UCPWMA Hosts HOWL 2 Go Dueling Pianos Fundraiser

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — On Friday, April 24, the United Cerebral Palsy of Western Massachusetts (UCPWMA) is organizing HOWL 2 Go Dueling Pianos at the Berkshire Hills Country Club.
 
The event aims to raise funds for the UCPWMA Assistive Technology PATCH Scholarship Fund.
 
HOWL 2 Go Dueling Pianos features two musicians performing popular songs while engaging with the audience. Attendees can request songs, and bids are accepted for song selections. The event supports the UCPWMA Assistive Technology PATCH Scholarship Fund, which aids members who may not qualify for certain government services but are living on fixed incomes with other forms of government support, such as SNAP or WIC, to apply for Assistive Technology devices.
 
Tickets for the fundraiser are $30 per person, including appetizers, or $350 for a table of 10, also including appetizers. A cash bar will be available. Tickets can be purchased through EVENTBRITE, and more information is available at ucpwma.org.
 
 
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Wahconah Students Join Statewide 'SOS' Call for Rural School Funding

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff

DALTON, Mass. — Students at Wahconah Regional High School are urging the state to fully fund Rural School Aid that supports essential services that shape their future.
 
Rural districts across the state participated in Rural and Declining Enrollment Schools Week of Action to insist Beacon Hill fully fund rural aid at $60 million. 
 
Schools across Massachusetts sent their pleas for aid to lawmakers through letter-writing campaigns, sign-making, and coordinated gatherings where students and educators formed the letters "SOS."

Wahconah students did something different — they created an educational video detailing the need for increased funding for rural schools with the school's music teacher Brian Rabuse, who edited the video, Assistant Superintendent Aaron Robb said. 

The advocacy efforts move the issue from spreadsheets to show the human cost of a funding formula previously described as "remarkably wrong." 
 
During an interview with iBerkshires, students expressed how districts without rural aid would have to make reductions in world language programing, mental health support, extracurricular opportunities, and other areas they find essential. 
 
"Our students deserve the same quality of education as any child in Massachusetts, regardless of their ZIP code," Superintendent Mike Henault said in apress release.
 
"The week of action is an opportunity for our communities to come together and make it clear to Beacon Hill that the status quo is no longer acceptable." 
 
Rural schools attempt to create the same quality education as urban and suburban areas while balancing high fixed costs of transportation and operations of geographically large, low-population districts.
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