Molinaro Announces More Than $362K in Learn, Play, Create Grant Awards
First round of 2022 grants to enhance lives of children and families adversely affected by COVID-19 pandemic
Poughkeepsie, NY … Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro today announced the first group of 2022 funding awards, totaling $362,250, as part of the County’s Learn, Play, Create: Supporting Our Kids grant program, which will fund 21 projects for local non-profit organizations that directly benefit children and families. Additional awards will be announced in the coming weeks.
In 2022, $1 million in Learn, Play, Create (LPC) grants are available, and there will be two application rounds this year. In this first round, grants of up to $20,000 were made available to non-profit organizations that directly serve youth in the areas of expanded learning, arts enrichment, and sports engagement that were deprived of fundraising or participation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Application instructions and guidance for 2022’s second round of LPC funding will be available later this year on the Department of Planning and Development’s webpage.
County Executive Molinaro said, “We must do all we can to foster our children’s development, and Dutchess County’s Learn, Play, Create grant program provides critical funds to local organizations that make a real difference in young people’s lives. Our county is committed to our children, and the success of our LPC program demonstrates our community’s shared promise to help raise responsible and productive young men and women.”
Learn, Play, Create: Supporting Our Kids awards ($362,250 Total)
Abilities First (Wappinger), $10,000
Classroom Connecting – Purchase 25 iPads for students in the Firemens Way program.
Arlington Hockey Club (LaGrange), $20,000
Ice Time for Kids – Ice time for the JV and Varsity Arlington High School Club teams.
Beyond the Dream LLC (City of Poughkeepsie), $20,000
Educational Low-Income Tools and Mentoring Support – Provide computers to 10 students, educational programs (reading, math tutoring, etc.), facility cost, refreshments, local business field trips and remote educational field trips.
Boy Scout Troop 3025 (Town of Poughkeepsie), $20,000
Critical Equipment, Supplies, and Support for Dutchess County Kids – Purchase outdoor equipment (cooking equipment, camping tents, pop-up tents), scout supplies (neckerchiefs, advancement, uniforms) and this year’s camping fees (summer camp).
Boy Scouts Of America Cub Scout Pack 3033 (Pleasant Valley), $9,000
Storage Trailer and Camping Equipment – Purchase camping equipment and storage trailer for Cub Scout pack equipment.
Community Based Services, Inc. (Beekman), $18,650
Nature Walks Afterschool – Excavation and creation of stimulating sensory trails at Cultivating Dreams Farm, located in the Town of Beekman.
Cub Scout Pack 3223 Hudson Valley Council (Town of Poughkeepsie), $20,000
Building Tomorrow’s Leaders Through Scouting – Reduce member fees, purchase equipment, T-shirts and uniforms.
Dutchess Divas Softball, Inc. (Pleasant Valley), $20,000
Equipment to Help Softball Athletes Grow – Equipment, supplies and training aids, uniforms and developmental clinic for rostered athletes.
FDR Baseball Booster (Hyde Park), $20,000
Improvements for Player Safety – Upgrade field equipment, including the purchase and installation of a permanent fence, improve the backstop, and upgrade the batting cages.
Girls Scouts Heart of the Hudson Troop 10072 (East Fishkill and Wappinger), $9,000
Girl Scout Camping – Purchase camping gear, supplies and equipment for a night of camping at Wilcox Park in September 2022, as well as for use for future Girl Scout camping trips.
Hyde Park Rowing Association (Hyde Park), $20,000
New 8 Rower Shell for Girls Team – Purchase a new 8 rower shell.
Lafayette Lodge No. 18, Independent Order of Odd Fellows (Wappingers Falls), $13,600
Ensuring Bright Futures for Our Children for Generations – Purchase equipment and jerseys for Odd Fellows Town of Wappinger Little League team, sponsor activities for Odd Fellows Chartered Cub Scout Troop Pack 40 in Wappinger, provide winter coats and toys during the holiday season, as well as school supplies and resources for children in need at Sheafe Road and Evans Elementary Schools, make lodge more “kid-friendly” with new equipment (monitor, TV, computer, improved internet), indoor/outdoor games (cornhole, horseshoes, picnic benches) and furnishings (tables, chairs).
Millbrook School (Washington), $20,000
Trevor Zoo – Support educational programming and increase access to the Trevor Zoo and its youth initiatives, making it available to all youth regardless of economic background; funds will be used to purchase a tent, portable/wearable microphone system, financial aid fund for children/families who cannot afford admission fees and a part-time staffer to help do interpreting and educating.
New York State Minorities in Criminal Justice Region 4 (Beacon), $20,000
Youth Learning, Training and Mentorship – Program materials, supplies, electronic/signage equipment to conduct program presentations, branded materials for back-to-school events, one-time contractor expenses, youth fair and training/symposium fees.
Save At Risk Children for Corporate America, Inc. (City of Poughkeepsie), $20,000
Tutoring to Help Improve Class Performance, Earn Higher Grades and Prepare for Success in High School and College – Funding will be used to institute a pilot program in Poughkeepsie in which local college students will be hired to tutor middle-school children from low-income families in literacy, math and science.
Stony Kill Foundation (Fishkill), $20,000
In-Person Youth Experiences in Agriculture and the Environment – Funds will provide 20 weeks of summer camp scholarships, free camp T-shirts for 170 children, learning supplies and learning area improvements for camp and field trip programs and free field trips for up to six Dutchess County schools/youth organizations.
The Farm Chef Project (East Fishkill), $20,000
Supplies for Agro-Educational Farm – Purchase tractor and wagon to safely transport youth around the farm, ADA-accommodated gardening tools, protection, cooking and food prep tools, building materials to safely manufacture raised beds, a shed for prep and storage, and ADA-accessible picnic tables.
Tighten Ups Precision Drill Team (City of Poughkeepsie), $20,000
Practice Location, Drums, Drum Sticks, Practice Pads and Uniforms – Equipment, practice location, drums, drum sticks, practice pads and uniforms.
United Way of the Dutchess-Orange Region, Inc. (City of Poughkeepsie), $10,000
Expanding Child Access to Literacy and Play – Sports equipment, sensory toys and books to be distributed for free to vulnerable, low-income families in Dutchess County who have been negatively impacted by the pandemic.
Webutuck Little League (Millerton), $20,000
Little League Equipment, Uniforms, Concession and Field Upgrades – Funds will be used for uniforms and equipment, to off-set registration costs, week-long summer camp/clinic to improve skills, refresh playing field and dugouts and to set up a concession stand to generate revenue to promote and grow the program.
Young-Morse Historic Site (Town of Poughkeepsie), $12,000
Outdoor Classrooms for Educational Programs – Tables, chairs and tents to establish two new outdoor classrooms for science, history and nature programs for youth.
The Learn, Play, Create grant program was announced in June 2021 as part of “Dutchess Invests,” the County Executive’s initiative to direct $57 million in one-time funding allocated to Dutchess County through the Federal Government’s American Rescue Plan (ARP) to areas the community has recognized as priorities. Last year, the LPC grant program provided $3 million in one-time grants to 147 local non-profit youth organizations in the categories of libraries, expanded learning, art enrichment, and sports activities.
Organizations which received Learn, Play, Create funding in 2021, as well as school districts, private and religious schools, including school-funded clubs and/or programs, and municipal-funded/sponsored departments or clubs are not eligible to apply.
