HUDSON VALLEY – Hannaford Supermarkets and the Hannaford Charitable Foundation this week announced $50,000 in donations to support virtual learning and after-school programs for Hudson Valley families impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The donation includes $10,000 each to Boys and Girls Clubs of Kingston, Newburgh, and Wallkill, as well as $20,000 to Healthy Kids Programs in Poughkeepsie. The organizations will use the funding to support after-school programming, in addition to on-site remote learning centers for students while their caregivers are at work.
The Hudson Valley funding is one component of an overall $400,000 commitment from Hannaford to support expanded childcare programs for working families across New York and New England during the pandemic.
“As our schedules, commitments, and priorities have shifted over the last 10 months, so have the needs of working families in our community,” said Hannaford Charitable Foundation Board Member Peter Forester, who also serves as senior vice president of merchandising for the grocery retailer. “The organizations benefiting from this donation provide parents and caregivers with the peace of mind and security that their children are being cared for in a safe, healthy and supportive environment. We applaud these organizations for their ability to pivot their services to meet the needs of families during this challenging time.”
“The funds received from Hannaford will be instrumental in ensuring the Boys and Girls Club of Kingston will be able to continue to provide a safe place for youth to go and navigate their virtual learning,” said Boys and Girls Club of Kingston CEO Dan Whalen. “During these extremely difficult times, we have provided a safe place for over 40 local youth to go daily while their parents are at work. We cannot thank Hannaford Supermarkets enough for all of their support.”
“Now, more than ever, this donation is making a big impact on the lives of our Club kids,” said Boys and Girls Club of Wallkill Executive Director Lori Rivenburgh. “This funding is allowing us to enhance our programming to meet the needs of our Club kids during this challenging time,”
The $20,000 grant from Hannaford to Healthy Kids Programs in Poughkeepsie will be used to underwrite the cost of after-school programming for children of local school district staff who are working extended hours to balance in-person and remote teaching responsibilities. Partner school districts include Arlington Central School District; Hyde Park Central School District; Washingtonville Central School District; and Valley Central School District.
“We are extremely grateful to Hannaford for their generous support of the heroes in our school districts by underwriting aftercare tuition for their school-age children,” said Healthy Kids Programs CEO Steve Dwek.
