• 5.31.23
• Member News

Hudson Headwaters Announces 2023 Upstream Fund Recipients

Hudson Headwaters Health Network announces that six community-based projects will be supported by the 2023 Upstream Fund. The Upstream Fund is an annual grant program that considers applications for funding submitted through The Adirondack Foundation’s Generous Acts program. Projects are considered that are positioned to improve health and well-being by addressing social drivers of health, such as food, housing, transportation and other socioeconomic issues.
“The Upstream Fund is a newer initiative, but it speaks to something Hudson Headwaters has understood since the beginning: that health is not one-dimensional,” explained Hudson Headwaters CEO Tucker Slingerland, M.D. “This support is yet another way the Network shows up for our communities. It is also a recognition that Hudson Headwaters can not do it alone. Community health is truly a team effort, and we’re fortunate to have so many incredible nonprofit partners helping to ensure the well-being of our region.”
Hudson Headwaters launched the Upstream Fund in 2020 to externally invest in and empower community partners. Since the program’s initiation, over $155,000.00 has been dispersed in funding to 27 recipients. To learn more about the Upstream Fund, visit www.hhhn.org/upstreamfund. 

The 2023 Upstream Recipients are:

• AdkAction - Keeseville, NY*: The nonprofit addresses food access barriers while increasing nutrition and health, decreasing regional poverty and improving the viability of local agriculture. The grant will be applied to grow food and nutrition programs to increase food security and nutrition for more people across the Adirondacks.
• Cooperative Development Institute - Lake Placid: The organization is the USDA-designated Cooperative Business Development Center for the Northeast and provides education, training and technical assistance to all sectors throughout the region. The grant supports planning for an affordable housing project.

• Joint Council for Economic Opportunity of Clinton and Franklin Counties, Inc. - Plattsburgh*: The Council provides resources and services that enhance people’s dignity and self-reliance. The grant supports Fuel Aid for North Country Families, a program to assist families with heating costs.
• Schroon Lake Food Pantry - Schroon Lake*: The Pantry provides food, health and hygiene assistance to food-insecure families in the Schroon Lake Central School District.  Funding is being used to purchase and install a generator to prevent frozen and refrigerated food spoilage during power outages.
• Town of Chester - Chestertown, NY: The Town thrives to respond to community needs and challenges of living in a rural area, especially for young families with children.  Funding will be used to refurbish a 1,200-square-foot space within the town hall to create a state-of-the-art daycare facility for Chestertown and neighboring communities.
• WAIT House - Glens Falls, NY*: The nonprofit runs 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, and programs that focus on anti-trafficking, housing and care management. Grant funding will provide rental assistance and care management support to help households facing homelessness access resources and build life skills.

*Indicates co-funding of project from both Hudson Headwaters Health Network and The Adirondack Foundation

“Our objective is to ‘go upstream’ and support initiatives that help prevent negative health consequences,” shared Jessica Rubin, Hudson Headwaters’ vice president/chief impact officer. “We are grateful for our partnership with the Adirondack Foundation. We leverage their grant process to coordinate our impact and streamline the process for applicants, allowing these organizations to focus on what they do best- their missions- and not spend valuable time filling out multiple funding requests.” 

“As the cost-of-living soars and wages remain comparatively stagnant, low-income families in the North Country are in need of a helping hand to make it through our notoriously brutal winters. Without the generous support from Hudson Headwaters Health Network, JCEO would not be able to provide this much-needed assistance to families in need,” shared Ellie Jent, development director of the Joint Council for Economic Opportunity of Clinton and Franklin Counties, Inc.

Sawyer Bailey, executive director of AdkAction, shared similar sentiments about the Upstream Fund’s impact: "With generous support from the Upstream Fund, AdkAction can lay the groundwork to expand its food security program in the Central and Western Adirondacks and improve household health outcomes, deepening the resilience of our Adirondack communities.”