Company.

Hancock Shaker Village, a 750-acre museum celebrating the history and legacy of the Shakers, will use the $10,000 Avangrid Foundation grant to help fund its annual Free Community Day. During this celebration, admission is free all day for all ages and Spanish-speaking accessible programs are available. In addition to the regular slate of museum offerings, special programming will be offered during the Free Community Day, including a children’s scavenger hunt, interactive and participatory art displays, craft demonstrations, wood-working and blacksmithing workshops, interpreter-led tours and Shaker talks, and visits with the barnyard animals.