Upstream Fund

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Upstream Fund

“The idea is to go ‘upstream’ and fund projects that address issues like food and housing insecurity before they lead to negative health consequences.”

-Jessica Rubin, Vice President, Chief Impact Officer

Hudson Headwaters' Upstream Fund

A special donor-restricted fund, the Upstream Fund supports community-based projects that improve health and wellbeing by addressing food, housing, transportation and other socioeconomic issues. The Upstream Fund reflects Hudson Headwaters’ emphasis on understanding and improving its patients’ and communities’ full health landscape. The Upstream Fund considers applications submitted through Adirondack Foundation’s Generous Acts—an annual, competitive grant program focused on meeting pressing community needs.

The 2024 Generous Acts application opens on January 8, 2024. Applications are due February 13, 2024. Click here for more information.

For more information about supporting the Upstream Fund contact development@hhhn.org or use the form below to make a contribution.

Supported Projects

2023

Recipient: AdkAction, Keeseville, NY *
AdkAction’s food security program addresses food access barriers while increasing nutrition and health, decreasing regional poverty and improving the viability of local agriculture.

Upstream Fund Grant Purpose: Increasing Food Security and Nutrition for Adirondackers — To grow food and nutrition programs and reach more people across the Adirondack Park communities.

Recipient: Cooperative Development Institute, Lake Placid, NY
Cooperative Development Institute is the USDA-designated Cooperative Business Development Center for the Northeast and provides education, training and technical assistance to all sectors throughout the region.

Upstream Fund Grant Purpose: Rural Renewal: Cooperative Housing and Land Conservation in Lake Placid — To support planning for a 100-acre affordable housing and land conservation project.

Recipient: Joint Council for Economic Opportunity of Clinton and Franklin Counties, Inc., Plattsburgh, NY *
The Joint Council for Economic Opportunity of Clinton and Franklin Counties, Inc. provides resources and services that enhance people’s dignity and self-reliance.

Upstream Fund Grant Purpose: Fuel Aid for North Country Families — To provide fuel aid for families not covered by the Housing Energy Assistance Program (HEAP).

Recipient: Schroon Lake Food Pantry, Schroon Lake, NY *
The Schroon Lake Food Pantry provides food, health and hygiene assistance to food-insecure families in the Schroon Lake Central School District.

Upstream Fund Grant Purpose: Safety in Alleviating Food Insecurity — To purchase and install a generator to prevent frozen and refrigerated food spoilage during power outages.

Recipient: Town of Chester, Chestertown, NY
The Town of Chester is a municipality within Warren County that responds to community needs and addresses the challenges of living in a rural area, especially for young families with children.

Upstream Fund Grant Purpose: Town of Chester Day Care Commitment — To refurbish a 1,200-square-foot space within the Town Hall and create a state-of-the-art daycare facility for Chestertown and the neighboring communities.

Recipient: WAIT House, Glens Falls, NY *
The WAIT House is an emergency shelter for youth ages 16-24 and a transitional living program for pregnant and parenting youth and their dependents. They also operate an Outreach Center, Anti-Trafficking Program, Housing Programs and a Care Management program.

Upstream Fund Grant Purpose: Adirondack Families Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Rehousing — To provide rental assistance and case management support to help households facing homelessness access resources and build life skills.

2022

Recipient: Adirondack Community Outreach Center, North Creek, NY *
The Adirondack Community Outreach Center helps members of the North Creek and surrounding communities through its food pantry, clothing center, backpack program, holiday toy giveaway and community garden.

Upstream Fund Grant Purpose: The Pantry Goes to Market — Provides vouchers to low-income families to purchase fresh, locally-grown produce at the North Creek Farmers Market.

Recipient: Cornell Cooperative Extension of Warren County, Warrensburg, NY *
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Warren County offers educational programs supporting and benefiting New Yorkers from all walks of life with university knowledge, research and innovation.

Upstream Fund Grant Purpose: Supporting Healthy Families — A positive parenting program with corresponding healthy lifestyle tips for families.

Recipient: Housing Assistance Program of Essex County, Elizabethtown, NY *
The Housing Assistance Program of Essex County recognizes community development and housing needs, advocates for change and responds to opportunities within the Adirondack Region.

Upstream Fund Grant Purpose: Urgent Needs Fund — A program that provides financial assistance to income-constrained local residents who have emergency housing-related needs that can’t be addressed by current housing assistance grant programs.

Recipient: Keene Valley Neighborhood Services, Inc., Keene, NY *
The Keene Valley Neighborhood Services is a nonprofit assisted living residence nestled in the heart of the Adirondack Mountains.

