Family Services Gala

On July 10th, Family Services hosted their annual gala in Poughkeepsie. Family Services is an impactful nonprofit in the Hudson Valley that focuses on providing support to individuals and families through services and programs like mental health counseling, childcare at family court, gun violence prevention workshops for youth, and much more. We have been happy to support Family Services’ work, including through a $10,000 grant in 2023 to assist in technology upgrades for their programs. At the gala, Family Services presented the AFF with their Right to Thrive Award. It was truly an honor! Board members Nick, Ali, Jen, and Sue were there to receive the award and provide remarks. Some reflections from them:

“I have honestly never seen so much generosity, and so much evidence of good work well done, gathered together in one room before. It was inspiring.” -Sue

"Our recognition was a humble reminder of not only our advocacy over the years, but the passionate advocacy of hundreds of attendees whose reinvestment of time, resources, and influence are addressing the needs of many." -Nick

"It was a true honor to be recognized for our work among the incredible attendees at this event. To be chosen for the Right to Thrive award was truly humbling. I was in awe of the people who were in attendance that evening and thrilled to be among them. You could feel the energy and the momentum to continue making a difference and positive change for people in our communities." -Jen

Celebrating 10 Years

December 22 celebration at the Elmendorph.

In 2024, we celebrated 10 years of the Ascienzo Family Foundation! In 10 years, we’ve expanded our network of giving to 300 unique organizations and have provided over $2,000,000 in grants and donations.

Check presentation to the RHFA for Nourish Your Neighbor.

AFF Directors, ambassadors, scholarship awardees, and local partners gathered at the Elmendorph Inn on December 22 to ring in the new year, enjoy each other’s company, and celebrate 10 years of giving. The festive event included surprise $1,000 donations to 10 local agencies doing critical work in our communities, and $11,924 to the Red Hook Faculty Association for the Nourish Your Neighbor campaign.

Director Jen Melitski delivered wonderful remarks on 5 years of our Marist Match partnership program, which has resulted in the AFF matching $13,378 over the years in donations to Poughkeepsie-based organizations.

It was a treat to see everyone- enjoy this slideshow to read more about the Foundation’s history over the years and our partners in giving.

We look forward to seeing what this new year will bring!

Directors Deb, Sue, Fran, Nick, Jen, and Sophie.

Summer 2024 Updates

This summer has been exciting, with a new Director on board and four AFF scholarship winners to celebrate!

We’d like to extend a warm welcome to Deb Fraleigh, who has just joined the Foundation Board of Directors. Deb has been teaching in the Red Hook Schools for 27 years and joins our team eager to assist us in all that we do for the community.

A big congratulations to our four 2024 Scholarship winners! They are: Sarah Holtman, Laura Holtman, Brandon Duran, and Flor Alvarez-Andrades. We will be featuring othem in future blog posts, so stay tuned to learn more about these amazing RHHS Class of 2024 graduates.

Lastly, a few of the directors - Nick, Fran, Jen, and Sue recently attended the Red Hook Educational Foundation’s (RHEF) Fundraiser at the Spiegeltent at Bard College. RHEF continues to support the Red Hook Schools, including the Summer Academy, for which we have provided grants over the years. It was a fun night, and Mike McCrudden was honored at the event for his many years of teaching and IB leadership!

A Look Back

The AFF has been around for nearly 10 years, and during that time we’ve grown, reevaluated our priorities, welcomed many new Ambassadors, and enjoyed the company of different Board members. It’s always nice to reflect on where we came from, our communities, and our mission, and so we were excited that The Daily Catch reached out to do an article about the Foundation. The article from last summer can be found here. We hope you enjoy learning more about the Foundation!

Welcome, Sue!

In June the AFF welcomed a new Director to the Board, Sue Kaiser! Sue was born and raised in Queens, where she began her career in education. After 13 years of teaching high school English there, and with two Masters degrees (one in Literature and one in Secondary Education) she and her husband Dave relocated to the Hudson Valley to start a family. Sue was lucky enough to land a teaching position at Linden Avenue Middle School, where she taught English for 21 years. Not only an advocate for students, she was also a voice for faculty through her service as a union rep.

Both of Sue’s children graduated from Red Hook School district, and through them Sue became enmeshed in the culture and community of Red Hook. Through years of soccer and swim team, dance and horseback riding, theater and Hardscrabble days, Red Hook became her extended family. Sue is excited to continue and deepen her connection to the people of Red Hook through her work with the AFF. She’s received so much from Red Hook and is ready to pay it forward.

We are so excited to have Sue on board. She’s already joined the AFF at the Red Hook Education Foundation Spiegeltent fundraiser and attended her first AFF board meeting!