Rachel’s Table and Teen Board hosting Outrun Hunger 5K

SPRINGFIELD — Rachel’s Table and its Teen Board will host Outrun Hunger, a 5K race and a 1-mile fun walk to raise money for Rachel’s Table’s hunger relief efforts across Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin counties, on Sunday, May 19, at 9 a.m. in Forest Park.

For more information and to register, racers of all ages can visit feedwma.org/outrun-hunger-2024.

Sponsorship opportunities are also available for Outrun Hunger, ranging from a simple “Security Bowl” package to the “Wellness” package. To sign up to sponsor Outrun Hunger, visit feedwma.org/outrun-hunger-how-to-sponsor.

Civics Trivia Night coming up April 27

GREENFIELD — The League of Women Voters of Franklin County is hosting a Civics Trivia Night at the Elks Lodge, 3 Church St., on Saturday, April 27. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., with the game slated to begin at 7 p.m.

Tickets are $10 per person, with a limit of eight people per team. People can come as a team, form a team of one, or join another team and make new friends. New this year, tickets for students are $5.

The League of Women Voters is also seeking donations for its gift basket raffle. To donate, email lwvfranklincounty@gmail.com.

34 Franklin County farms receive funding

Checks of up to $2,500 have been sent to 100 western Massachusetts farms, including 34 in Franklin County, that are recipients of this year’s Local Farmer Awards. The Harold Grinspoon Charitable Foundation, in partnership with numerous other funders, supported this record number of awards in the program’s 10th year.

A team of independent reviewers read each of the 199 applications submitted this year. The capital projects include the purchase of an egg-washing machine, livestock pasture expansion, reusable harvest bins, mobile chicken coops and more.

Harold Grinspoon, philanthropist and founder of the program, commented, “The farmers in our region have done so much for our economy and food supply — yet these wonderful folks never ask for anything. I’m so proud that the Local Farmer Awards have served their needs for the past 10 years with cash awards for capital improvements amounting to $1.5 million.”

“We are delighted to be able to support 100 farms in our 10th year. In 2015, our inaugural year, we provided funds for 33 farms,” Cari Carpenter, the program’s director, said in a statement. “We would have liked to have been able to provide support to more of the farms that applied this year, but our fund limit required the reviewers to make some difficult choices.”

Anyone who is interested in supporting the 2025 Local Farmer Awards should email Carpenter at cari@hgf.org.

The Franklin County farms to receive awards are: Big River Chestnuts, Bostrom Farm, Boulder Top Farm, Boyden Bros. Maple, Bree-Z-Knoll Farm, Coolidge Hill Farm, Crooked Trail Farm, D.A. Smiarowski Farms, Dar-Ridge Farm, Everyday Farm, Fern Hill Farm, Foxtrot Farm, Good Bunch Farm, Gothic Top Farm, Hager’s Farm Market, Hillside Farm, Hives to Home, Leyden Glen Farm, Lombrico, Meadowsweet Farm, Mycoterra Farm, Natural Roots, Oak Hollow Livestock, O’Brien Farm, Quonquont Farm, Red Fire Farm, Roaming Farm, Robariah Farms, Kitchen Garden Farm, Thomas Farm, Tip Top Orchard, Underline Farm, Windrow Farm and Windy Ridge Farm & Services.

DA’s office renames unit handling child abuse cases

In recognition of its work to protect local children, the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office has renamed a special unit created in 1987 the Child Protection Unit.

“It’s a better name for what we have been doing since the unit’s inception. We work with community partners and within the criminal justice system to protect children,” Northwestern Assistant District Attorney and Child Protection Unit Chief Lori Odierna said in a statement. “We protect them from current abusive situations and potential future harm.”

The unit was formerly known as the Child Abuse Unit. Northwestern District Attorney David Sullivan recently acknowledged the name change in remarks at an event held in Hadley to mark Child Abuse Awareness Month, held annually in April.

