Hilltown Community Development Corporation Starts 2023 Working on 20 Grants, Plans Growth for Mobile Market and Hilltown Directory Initiatives

Chesterfield, MA – Showing marked growth, Hilltown Community Development, the non-profit that seeks to improve the quality of life for Hilltown residents, ended 2022 with over $2 million in grants generated since the pandemic era. The organization has fostered several new initiatives to help increase the Hilltowns’ appeal as a place to live, work and recreate by addressing economic, housing, education, social and community needs.

“Throughout Covid, we helped our local businesses survive by offering small grants,” says Hilltown Community Development Director Dave Christopolis. “As the world has reopened, we shifted our work to launch a tourism program and increase food security while supporting small local farmers and taking the Hilltown Mobile Market online. We continue to support the many artists that call the Hilltowns home by helping them market themselves and the region. Housing remains at the core of our mission. We have developed, own and manage 68 units of affordable housing scattered across the Hilltowns.”

Housing:

In September of 2020, the organization purchased the former Chester High School building, which had been converted to affordable housing in 1987.  The building also houses the Chester's town library and a small museum, and is a contributing structure to the Chester Factory Village National Register Historic District.  Hilltown Community Development has been awarded over seven million dollars for the renovation of the building and will start construction on these improvements in 2023 preserving 15 housing subsidies.

Public Facilities

Hilltown Community Development is helping reimagine the elementary school in Cummington which was closed in 2016.  It will be a community space including a commercial kitchen available for food production.

Hilltown Community Development secured a $2 million earmark from Congressman Richard Neal for the construction of a Senior Center in Worthington. They will work with the Town of Worthington to raise the additional funds to construct a 5,000 square foot Senior Center.

The organization is assisting the Town of Chester in seeking funds to redesign and redevelop their vacant elementary school. They are also assisting the town of Hinsdale in redeveloping their public beach and park at Plunket Lake and making it ADA compliant.  

The Arts:

Hilltown Community Development supported a community group from Cummington in their bid to turn the downtown area into a state designated Cultural District. The designation is expected to come through in spring 2023. It will help the town produce more cultural programming and preserve and enrich the historic character of Main Street. In 2022, the street featured Reflections: a juried art show featuring installations by nine local artists. These installations invited participants to reflect on the cultural and natural history of the region while strolling down Main St.

The organization supplied marketing and PR support to the Hilltown Arts Alliance’s 4th Annual Open Studio Tour which was held on October 1st and 2nd. Art enthusiasts and art buyers from as far away as NYC and Boston came to the Hilltowns to meet with 23 artists, see their work and the unique Hilltown creative process. Nearly 40% of the visitors purchased art and 60% bought local foods, adding to the economic health of the region

Health:

Hilltown Community Development completed its work with local Councils on Aging and community volunteers to create walking maps for nine downtown areas. The initiative was designed to help seniors safely get out for exercise and socialization in their communities. You can view these maps here: Healthy Aging — Hilltown CDC Click on the town thumbnail to see the map. You can also obtain a printed copy from the COA of each of these towns. Any questions about these maps please reach out to Rural Health Project Manager Joan Griswold joang@hilltowncdc.org or (413) 296-4536 ext 102.

The National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health awarded Joan Griswold, The Rural Public Health Project Manager their Community Stars Award for the betterment of rural health in the Hilltowns. Ms Griswold, a long-time resident of Goshen, has educated local residents on CPR, coordinated vaccination drives and increased knowledge about Covid vaccines among the young. She built the healthy walking initiative and helps coordinate the Hilltown Mobile Market.

The organization coordinated a COVID vaccination clinic that took place at their offices in Cummington on October 31st, 2022. Forty-five locals were able to be vaccinated and boosted without prior reservations

Farming and Food Security:

The Hilltown Mobile Market successfully transitioned from four in person markets to weekly online pre-ordering with distribution throughout the Hilltowns to 18 locations. It operated from July through November. The program provided a local outlet for food from 20 producers. New producers this year included Pause Pivot Farm, a hydroponic greenhouse in Williamsburg, Cream of the Crop Farm in Russell, Foxtrot Herb Farm in Shelburne Falls, Grace Hill Dairy in Cummington, and Kinne Brook Farm in Worthington.  They diversified the offerings of the market with local beef, yogurt, eggs, cheese, microgreens and herbs. 

The program grew from an average of over 120 customers a week to over 300. Over $10,000 of healthy local food was given away to 72 low income families and more than $46,000 in revenue was generated for local farms. Look for more farmers and an even greater variety of produce next year. Farmers and local producers looking to join the program for 2023 should contact Hunt Chase at huntc@hilltowncdc.org.

Business Development:

After surveying over 170 local businesses, the Hilltown Community Development decided to transition the Hilltown Business Directory to an online product that now has content about the Hilltowns and encourages tourism. The site has nearly 5,000 active monthly users. Accompanying the online directory are a series of brochures that are being professionally distributed in the Hilltowns, the Berkshires and the Pioneer Valley. Twenty-thousand of the first brochure, focused on Fall Daytrips, were launched Labor Day and accompanied by a Facebook ad campaign. Brochures about Business Services, Health & Wellness, and Hilltown Living will launch in the new year. Businesses included are promoted online with custom Facebook and Instagram posts highlighting their events and goods offered. Since launching a dedicated Facebook presence in September, Hilltown Directory posts have reached over 100,000 people. Businesses looking to advertise in 2023 should contact Joan Griswold (joang@hilltowncdc.org or (413) 296-4536 ext 102).

Hilltown Community Development welcomes resident input on programs. Please reach out to Dave Christopolis at dave@hilltowncdc.org.

About Hilltown Community Development 

Hilltown Community Development is a private non-profit organization that seeks to improve the quality of life for Hilltown residents by addressing economic, housing, education, social and community needs while preserving the rural character of the area. Among their initiatives is the Hilltown Mobile Market, which distributes local produce, meat and dairy throughout the region and the Hilltown Directory which promotes local business and regional tourism.