2019 Grants

In 2019 the Ascienzo Family Foundation awarded over $90,000 to local nonprofits in the Red Hook area and over $66,000 through our ambassador network. Below is a brief description of each grant.

Local Grants:

BackPack Program- This was our fifth year serving Mill Road students with weekend foodstuffs; we provided $5,500 to the Regional Food Bank for weekly backpacks for about 25 students at Mill Road. We’re grateful to Linda Piastro, the program coordinator, and retired teacher volunteers, who assist in the project.

Brothers at Bard- A mentor-mentee program coordinating Bard College men of color and students at Kingston High School, the Foundation will help Bard’s Center for Civic Engagement sustain the program for more years to come. Brothers at Bard provides year-round programming and has the unique ability to empower young men by exposing them to high-achieving men of color who are currently attending a selective four-year college.

Community Center Teen Program- The Red Hook Community Center Teen Group seeks to provide local teens with a safe place to use their free time productively though the pursuit of community service, life-skills learning, and organized recreational activities. During the past few months, the group has participated in many community service efforts, including baking dog biscuits for a local animal shelter, creating “bags of kindness” using handmade and reusable bags filled with hygiene products and other small goods for local families in need, painting and organizing the game room at the Community Center, writing holiday cards for seniors, and many more. Grant money will fund service personnel and equipment costs.

Community Center Makerspace- The Red Hook Community Center’s Makerspace is a creative space that allows locals to use the Center’s Tool Center and spend time learning a new craft. With an array of tools, inspirational resources, and talented crafts people sharing their skills, Makerspace seeks to design and create extradoinary projects will having fun.

Garden Club- In the second year of a three-year agreement to fund educational materials and garden supplies, the Foundation continues to fund initiative developed by the Garden Club Committee in raising awareness, educating our youth, developing farm to table conversations, and addressing nutrition and sustainability issues to the younger Red Hook Community.

Red Hook Public Library Senior Program- From September 2019 to April 2020, the Red Hook Public Library will present a series of events meant for senior citizens. Partnering with Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome, Historic Red Hook, and the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Library will be using grant money from the Foundation to present local history lunches and music concerts.

Red Hook Public Library Language Program- Over the next two years, the Foundation will fund different operational costs for the Red Hook Public Library’s inclusive effort to create more bilingual family programming. Grant money will go towards a combination of various staffing needs, equipment, materials, and services.

Culture Connect- In our third year supporting Culture Connect, the Foundation will support the Life, Learning, and Language After School program at Mill Road. The goals of the program are to enhance language and other academic skills, promote confidence, address achievement gaps, foster interpersonal and social relationships, and nurture a sense of the child’s and family’s belonging in the school and local community.

Nourish Your Neighbor Campaign- This was the Foundation’s second year of the Nourish Your Neighbor Campaign, through which we helped host a No Cost Farm Market at the Red Hook Community Center, and matched food drive donations with food vouchers distributed through the Red Hook Faculty Association’s Food Voucher Program.

Red Hook Student Council Conference- Each year students from the Red Hook Central School Distrct attend a conference hosted by New York State's Council on Leadership and Student Activities. This year’s conference was held at the Conference Center in Lake Placid, New York. The conference will include keynote speakers from around the country, workshops, roundtables, networking, community service, state awards, and a host of fun activities for students from around New York state to enjoy. The Foundation provided funds for twenty-five students and four advisors to attend.

Red Hook Summer Academy- The Foundation will support Red Hook Schools' summer academy for the second year in a row. There are three goals to this program: (1) To provide incoming freshmen through graduating seniors the opportunity to access programs otherwise unavailable to them during the typical school year. (2) To meet a community need for learning experiences for high school students that are free and available to all. (3) And to use Summer Academy to pilot new programming with potential to be built into a credit bearing course offering in the future.

Susie Reizod Foundation- The Susie Reziod Foundation provides new shoes to children in need. The Foundation will provide funds to provide 100 pairs of shoes and 100 backpacks to local children.

Nobody Leaves Mid-Hudson- Nobody Leaves Mid-Hudson is a grassroots organization based in the Hudson Valley of New York State advocating for various issues that face residents in the area. The Foundation will fund this year’s Driver’s License Program, which seeks to help immigrants in the area obtain a valid driver’s license.

Ambassador Grants:

Free Science Workshop- Ambassador Elizabeth Ricci advocated for the first time for the Free Science Workshop, an organization based in Ithaca, NY that provides a supportive and community-based space for low-income and under-represented youth to explore and expand their capabilities through science and creativity.

Inside Books Project- Ambassador Iana Robitaille advocated for the first time for the Inside Books Project, an organization that collects books for incarcerated individuals in Texas. The grant provides funds to purchase 300 GED and CDL test preparation manuals.

