PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Abigail Allard wears many hats within the Berkshire County community, which gained her the recognition of our January Community Hero of the Month. 

 

The Community Hero of the Month is a 12-month series that honors individuals and organizations that have significantly impacted their community. This year's sponsor is Window World of Western Massachusetts. Nominate a hero here. 

 

Allard is the development and communications manager at the Gladys Allen Brigham Community Center, which is the home of Girls Inc. of the Berkshires. 

 

Although her primary role is fund development, she also manages the organization's communication outlets, such as the social media and website, co-manages technology support with its information technology provider, instructs its Tech Goes Home program, teaches Girls Inc. Win at Social program, and more. 

 

Not only that, Allard continues to make an impact outside of the center and Girls Inc. programming. As a Bronze level USA Olympic boxing coach, she volunteers as a boxing coach for the Southpaw's Boxing Academy. 

 

The academy trains youth and children with special needs how to box. It often works with organizations like Viability Inc. and Berkshire County Arc. 

 

Adding to her long list, she is the Berkshire Leadership Program's Steering Committee chair for 1Berkshire and the Pittsfield Cultural Council clerk. 

 

Allard always goes above and beyond for her community and the Gladys Allen Brigham Community Center, the center's behavioral health manager, Sidney Hamilton, said. 

 

"She's involved in so many things. Sometimes I even think it's impossible how many things she's involved in, but she always manages to make it work," she said. 

 

Allard found her passion for working with children and supporting the community through previous roles at nonprofits and organizations, including The Mount and the New England Patriots. 

 

Allard was the assistant education coordinator for the Patriots. In this role, she gave students the unique opportunity to walk through the Gillette Stadium tunnel and see the field as it lights up and how the media sees it. 

 

The students also participated in projects — one involved building and testing homemade helmets to help kids understand their importance, she said. 

 

"I knew I was never gonna be a classroom teacher, but I loved seeing how much it influenced the kids and how great their day was, and being a part of that felt so special," Allard said. 

 

She then ran programming at Behold! New Lebanon, now part of the Shaker Museum, in New York State.

 

When her husband got a job at Hillcrest Educational Centers, they moved to Pittsfield. This was when fate took the steering wheel. 

 

The Brigham Community Center's CEO Kelly Marion, said they fell in love with Allard during her interview. 

 

"The more we talked about girls and our mission and the camp and just the work we do to make a difference, not that she didn't like where she worked before or in the places she worked before, but this just felt like the best fit and the right fit," Marion said. 

 

"And I think having been here for six years really shows how much she's committed to the organization and the work that we do, so we clearly made the right choice."

 

Allard has personally felt the center's impact on its members. She highlighted how her daughter has autism. 

 

She is very neurotypical presenting now but has had a lot of intervention to get her to that place, Allard said. 

 

When her daughter started at the center in the pre-kindergarten classroom. She was a little verbal but struggled to communicate, so Allard and her husband feared developing friendships would be difficult for her. 

 

Allard said she has watched her daughter grow through the center's programs, including the before and after-school care, Girls Inc., and the Discovery Leadership program. 

 

She has made friends and is now thriving, Allard said. 

 

The impact is because of the "highly trained, dedicated staff," "the best curriculum" they can provide, the professional development trainings, and all the other things that lead to the center supporting the children and strengthening the family, she said.

 

"Knowing my daughter thrives today because of the programming she got to do here and the support she got here has made the biggest impact of why I don't think this is a place I'll ever try to leave because I know that's what we do for every kid that walks through this building," Allard said. 

 

Allard enthusiastically went into detail about several of the programs the center provides, including its early education and care, before and after-school program, the aquatics program, the Camp Stevenson-Witawentin, and the youth empowerment services. More information on the website. 

 

Girls Inc. of the Berkshires is a separate organization under the center's umbrella that has a holistic curriculum to empower and inspire girls to be strong, smart, and bold.

 

"It's really amazing. We have a bunch of sister affiliates we work with, and it's really one of our core programs and really at the heart of our mission. Everything we do always has a slight emphasis towards girls," Allard said. 

 

The Gladys Allen Brigham Community Center has been in Pittsfield since 1911, originally named the Young Women's Home Association. 

 

It was an after-school program to teach girls how to be homemakers. Then, during World War II, the girls had victory gardens, supplied food to people in the community, and sent letters overseas. 

 

The '70s was when there was a transition from being a homemaker into being a worker and part of a community, she said. 

 

The organization evolved to the community's needs and implemented counseling, co-ed child-care programs, and programs for single and teen parents, among other social services.

 

In 2005, the organization changed its name to Gladys Allen Brigham Community Center to be more inclusive of its varied programs and to differentiate it from its Girls Inc. programming. 

 

Over more than a century, the center has impacted Berkshire County through the leaders it created. It has become ingrained in the area, fostered a sense of belonging and inclusion, and strengthened the community, Allard said. 

 

Those who have gone through the center helped foster the kind and supportive atmosphere the area is known for, she said. 

 

The heart of the Berkshires is its strong sense of community and kindness. Residents may not always be outwardly nice, but they are genuinely kind, often helping others in times of need, Allard said. 

 

According to her peers and supervisor, Allard also embodies this spirit. 

 

"I think a community hero is someone who does stuff, not looking for recognition of any kind, but does it because it's something within themselves that drives them to provide service. And I definitely think that [Allard] is that person," Marion said. 

 

"She steps up anytime anybody needs anything. She's always the first one to say, ‘I can help with that. I can do that. I'll adjust my time for this, or I can do that over the weekend.' You can really count on her to help you when you need that help, or that guiding hand, or that extra support, without her expecting anything in return."

 

A community hero is someone who always goes above and beyond for the people and purposes they believe in, Hamilton said.

 

"[Allard] fits that perfectly. She's consistently going above and beyond finding new things to do, finding new things to be involved with, trying to encourage other people to be involved in those things too, and I feel like she really does do a great job at succeeding and exceeding those expectations," she said. 

 

"[Allard] is dedicated. She's passionate. I'm very happy to hear that she's getting this award. She has become one of my great friends and greatest co-workers, and she really deserves this, and I'm super proud of her."