Community Action

▶▶▶CALLING ALL JOB HUNTERS! ◀◀◀ Applications for the Weatherization Technician Training Program are OPEN!

In Community Action Pioneer Valley's Weatherization Technician Training program, participants will receive individual career navigation support, free training, certification, supplies & materials AND on the job training leading to full time employment!

The program spans 5 weeks and will be held from August 3rd - September 3rd 2026, Monday - Thursday from 8:30-3PM at Greenfield Community College.

Participants will be issued a stipend to cover basic expenses during the training.
Please share the flyer and link with anyone who might be interested in joining the program.

Call/text (413) 472-6758 or email [email protected] for any questions.
Priority will be given to those who attend an info session.

Space is limited, priority applications will be open until July 10th!
*Participants must be 18+ and eligible to work in the United States*

REGISTER HERE: https://tinyurl.com/weatherizationinfosession

for an info session to learn more about the course, weatherization techs/installers, and how to begin a career in building sciences. Priority will be given to those who attend an info session.

the Center for Self-Reliance food pantry will be CLOSED this afternoon from 1:30-4, June 11 and open tomorrow June 12. Thank you!

48% of our neighbors worried about food last year. With every dollar you donate, we can stock our pantry with THREE dollars worth of food. Help us feed our neighbors.

https://communityaction.networkforgood.com/projects/300009-2026-keep-our-neighbors-fed

💓Vicki's Story💓

"I'm actually here to pick up food for my son. He's been struggling for a long time, was homeless until recently. I go through the pantry and look for things that he'll like, things that will be easy to cook. Like this week, it's hot out, so I'm getting lettuce, cucumbers, carrots - nice salad stuff. And things that'll be easy for him to cook, things a bachelor would like, you know? This brisket, I think I'll make for him. It should last a couple of meals. It's not much, but I do what I can do. So many people are struggling right now, and everyone deserves to eat."

***
Vicki's story was shared with Community Action staff. She gave us permission to share her story and her photo.
If you need help with food, or want to support Vicki and others like her, visit www.communityaction.us

We have FOUR WEEKS LEFT to reach $40,000 by July 4! All funds raised will go straight to our Center for Self Reliance Food Pantry to help Keep Our Neighbors Fed! Want to donate today? Visit our website at www.communityaction.us and click to Keep Our Neighbors Fed.

The Center for Self-Reliance is a choice pantry. People don't get handed a box or a bag and told to make it work.

We let everyone choose what food works best for them and their situation.

You don't have a stove? Here is soup you can heat in the microwave. Are you living outside? Here are some packaged sandwiches for dinner; the grocery store donated them.

Baked potatoes can be a filling and nourishing part of dinner - but giving raw potatoes to someone without an oven is almost cruel.

The more funding we have, the more we can offer people in different circumstances.

We are raising $40,000 to support our food pantries. Help us feed our neighbors: https://communityaction.networkforgood.com/projects/300009-2026-keep-our-neighbors-fed

"I cook for all the seniors in my building. I’ve been coming to the Center for Self Reliance for awhile now – at least six years, since I moved into my apartment. It took me a long time to get there.

I used to sleep outside behind the Home Depot. Wouldn’t go into the shelter because I wanted to keep my cat. I bottle fed that cat. But eventually, I went inside.

I was in the shelter for one year and eight months, and then I moved into this apartment building. Within eighteen months, everyone knew who I was. I got another cat.

This building is full of seniors who have no one. No one comes to visit them. They seem to be forgotten. But not me. I knock on doors, I put the word out. People know now. They come to me when they need a good meal.

I cook for everyone. One gentleman downstairs, he started crying when I knocked on his door with a birthday cake. Said he hadn’t seen one in years. I bring meals to some of the homeless behind the church, too, sometimes.

Why do I do it? Because my mother didn’t bring us up to be cold hearted towards people. Because I know what it’s like to be homeless and to feel like no one cares. If I’ve got it, I give it. No one goes hungry on my watch.

When I come here to the Center for Self Reliance, I get plenty for myself, and it’s not easy to feed me. I have medical issues, Crohn’s disease. There’s a lot I can’t eat. But I can always fill up here. They’ve got safe foods for me.

I’m grateful to be able to share. This food doesn’t just feed me. It feeds my whole community. I’m just the cook.”

*

Donna shared her story with Community Action staff and gave permission for us to share her words and photo.

This month, we'll be sharing stories from folks who get food at our Center for Self Reliance food pantries in Greenfield and West County. Support our pantries here and help keep our neighbors fed: https://communityaction.networkforgood.com/projects/300009-2026-keep-our-neighbors-fed

75% of families receiving SNAP still need additional food support. That's where we come in. The Center for Self Reliance Food Pantries in Greenfield and Shelburne Falls serve our neighbors every week. Help us keep our neighbors fed. Go to www.communityaction.us to learn more about how you can help or get help.

💓Vicki's Story💓

"I'm actually here to pick up food for my son. He's been struggling for a long time, was homeless until recently. I go through the pantry and look for things that he'll like, things that will be easy to cook. Like this week, it's hot out, so I'm getting lettuce, cucumbers, carrots - nice salad stuff. And things that'll be easy for him to cook, things a bachelor would like, you know? This brisket, I think I'll make for him. It should last a couple of meals. It's not much, but I do what I can do. So many people are struggling right now, and everyone deserves to eat."

***

Vicki's story was shared with Community Action staff. She gave us permission to share her story and her photo.

If you need help with food, or want to support Vicki and others like her, visit www.communityaction.us