PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire Humane Society has received a donation from Haddad Subaru as part of this year’s Subaru of America’s “Share the Love” Event.   

On Thursday, March 28, Michael Hutchings, the district sales manager of Subaru of New England, and Chris Kramek, the general sales manager at Haddad Subaru in Pittsfield, visited the shelter to present an $18,389 check to John Perreault, the executive director of BHS.

During this annual end-of-the-year event, Subaru of America contributes millions of dollars to charities. Customers who purchased or leased a new Subaru between late November and early January could choose one of five national organizations to receive a $250 donation. Additionally, Subaru dealerships were given the opportunity to designate a sixth nonprofit from their local community to receive a $250 donation for every Subaru purchased or leased from them. Haddad Subaru chose BHS as its recipient.

“We’ve had a personal and professional relationship with Berkshire Humane Society for the past five years," Kramek said. "It’s nice to be able to see how the money is being used to help the animals in Berkshire County.”   

Besides sponsoring BHS’s “Haddad Subaru Dog of the Week,” which promotes a shelter dog every week and pays $50 toward the adoption fee if that dog is adopted, the dealership on East Street has hosted satellite adoptions and partnered with BHS in recent car raffles and other events.

“Much of this check will be used to help shelter animals who have special medical needs,” Perreault said. “Berkshire Humane Society thanks Subaru of America and Haddad Subaru in Pittsfield for naming us as their local charity.”  

According to Hutchings, the "Share the Love" event has donated $50 million to charities since it was created in 2008. This year, Subaru of America awarded $8 million awarded to national charities, including Meals on Wheels, the ASPCA, and Make-A-Wish Foundation, and $1.2 million to local charities. In New England, 61 out of 64 Subaru dealerships in New England opted to add a nonprofit organization from their community.

BHS is an open-admission animal shelter. Founded in 1992, it has placed over 17,000 animals into new homes. In addition to caring for and rehoming animals, the shelter offers many community education and outreach programs to promote and improve the welfare of all animals. These include free humane education for local school children and nonprofit organizations; a pet food bank for economically distressed pet owners; and temporary foster care for the pets of owners who are in crisis or transition.  BHS, located on 214 Barker Road in Pittsfield, receives no public funding from local, state, or federal sources.

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