The Berkshire Community Association (BCA) recently received a $10,000 grant from the Mildred Faulkner Truman Foundation. These grant funds, along with an additional $2,200 donated by the Tioga County Seniors Citizen’s Foundation, Inc. and supplemented with donations from local merchants, groups and individuals, will be used to construct a complete handicap accessible restroom on the first floor of the historic Berkshire Community Hall. This level of the Hall houses the Helping Hands Food Pantry and additionally has a large area used for Berkshire Free Library activities, organizational meetings as well as private and public functions.
Last year, with financial assistance once again from the Mildred Faulkner Truman Foundation in the form of a matching grant, the handicap accessible first floor of the Community Hall was insulated, rewired and sheet rocked, resulting in a functional, attractive and energy efficient facility available to Northern Tioga County organizations, groups and individuals. The rapidly increasing utilization of this floor and of course the staff and clients, of the very active Food Pantry will significantly benefit from the completion of this restroom project. Additionally the restroom will contain a shower making the facility available as a shelter area should the need arise.
The Hall restoration project began in 2006 and already hosts hundreds of events annually including youth activities, dances and dance classes, benefits and weddings. A large share of this very extensive ongoing project has been made possible by previous grants from the Mildred Faulkner Truman Foundation.
The staff and members of the Berkshire Community Association, and certainly the appreciative residents of Northern Tioga County, express sincere gratitude to the Mildred Faulkner Truman Foundation, whose continuing generosity has played such a significant role in returning this historic treasure to the local area.