Upstream Fund Grant Purpose: Vehicle Wheelchair Lift — Purchase and installation of a wheelchair lift in a facility van to facilitate the transportation of residents with limited mobility to medical appointments.

Recipient: Mental Health Association in Essex County, Inc., Westport, NY *
The Mental Health Association in Essex County provides services to community members throughout Essex County recovering from mental illnesses.

Upstream Fund Grant Purpose: Suicide Prevention Awareness Campaign for School-Aged Children and Adults in Essex County, NY — An educational empowerment campaign that breaks down the stigma of accessing mental health services and opens pathways to preserving the lives of residents.

Recipient: Ready4Real, Inc., Plattsburgh, NY *
Ready4Real equips individuals with skills that enable them to find and keep meaningful jobs by providing classroom training, hands-on workforce readiness training and internships with local employers.

Upstream Fund Grant Purpose: Building Tomorrow’s Workforce — A program that provides innovative training and support to at-risk youth and adults to prepare them for employment and life through self-reflection, vital work-readiness lessons, confident-building and hands-on skills training.

Recipient: Reach Out and Read, Boston, MA *
Reach Out and Read champions the positive effects of reading daily and engaging in other language-rich activities with young children by partnering with health care providers with high Medicaid populations.

Upstream Fund Grant Purpose: Adirondack Early Literacy Initiative — Two-generation early literacy and relational health intervention delivered at every well-child visit (age 0-5) by a pediatric care provider at several Hudson Headwaters health centers.

2021

Recipient: Adirondack Council, Entire Adirondack Region *
Founded in 2012, Essex Farm Institute (a program of the Adirondack Council) supports, promotes and advocates for farmers to build resilient, diversified farms that are economically viable, socially responsible and environmentally beneficial.

Upstream Fund Grant Purpose: Support for the Essex Farm Institute’s collaborative work with multiple organizations and people to identify gaps and realistic solutions to help strengthen and promote a more resilient regional food system.

Recipient: Town of Chester Public Library, Chestertown, NY
The Town of Chester Public Library serves a population of 3,500 residents and offers holdings of more than 40,000 books, audio visual and other items.

Upstream Fund Grant Purpose: Addressing Digital Equity in a Rural ADK Community through by providing laptops that offer mobility, privacy and ease to those patrons who need to access essential online services and important information related to health, education, training and employment.

Recipient: Saranac Lake Voluntary Health Association, Inc., Saranac Lake, NY *
SLVHA provides services to Saranac Lake residents including free home care nursing, financial aid for dental care/hearing aids, dental hygienist/fluoride program for school district, scholarships for nursing/health fields, and free medical equipment loans.

Upstream Fund Grant Purpose: Securing the future of SLVHA health services for Saranac Lake residents—support to expand SLVHA’s outreach to donors by clarifying their mission and services in new verbal and visual messaging.

Recipient: Adirondack Community Action Programs, Inc., Clinton, Essex Counties
ACAP, Inc., a 501 (c)(3), was established in 1965 to serve the needs of and advocate for low-income families in Essex County, NY.

Upstream Fund Grant Purpose: Child Care Provider start up kits and Provider training—help create a start-up kit of necessities to encourage new providers to open in Essex County and provide continuing education to all providers in Essex County.

2020

Recipient: Saranac Lake Youth Center, Saranac Lake, NY
The Saranac Lake Youth Center provides a healthy, substance free, supervised environment for teenagers offering programs which develop social skills, personal growth and responsibility in a fun and supportive atmosphere.

Upstream Fund Grant Purpose: After school snack program—support to purchase healthy snacks and foods, including fruits and vegetables, for the Saranac Lake Youth Center’s daily after school snack program.

Recipient: Silver Bay YMCA, Ticonderoga, NY
The Silver Bay mission is to foster a lifelong sense of belonging, strengthen relationships, and nurture spirit, mind, and body for all; part of the national and international YMCA Movement.

Upstream Fund Grant Purpose: Silver Bay YMCA Vacations Made Possible

“Many frontline workers are expressing a tremendous need for respite, vacation and recovery from their extensive hours of service throughout the pandemic. Like Hudson Headwaters, Silver Bay YMCA is driven to help our community. We are grateful for the partnership and support and look forward to continually working with Hudson Headwaters to provide life preserving and transformational opportunities.” – Steve Tamm, CEO, Silver Bay YMCA

Recipient: Ecumenical Council of Saranac Lake, Inc., Saranac Lake, NY *
A transitional housing center for the homeless population in the Tri-Lakes area including Elizabethtown, Lake Placid, Malone, Saranac Lake and Tupper Lake.

