Berkshire Community Association awarded grant from the Mildred Faulkner Truman Foundation

The Berkshire Community Association (BCA) recently received a generous grant of $8,375. from the Mildred Faulkner Truman Foundation. These funds, supplemented with individual donations and BCA funds, allowed the BCA to contract for much-needed painting of recent construction areas and for a long-overdue facelift for all interior painted surfaces. The painting contract was completed successfully by Mike Hatton of Hatton Painting of Owego, New York.

BCA is a Not for Profit, 501c(3) organization originally formed in 1999. After successfully completing many community projects, in 2005 BCA focused on the restoration of the Berkshire Community Hall. Once the cultural and social center of northern Tioga County, the Hall was abandoned in the early 1950s, later acquired by the Berkshire Fire District. The Hall was in turn leased to BCA. Extensive restoration began in 2006. Now virtually fully restored, the Community Hall boasts a completed first floor which includes the Helping Hands Food Pantry, a large gathering/meeting/general purpose area which is insulated, heated, and carpeted, an office, kitchen, restroom, and storage. The large second story houses a complete basketball court and stage which are often used for large gatherings such as weddings. The entry level includes a second restroom, storage, and a handicap lift which makes the entire building readily accessible to all.

Now the Berkshire Community Hall hosts nearly 400 events / days annually and is once again the social and cultural center for the area. A large share of this very extensive ongoing project has been made possible by previous grants from the Mildred Faulkner Truman Foundation. Their most recent generous grant makes it possible to keep this functional historic treasure in excellent condition despite the extensive usage by a wide variety of users. 

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 the Berkshire Community Hall to the local area.