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Volunteer Month

Thank you to all our amazing volunteers! In honor of National Volunteer Month, we celebrate their commitment to our communities. Shown below are our Hilltown Church Food Pantry Volunteers, who helped move 4,000 pounds of food in March, feeding hundreds of people with the assistance and support of 11 drivers. We appreciate our volunteers today and…

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Calling Our Community to Action for Student Success

We take our name from the pioneering 19th-century educator, Mary Lyon, a Buckland native and the founder of Mt. Holyoke College in 1837, who devoted her life to providing access to education for everyone. Her words, spoken roughly 150 years ago, “Go where no one else will go. Do what no one else will do.”…

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Emily Willis, Friends of the Foundation Spotlight

Emily Willis, former Mary Lyon Foundation board member and devoted librarian, is steadfastly committed to fostering student success. Through her involvement with the Mary Lyon Foundation, Emily ensures the Mohawk Trail Regional School District (MTRS) literacy and library programs are successful. She’s passionate about the benefits of the library, and she was eager to partner with the Mary Lyon Foundation for…

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Letter from the Executive Director: Spring 2023

Spring has sprung, and it’s time to celebrate the tireless work of our Volunteers!  April is National Volunteer Month, and the Mary Lyon Foundation is exceptionally grateful for the service of our volunteers. Their impact is immeasurable. The Mary Lyon Foundation has eleven volunteers who assist us with our grocery delivery program through Hilltown Church’s…

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Providing Warmth and Care During a Cold, Hard Winter

Scarlet Kitchen and her son recently moved to Massachusetts from Hawaii. Going from a warm, sunny climate to a cold, dark New England winter was a shock to their systems. To make the challenging transition harder, Scarlet’s furnace broke in November.  Scarlet contacted several offices in the area to receive assistance, but no one returned…

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Board Member Peter Stevens Believes in Giving Back

Long-time Shelburne resident and board member Peter Stevens has spent his life giving back by working with education-focused non-profits – and he doesn’t plan to stop. Initially invited into the Foundation by founder Sue Samoriski, Peter has played a vital role in the Mary Lyon Foundation’s success for nearly seven years. He currently serves as Vice-Chair…

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Alyssa Collins is Supporting Student Success

Alyssa Collins works hard to give her students the tools and opportunities to thrive. As an MTRS-supported classroom teacher, Alyssa received the Mary Lyon Foundation’s educator assistance grant in October. Now, she can offer more social-emotional support programs and self-regulation tools to help students manage difficult emotions.  Going Above and Beyond  “Mary Lyon’s educator assistance…

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Friends of the Foundation: Jocelyn Alvord, Shelburne Falls Branch Manager and Officer for Greenfield Savings Bank

Greenfield Savings Bank proudly supports the Mary Lyon Foundation and promotes its vision and mission to advance and invest in the success of local students and prepare them for the wider world. This vital work focuses primarily on the Mohawk Trail Regional School District in Franklin County. In recent years, GSB sponsored the Mary Lyon…

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Together Let’s Achieve A Brighter Future

Our Campaign for Student Success invites us to invest in the most pressing needs facing our students, families, and educators. By working together, we can ensure that all students in western Franklin County have the resources to learn, succeed, and thrive! Through generous donations, we are confronting the issues of hunger, emotional and physical health,…

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