Upstream Fund Grant Purpose: Support for Samaritan House

“With the help of supporting organizations like Hudson Headwaters, Samaritan House has been able to stay open during the COVID-19 pandemic and keep our facility in top condition.” – Rich Loeber, President, Ecumenical Council of Saranac Lake, Inc.

Recipient: North Country Ministry, Warrensburg, NY *
Provide much needed human services to under-served populations with service locations in Warrensburg, North Creek and Pottersville.

Upstream Fund Grant Purpose: Replace a 16-year-old box truck

“Like Hudson Headwaters, North Country Ministry understands that families need more than doctors’ visits to stay healthy. We’ve seen an increased demand for our services as more and more of our neighbors struggle to afford the necessities. We appreciate the Upstream Fund grant in support of our new box truck to deliver essentials like food and clothing.” – Bill Powers, Board Chair, North Country Ministry

Recipient: Town of Chester Regional Wellness Center, Chestertown, NY *
In 2019, the Town of Chester, YMCA Adirondack Center and Hudson Headwaters Health Network joined together to create the first-ever Wellness Center in the Town of Chester Municipal Center. Phase I of the Regional Wellness Center project is now open and running and Phase II is underway.

Upstream Fund Grant Purpose: Support Phase II of the Regional Wellness Center Project

“Our vision is to promote the health and wellbeing of our community and the surrounding ones. Without the generosity of the Upstream Fund Grant, this would not be possible. So, from the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU!” – Craig Leggett, Supervisor, Town of Chester

Recipient: YMCA Adirondack Center, Brant Lake, NY *
The vision of the YMCA Adirondack Center/Regional Wellness Center in Brant Lake is to strengthen the foundation of the service area by developing a community hub that provides a focal point to foster greater local community activities and bring residents, local businesses, schools and government together to improve the quality of life for people of all ages.

Upstream Fund Grant Purpose: Help sustain the summer literacy camp “No More Learning Gap”

“Collaboration is crucial to the success of nonprofits in the Adirondacks. Through the generosity of foundations such as Hudson Headwaters’ Upstream Fund and the Adirondack Foundation’s Generous Acts Fund, we all work together to support various aspects of an individual’s life (such as health care and education) regardless of their financial position.” – Brian Bearor, CEO, Glens Falls YMCA

Recipient: The Senior Center of the Kingsbury and fort Edward Area, Inc, Fort Edward, NY
The Senior Center of the Kingsbury and Fort Edward Area, Inc. was founded in 1976 and serves as a vital resource for older adults in the Kingsbury, Hudson Falls and Fort Edward communities.

Upstream Fund Grant Purpose: Senior Center Kingsbury Fort Edward Area, Inc. renovations and improvements

“Social isolation is a major health concern for seniors. The Upstream Fund grant allowed us to make some important renovations and updates to our current facility and ensure our seniors have a comfortable, safe and inviting space to socialize and interact.” – Max McDonnell, Director, The Senior Center

Recipient: The Open Door Mission, Glens Falls, NY *
The Open Door serves people at their point of need, cultivating personal growth and community sustainability.

Upstream Fund Grant Purpose: Help develop and implement Step 4 of the growth track framework

“The Upstream Fund Grant has helped us build an additional piece in our shelter program. Workforce development training is key in moving people from homelessness to self-sustainability, so we’re excited to initiate this next step for the people we serve.” – Kim Cook, President and CEO, Open Door Mission

Recipient: Village of Champlain, Champlain, NY
The Village of Champlain, founded in 1873, is a small municipality of 1100 residents. It is located on the border with Quebec, Canada. It has a rich history as playing an important role of the War of 1812 and serving as part of the Underground Railroad. Previously filled with businesses and industries for over a century, Champlain is now nearly void of shops in its downtown area. Currently, the poverty rate is nearly 18%. The citizens have a strong spirit despite having little available to them.

Upstream Fund Grant Purpose: Healthy Meals for Champlain Teens—a program to teach basic nutrition and meal prep to local teens and their families.

Recipient: SCOPE (Summer Camp Opportunities Promote Education), Various ADK locations
SCOPE was founded in 1991 by leaders in the camp industry to provide overnight summer camp opportunities for all children, regardless of their socio-economic status.

Upstream Fund Grant Purpose: SCOPE Adirondack Camperships—support to increase funding to provide additional camp scholarships for children from under-resourced families of the local Adirondack communities to attend nonprofit, American Camp Association (ACA) accredited, overnight summer camps in the Adirondacks.

*Projects with an asterisk were co-funded with the Adirondack Foundation