East Hudson Valley News

Dutchess County Executive Sue Serino announced the allocation of $237,300 in grants to 21 nonprofit agencies. These funds aim to provide developmental opportunities for individuals under 21 through the New York State Youth Development Program (YDP). The grants, ranging from $6,000 to $20,000, are intended to promote positive youth development by enhancing their well-being. The Dutchess County Youth Board and Coordinating Council, comprising community members and representatives from various nonprofit organizations, made the award recommendations.

County Executive Serino stated, “Dutchess County is proud to continue our ongoing efforts to give our young people the resources they need to become successful adults, and these grants will assist some of our community partners who can help us achieve that goal. Our community is fortunate to have organizations that care about the development of our young people, and we’re proud to collaborate with them to ensure the future of Dutchess County is bright.”

The funded projects for the 2024-2025 Youth Development Program grant include:

- Beacon Volunteer Ambulance Corp., Inc.: $18,500 for a Junior Corps Member Program providing training and mentorship in emergency medical services.

- Beekman Library: $6,000 for Youth Empowerment through Service (Y.E.S.), engaging high school teens as library volunteers.

- Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse: $18,000 for a Personal Safety Program offering abuse and bullying prevention lessons.

- Chamber Foundation: $14,000 for Next-Gen Summer Academy focusing on 21st-century skills including VR/AR and coding.

- Cornell Cooperative Extension Dutchess County: $17,000 for Green Teen Workforce Development through Community Gardening.

- Dover Plains Library Association: $15,000 for Building Brains: Dover Youth Enrichment providing afterschool tutoring and music/dance lessons.

- Dutchess Community College Foundation: $9,000 for DCC CARES-Surviving to Thriving aimed at dropout prevention and support for housing-insecure students.

- Dutchess County Pride Center: $6,000 for Intergenerational Get Togethers between LGBTQ+ youth and adults.

- Family Services, Inc.: $9,500 for Teen Resource Activity Center (TRAC) offering supervised afterschool activities.

- Hudson River Housing: $17,000 for HRH Youth Enrichment Program providing activities for at-risk youth at River Haven shelter.

- Land to Learn: $6,000 for SproutEd Beacon bringing garden-based education to public elementary schools.

- Mid-Hudson Discovery Museum: $10,000 for Traveling Science delivering interactive STEM education.

- North East Community Center: $16,000 for CPSB Teen Jobs workforce development program.

- Pawling Recreation: $6,000 for Make a Scene after-school theater club.

- Poughkeepsie Farm Project: $15,000 for Green Jobs for Youth preparing youth for careers in farming and gardening.

- Poughkeepsie United Methodist Church: $10,000 for Harriet Tubman Academic Skills Center's after-school and summer programs.

- Red Hook Community Center: $6,000 RHCC Teen Group offering programming three times weekly during school days and once weekly during summer break.

- The Art Effect: $16,000 Spark Studios teaching film editing and video production skills while providing economic support.

- The Foundation for Beacon Schools: $8,000 BCSD Film Festival encouraging film-making among district children K–12 grades.

- Town of East Fishkill: $7,300 Too Good For Drugs program promoting drug prevention in elementary schools.

- Vassar College: $7,000 Exploring Science at the Vassar Preserve environmental science program.