“This new name makes sense because prevention is so important to what we do,” Sullivan said. “Education and awareness about the dangers children face and a sense that protecting children is the responsibility of all of us is the only way we can truly protect children.”

In recognition of the unique nature and challenges posed by crimes against children, the Child Abuse Unit was created in 1987. The unit’s mission is to protect children by preventing abuse and neglect through awareness and education, and prosecuting crimes to hold offenders accountable.

ADAs and family service advocates in the unit receive special training to work with child victims using trauma-informed approaches. The unit works closely with law enforcement and the Children’s Advocacy Centers based in Greenfield and Northampton.

In addition to prosecution of cases, the unit educates the community to prevent abuse by offering trainings on mandated reporter requirements and conducting reviews in all cases of child fatalities to recommend policies and practices that will better protect children. This Child Fatality Review Team is mandated by state law for all DA’s offices.

In 2023, the unit opened 359 cases involving 411 child victims, filed criminal charges against 144 defendants, and resolved 136 child abuse cases with either changes of pleas or trials.

Four local students named to Simmons dean’s list

BOSTON — The following four Franklin County residents were named to the fall semester dean’s list at Simmons University in Boston: Skyler Cohen of Bernardston, Michaela O’Donnell and Kristina Reed of Greenfield, and Lia Vichi of Montague.

To qualify for dean’s list status, undergraduate students must obtain a grade point average of 3.5 or higher, based on 12 or more credit hours of work in classes using the letter grade system.

Baystate Franklin Executive Committee creates new scholarship

GREENFIELD — Baystate Franklin Medical Center’s Medical Staff Executive Committee has established a recurrent scholarship (up to four years) for people from Franklin County, or those with strong ties to Franklin County, who are entering medical professions.

The goal of the scholarship is to promote and enable the education of recipients so they may go on to better the health of the community. The exact amount of the scholarship will depend on the number of applicants but will be no less than $1,000 per year.

Applicants must be enrolled or be enrolling in a health professions program during the calendar year they apply for the scholarship. Programs can include medical school (MD/DO); nursing school (RN/BSN); physician assistant; CNA; NP/DNP; radiology or surgical technician; speech, physical or occupational therapy; and more.

The programs can be outside the state and country, or can be virtual, provided they are in good standing with the accreditation board. Social work and recovery coaching programs may be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Scholarship applications will be accepted until June 15. After that, a subcommittee of the Executive Committee will pick recipients. Those enrolled in educational programs may be eligible for multiple years. Applicants must submit an additional brief essay, including education/career updates, to receive the scholarship in subsequent years.

For more information or a copy of the application, email Andrea Johnston at Andrea.Johnston2@baystatehealth.org.

Renowned poet wins further honors

Poet, essayist and National Book Award winner Martín Espada, a professor of English at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a Shelburne Falls resident, is one of four recipients of this year’s Governor’s Awards in the Humanities, which recognize significant contributions to civic and social life.

The awards, made in partnership with the Northampton nonprofit Mass Humanities and Gov. Maura Healey, will be presented Sept. 26 at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston.

Espada, who has published more than 20 books, including some as a translator, has won numerous other honors for his work, including the Shelley Memorial Award, the Robert Creeley Award, an Academy of American Poets Fellowship and a Guggenheim Fellowship. He was also a Pulitzer Prize finalist.

In his work, Espada has focused on using writing and storytelling to address pressing issues and reclaim historical narratives, including those of the Puerto Rican community in Massachusetts.

Also winning Governor’s Awards in the Humanities are Jackie Jenkins-Scott, a Boston-area leader in higher education and public health; Bob Rivers, CEO of Eastern Bank in Boston, who’s been recognized for philanthropy and contributions to the humanities and social justice; and Cheryll Toney Holley of Worcester, a researcher, writer and speaker specializing in the histories of African American and Indigenous peoples of New England.

“These individuals reflect the incredible ecosystem of the humanities in Massachusetts,” Brian Boyles, executive director of Mass Humanities, said in a statement. “Our world is better due to their creative genius and commitment to serving our communities.”