BerkShares Local Currency

05/29/2026

🌱 Our May Business of the Month is… Ward's Nursery & Garden Center !

A longtime fixture of downtown Great Barrington, Ward’s has been the one-stop-shop for generations of Berkshire gardeners. Eva and Sam Ward strongly believe in making plant knowledge approachable for people of all backgrounds. Whether guiding customers through unpredictable spring weather, offering hands-on workshops, or sharing gardening resources online, you can count on the Ward’s team to address your needs with expertise. 🌼 🪴

Reflecting on BerkShares, Sam points out that “Every customer that we are exchanging BerkShares with is advocating for our community. And we really appreciate that.”

Read the full article at on our website (https://berkshares.org/wards-nursery-garden-center-may-2026/), or find it in the Berkshire Edge and streamed on WSBS Radio!

05/26/2026

OUR HEROES – Herman Melville

Herman Melville, author of Moby-Dick, is one of the most acclaimed American authors in history. He is also a beloved local hero !

His monumental novel Moby-Dick was largely written at his farmhouse in Pittsfield, Arrowhead. The natural beauty of the Berkshires helped shape his imagination, with Mount Greylock even believed to have inspired the great white whale itself.

Although Moby-Dick was a commercial flop when it was first published in 1851, the novel was rediscovered decades later and is now recognized as a literary masterpiece.

Arrowhead is now preserved as a national historic landmark and museum open to the public!

We honor Melville’s shaping of the Berkshires’ literary heritage by featuring him on the $20 BerkShare. When you spend BerkShares, you are celebrating local history, culture, and regional identity.

Learn more about and our other heroes at BerkShares.org/heroes

05/25/2026

More than a currency…

You may know by now that BerkShares is our local currency for the Berkshire region. But BerkShares is far more than just twist on money. Every BerkShare marks a physical representation of multiple core values that guide our vision for a more resilient and human-oriented local economy.

🤝COMMUNITY: BerkShares fosters stronger community connections through personal exchanges and local trade.

🏘️ECONOMY: A tool for strengthening the local economy, BerkShares prioritize local provision, encouraging regional supply chain resilience.

🌎ECOLOGY: By encouraging people to shop locally, and businesses to procure locally, BerkShares decreases the distance of goods shipped.

🌿SUSTAINABILITY: By promoting the local consumption of food and manufactured wares, BerkShares helps nurture a sustainable future for the region.

⚖️EQUITY: To support a flourishing economy for all, BerkShares strives to include groups excluded from economic determination and prosperity.

Learn more at https://berkshares.org/

05/18/2026

OUR HEROES – Norman Rockwell

🎨 Norman Rockwell is one of the most beloved American artists of the 20th century. Did you know he is also a beloved local hero ?

During the final 25 years of his life, Rockwell lived and worked in Stockbridge. Known for his rich and detailed illustrations of everyday American life, the charm and spirit of Stockbridge became intricately woven into his work.

Over the course of his career, he created more than 4,000 works, including 321 covers for The Saturday Evening Post. Rockwell was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom🏅 for his “vivid and affectionate portraits of our country.” His artistic legacy is now preserved at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge.

💵✨We honor this history by featuring Rockwell prominently on the $50 BerkShare. When you spend BerkShares, not only are you committing to , but you are celebrating local history and regional identity.

Learn more about and our other heroes at BerkShares.org/heroes 🔗

05/13/2026

✨Have you seen our signature Money Well Spent stickers at your favorite business?

Wherever you see this sticker, you know that BerkShares are proudly accepted for payment! This means that you can spend BerkShares just like cash for all the goods and services you normally buy. 🛍️

🔄 The difference? When you spend BerkShares, you know your money will be more likely to stay circulating in the community, supporting the small independent businesses you know and love.

In other words, BerkShares is Money Well Spent!

Start using BerkShares today! It is fun and easy. 🚶 Just walk into any branch of Lee Bank, or the Great Barrington branch of Pittsfield Cooperative Bank, and exchange cash at the counter at a 1-to-1 rate. Ask for a business directory to see an updated list of all the places you can spend your BerkShares!

Learn more at our website: https://berkshares.org/

05/11/2026

🤷‍♂️ Sure, you probably know by now that BerkShares can buy you your favorite vegetables at the farmers’ market, clothes from your go-to local retailer, or a meal at a downtown restaurant.

🤔 But what else can you get? Scroll through to see a glimpse of the diverse and wide-ranging products/services you can get with BerkShares!

🔎 Explore more at BerkShares.org/directory

05/05/2026

We are excited that our very own Dennis Iodice will be joining a panel of local leaders at the Berkshire Community Land Trust's Annual Meeting, sharing his thoughts and experiences with local business support.

See the attached post for event information – open to the public!

Join the Berkshire Community Land Trust for a panel with local leaders on May 7, at the Guthrie Center.

Moderator will lead a panel of diverse non-profit experts in the fields of farming and food production, food access, housing, local business support and environmental advocacy in a discussion about how to make life in the Berkshires sustainable for everyone.

The panel will run from 6 to 8 pm. Doors open at 5:30. Free with reservations.

Speakers Brittany Ebeling (._beat_._), Jim Harwood (), Dennis Iodice (), and Margaret Moulton () will share their work and thoughts.

The panel will be preceded by a brief Berkshire Community Land Trust annual meeting. A reception will close the evening. Everyone is welcome; you need not be a member to attend, but please do make a reservation.

05/04/2026

Look who's in the Spotlight for May! Our Members in the Spotlight this month are BerkShares Local Currency, CRM Home Watch, The Chamberlain Group "Bringing Practice to the Practice of Medicine", and Your Berkshire Assistant.
Learn more about our Spotlight Members by reading their profiles at https://conta.cc/4un8Wkr

04/29/2026

Calling all local teens!

🎥Beginning on June 6th, the BerkShares Digital Media Ambassador Program is a great way for local youth to learn skills in social media content creation and small business marketing!📱

This free and fun program is available to all teens in the area looking to support a small business while learning new skills! See a program schedule below.

Are you or is someone you know interested in this program? Sign up today at https://berkshares.org/dmap/ 📝

Meeting schedule:
🗓️ 6/6, 6/13, 6/20, 6/27, 7/5
⏱️ Noon - 1:30 (Noon - 12:45 on 7/5)
📍 Great Barrington (specific location TBA)

04/28/2026

What's New with BerkShares?

Check out our latest newsletter to see what we've been up to! https://mailchi.mp/berkshares/annual-meeting-18253614

To receive these newsletters in your inbox, subscribe to our mailing list here: https://berkshares.org/

Did you know that BerkShares will celebrate its 20th anniversary in September? As North America's largest and longest-standing local currency system, we proudly reflect on nearly two decades of uplifting small independent businesses, incubating local ingenuity, and celebrating Berkshire identity and...

04/27/2026

🌼 Our April Business of the Month is… Hart GB !!

If you’ve ever thought to yourself, “Mom tried to teach me to knit/sew, but it just never clicked,” you’re not alone. While Jamie Goldenberg’s students may catch themselves by surprise when their skills finally emerge, it is never a surprise to Jamie: “My belief is that anyone can do these things.”

Hart GB is Great Barrington’s one-stop-shop for knitting and sewing, providing both the materials and classes needed to make knitting/sewing a fun, approachable, and learnable skill for people of all backgrounds. 🧶 🪡

Jamie reflects on her identify as a small business in a small town when she thinks of what BerkShares means to her: “It is a part of personal profit in terms of where my values are.”

Read the full story at the link in our bio, or find it in The Berkshire Edge and streamed on WSBS Radio (860 AM and 94.1 FM) !