Entrepreneurship

Girls Inc. of the Valley’s annual signature event on April 28 exceeded its fundraising goal of $100,000, thanks to the support from corporate sponsors, including lead sponsor PeoplesBank, and generous individual donors. About 400 people attended “Spirit of Girls: Hall of Fame,” where they heard from current students, alumni, and parent speakers about the impact…

The Local Farmer Awards distributed grants totaling $225,000 to 97 farms in Western Mass. this year, a 30% increase over the number of 2022 recipients. These grants of up to $2,500 empower farmers to purchase essential equipment for planting, growing, harvesting, and processing. All projects include a funding commitment by the farm as well. The…

This week is National Small Business Week and with Mother’s Day coming up, Western Mass News stopped by one local candle and gift company to find out more about their presence in the community. “People are always looking for really meaningful gifts and all of our gifts are poured by woman who have created a…

It is perhaps the best thing about a 40 Under Forty class. And also the most challenging thing for the judges who ultimately decide its makeup. Each of the nominees has a different background, a different story, a unique set of challenges to overcome, a different path that brought them to where they are, a…

Last year former UMass basketball star Marcus Camby joined forces with Springfield’s White Lion Brewery to launch the wildly successful Marcus Camby New England IPA. Now, the team is gearing up to open a second location in Amherst. As an alum of UMass, head brewer Mike Yates says he could not be happier to bring…

Five student teams advanced from the preliminary round of the Innovation Challenge competition in UMass Amherst’s Berthiaume Center for Entrepreneurship and will move on to compete in the final round on May 3. They will now compete to win up to $65,000 in equity-free funding. The Innovation Challenge is a two-part competition designed to assist…

Girl Scouts of Central and Western Massachusetts (GSCWM) announced it received a $10,000 grant from the Irene E. & George A. Davis Foundation in support of It’s a Girls World, one of the community-based programs it offers. The afterschool program engages Hampden County girls in grades K-6 in STEM, financial literacy, and health and personal-wellness…

Benson Hyde was a financial advisor who wasn’t enthralled with the firm he was working for or the direction his career was headed in. Bruce McAmis was a lawyer who would have preferred to be doing … well, just about anything else. That was years ago. In the intervening time, let’s just say their paths…

Time is running out to purchase tickets for Common Threads, an annual event to highlight the life-changing achievements of women engaged in Dress for Success Western Massachusetts (DFSWM). The event is scheduled for Thursday, April 13 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Springfield Sheraton. Tickets are on sale until Thursday, April 6. Common Threads…

For 15 years now, BusinessWest has been recognizing the work of individuals, groups, businesses, and institutions through its Difference Makers program, with one goal in mind: to show the many ways one can, in fact, make a difference within their community. The stories below convey a desire to help others, go above and well beyond,…