Maine Adaptive Sports- Ambassador Emily Mauch advocated for a second time for Maine Adaptive Sports, an organization that “promotes year-round eduction and training for individuals with disabilities in order to develop skills, enhance indpenedence, and provide enjoyment through active recreation.” The grant this year helps to support Maine Adaptive Sports’ new program delivery model, which helps people get to program sites free of charge.

Martha’s Kitchen- Ambassador Tyler Launhart advocated for a second year for Martha’s Kitchen, in St. Albans, Vermont. The grant helps to support the Food Security Program for Seniors and Wellness Workshops, which includes visits from doctors, nurses, and case managers to address all aspects of health.

Ruffner Mountain Outreach- Ambassador Brita Brudvig advocated for a third year for Ruffner Mountain Outreach. The grant provides a scholarship fund to cover transportation and program costs for Birmingham City Schools with Title I programs. Students on trips to Ruffner are taught about local flora and fauna, taken on guided hikes around the preserve, and get to meet some of Ruffner’s animal ambassadors.

Sunflower Bakery- Ambassador Tom Triebwasser advocated for a fourth year for Sunflower Bakery, which provides “the only inclusive training program in Maryland that prepares young adults with learning differences for employment success in pastry arts, baking or related industries.”

A Wider Circle- Ambassador Gianna Fenaroli submitted her first grant for the organization Wider Circle, a group that provides transitional services to previously homeless families in the D.C. area. The grant specifically supports their Essential Support Program, which helps families get furniture (including covering delivery costs) for their new homes.

Circle Camp- Ambassador Betsy Kirtland advocated for the third time for several scholarships for young girls to attend Circle Camp in Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire, during the summer of 2020. Circle camp is a completely free week-long summer camp for girls who have lost a parent. It is an opportunity for girls to learn how to deal with their grief, but also a space for them to have fun and enjoy their summers.

The Home for Little Wanderers- Ambassador Alex Parks advocated for a fifth year for The Home for Little Wanderers, which is a multi-faceted human services agency that serves children in the Boston area. The grant supports in-school mental health services for children in Boston schools who suffer from mental illness or emotional and behavioral problems.

Emmanual Cancer Foundation- Ambassador Mia Michaelides advocated for a second year for the Emmanuel Cancer Foundation located inClark, New Jersey. A grant was provided for Family Assistance Fund, which helps families “pay for household bills, meals while they are with their child in the hospital, costly transportation to treatment facilities, and sadly, the high cost of burial and funeral expenses for a child who has lost his or her battle to cancer. Their goal is to continuously replenish this fund so it will be available to fulfill as many emergency requests as possible.”

Eleanor Roosevelt Center at Val-Kill- Ambassador Tess Rothwell advocated for the first time for the Eleanor Roosevelt Center, specifically for a grant to provide funding for girls to attend the Girls’ Leadership Worldwide (GLW) program over the summer. Both Tess and AFF Director Ali Fraenkel are alumni of this program, and credit it for much of their giving and leadership spirit!

Feed HV- Ambassador Brenna Dolen advocated for FeedHV, which is food rescue network comprised of food donors, volunteers, emergency feeding programs, and existing food rescues. FeedHV uses a web-based and mobile application to link food donors to emergency feeding programs and decrease food waste and food insecurity in the area. The grant will help FeedHV revamp its website and help recruit more volunteers to the program.

SAM Camp- Ambassador Megan Sanger advocated for a fifth year for camp scholarships for four girls to attend a STEM summer camp at Oakwood Friends School in Poughkeepsie.

Teens Take Charge- Ambassador Fatima Ismail advocated for the first time for Teens Take Charge, a student-led organization that uses direct action organizing and policy advocacy to work towards an equitable education system in New York City. The grant provides support for base-building events, actions, and workshops, helps to provide stipends to high school student organizers, and also supports resources for member wellness.

Youth Cities- Ambassador Cassidy Blundell has been advocating with the Foundation for five years, and two years for Youth Cities, a group whose mission it is to educate and nurture entrepreneurial spirit in young people in the Boston area. The grant supports program fees for students to attend a Youth Cities Bootcamp and L3 Innovation Challenge, which are hackathon-like programs through which students work towards solutions to pressing challenges like climate change or homelessness.

We Share Solar- Ambassador Aminy Ostfeld advocated for a fifth year for We Share Solar, this year for a STEM education program for 10 schools in rural Kenya. The program is in collaboration with Women in Sustainable Energy and Entrepreneurship (WISEe) in Nairobi, and the grant will provide for costs associated with mobile Solar Suitcase lab sets.