WOW: Berkshire County's Watson Fund Raises Over $10k in 3 Hours

WSBS hosted the annual Watson Fund Radiothon this past Monday morning (Dec. 6) from 7 am -10 am. The Watson Fund aims to serve families in the southern Berkshires who have fallen on hard times. The Watson Fund assists these families by giving them food and clothing vouchers.

Here are some facts about the Watson Fund:

The Watson Fund was started in 1936 by John S. Watson as the Community Christmas Cheer Committee.
The organization was incorporated as a non-profit in 1978.

Currently, families from the southern Berkshires that find themselves in need apply to receive a clothing voucher for each qualifying child and/or a food voucher toward a holiday feast. As it was mentioned over and over during the radiothon, no family should spend the holidays without food on the table.

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We learned during the radiothon that over the past couple of years, the Watson Fund's goal was $30,000 but due to covid and inflation among other factors, the need has increased substantially over the past year to the point where the Watson Fund had to increase their goal by $10,000 which makes this year's goal $40,000.

During the three-hour radiothon on WSBS, $10,500 was raised which goes toward the Watson Fund's goal and will make a positive impact for needy families in the southern Berkshires. We heard a few stories on-air where these vouchers made a big difference for families in the southern Berkshires so much so that if it wasn't for the Watson Fund, Christmas would not have happened for these folks. This is an example of the community coming together in a big way.

If you didn't make a donation during the Watson Fund Radiothon, you can make a donation right now by mailing a check to:

The Watson Fund
P.O Box 284
Great Barrington, MA 01230

Help a south Berkshire family in need this holiday season. We'll end with a phrase that Smitty Pignatelli coined, let us all "Be Berkshire."

Featured Image (from left to right): Smitty Pignatelli, Kate McCormick, Dorothy Heath, Mikayla Dahoney (behind Dorothy), Bobbie Hallig, Oscar Hallig (all of these folks are in some way involved with the Watson Fund and were part of the radiothon.)

BERKSHIRES: What Berkshire County myths would you add to this list?