About the Brigham Center
Mission
The Brigham Center is a multi-service organization empowering children and youth, with a special emphasis on girls, to become responsible, confident and personally fulfilled individuals.
We strive to see a continued progression in program quality, in populations served and diversity of membership; while marketing ourselves to the greater community, acknowledging fiscal realities and the need for diversified funding.
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It is our stance that inclusiveness and anti-oppression work give integrity and validity to our mission as well as power and effectiveness to our programs. It allows us to address the root causes of social issues that affect the young people we support. We serve all youth at our organization; therefore we have to be inclusive of all communities, cultures and experiences. Without inclusiveness, we will never be able to reach the full potential and power of our programs.
Inclusiveness is an actively anti-oppressive way of being and taking action that intentionally includes, respects, and celebrates all people because of cultural and economic identifiers experiences and backgrounds.
To provide the best services for the youth of Berkshire County, our agency maintains a space free of racism, classism, homophobia, transphobia, and other oppressions by actively fighting against institutional social injustices through a ‘core shared commitment to anti-oppressive practice.’
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The Gladys Allen Brigham Community Center/Girls Inc. of the Berkshires is committed to providing the comprehensive Girls Inc. Experience to girls — including those who identify as girls regardless of their assigned sex at birth, and those who are exploring their gender identity or expression during their time at Girls Inc. It is our position that the Gladys Allen Brigham Community Center/Girls Inc. of the Berkshires does not discriminate or exclude girls from programming based on gender identity or gender expression.
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What We Offer
Our Programs Are Our Products
During 2008, Berkshire United Way (BUW) implemented an enhanced method for assessing community needs, tracking progress and communicating results. BUW sought broad based community input to develop an aspiration for the county and identify community needs and priorities to be considered for BUW investments. The aspiration, “Making Berkshire County a community of hope and opportunity, where every individual and family can live, work and thrive” is both inspirational and achievable. With strong community guidance as well as leveraging resources with the quality work completed by the Berkshire Compact for Higher Education and the Berkshire Blueprint, BUW believes that the best way to support this aspiration is to invest in the following priorities and outcomes.
Helping Children and Families Succeed
Supported by efforts to Advance Health and Wellness: All children will arrive at kindergarten ready to learn and all young adults will successfully transition to work, higher education or training.
Promoting Financial Stability and Independence
All individuals are empowered to define and achieve their goals for financial independence and career success.
Meeting Basic Needs
Individuals move from a crisis situation, where their basic needs are met by the “safety net” of service providers, to independently meeting their own needs and, individuals demonstrate an increased ability to manage family resources to meet basic needs (food, shelter, and healthcare) and/or plan to address other financial priorities.
While the Brigham Community Center in some way touches upon all priorities our primary focus is on Helping Children and Families succeed. We respond to challenges with solutions — strengthening programs and services for changing local needs — and by actively seeking to serve a wider population through outreach programs and partnerships.
We use positive Youth Development practices to provide supports to young people as they build their capacities and strengths to meet personal and social needs. We provide services and opportunities to support children and youth to develop a sense of a competency, worth, connective ness and empowerment. This approach is not a way to “fix troubled kids.” Rather, it is about people, programs, institutions and systems that provide all youth, “troubled” or not, with the supports and opportunities they need to empower themselves. The Brigham Community Center has skilled program staff that can provide such services to its children, youth and families.
History
For nearly a century, the Gladys Allen Brigham Community Center has provided guidance, support, and advocacy for girls and their families. As one of Berkshire County’s largest social service organizations, the Brigham Center has touched countless lives through its wide range of programs and services.
The Brigham Center had its beginning on Bank Row in 1911 as the Young Women’s Home Association, with 37 girls in its first days. It re-located to East Street in 1924. Facilities were expanded, first with a gymnasium and tennis court. In 1929, Camp Witawentin became the first resident camp for area girls, later joined by Camp Stevenson, the day camp.
With General Electric providing the lead gift, the present building was opened in 1958, with the attached swimming pool. The Brigham Center continued to provide strong home economics & sports opportunities for girls, learning that girls needed new skills for long-term economic security. Adding value to community and market meant stronger, smarter & bolder supports, training and education.
During the 1970s, the Brigham Center responded to changing community needs by implementing counseling and childcare programs, programs for single and teen parents, and other social services. In the last decade, the Brigham Center has expanded to develop athletics and more programs for adolescent girls. The gymnasium and swimming pool were restored.
Gladys Allen Brigham
(1899–1997)
With her tireless efforts to nurture, enrich and unify a wide range of community organizations, Gladys Allen Brigham epitomized community service in Berkshire County. We are proud to dedicate the Gladys Allen Brigham Community Center in honor of her countless contributions to the health and welfare of this community.
While raising two boys and two stepdaughters, Mrs. Brigham joined and held leadership positions on the volunteer boards of the Visiting Nurse Association, Girls' League, House of Mercy (predecessor of Berkshire Medical Center), and Council of Social Agencies. She became the first president of the Junior League of Pittsfield and was recognized in 1949 as one of 34 outstanding League members nationwide.
Professionally, Mrs. Brigham served the community for 18 years as Executive Director of United Way's predecessor organization, United Community Services, Inc. At the time of her appointment in 1948 she was one of only five women nationally to direct a United Way - type operation. During her tenure, UCS-supported agencies grew from 17 to 26 and annual contributions nearly tripled. In 1965, City Savings Bank named her the first female Massachusetts savings bank incorporator.
After retiring in 1966, Mrs. Brigham returned to many of the boards she had left two decades earlier to lead UCS. When Pittsfield General Hospital and St. Luke's Hospital merged in 1967 to form Berkshire Medical Center, she served as the first president of the newly combined auxiliary. In 1973, she played a major role in a successful Berkshire County Historical Society fundraising effort that enabled the organization to purchase Arrowhead, creating a Herman Melville museum and Society headquarters. She served as program chairman for the organization through much of the 1970s.
Mrs. Brigham was active in the First Church of Christ, Congregational, in Pittsfield for 75 years. A 1921 Mount Holyoke College graduate, she received one of 29 special Centennial Awards given to distinguished alumnae on the college alumnae association's 100th anniversary in 1972.