Friends of Hudson Youth raises funds from foundations and individual donors to provide ongoing financial support for the following programs administered by the Hudson Youth Department. For more information or to register please contact programs@cityofhudsonyouth.org.

Afterschool Programs

Bindlestiff’s Cirkus After School

Bindlestiff’s Cirkus After School uses skills like juggling, stilt walking, tumbling, partner acrobatics, prop manipulation and physical comedy to help youth to become stronger learners, community members, and leaders by encouraging them to express themselves creatively, challenge themselves physically, and work inventively with others.
Visual Arts

The Art School of Columbia County provides weekly art classes, offering hands-on opportunities for young people to express themselves through drawing, painting, print making, clay work, and collage. Teaching artists emphasize the process and experience of making art for any young person interested in exploring their creative potential. Additional support provided by the Hover Foundation, Hannaford, and Pioneer.
Literacy Voyage

Family Resource Centers of Columbia County’s Literacy Voyage Program is a playful educational initiative that combines storytelling, STEAM-based projects, and family engagement to inspire a lifelong love of learning. This innovative program emphasizes early literacy through interactive storytelling that brings books to life, creative crafts tied to the stories for hands-on engagement, and songs and movement to foster language skills and build connections.
Beautiful Racket

A music program that offers children the opportunity to explore and experience different modalities of music and sound: songwriting, recording, singing, and performance. Beautiful Racket creates a safe space for children to, literally and figuratively, find their voice. In past programs children have both written and recorded original songs and envisioned and produced their own music videos. Additional support for art and media programing is provided by the Hover Foundation, Hannaford, and Pioneer.
Read Aloud/Think Aloud

Juliana Russo leads monthly sessions that combine reading, interactive discussion, and an activity that helps bring stories to life. Funded by Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, the program always incudes a new book and family engagement materials for kids to take home.
Slam Poetry & Breakdancing

In two complementary 6-week workshops, musician, poet and dancer Daniel Villegas aims to nurture the creative spirits of young people eager to express themselves through writing, rap and movement.
This project is made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrant Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of The Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature and administered by CREATE Council on the Arts.

Recreational Sports Leagues

Winter Basketball League

Every Saturday morning in the cold winter months this co-ed league offers athletic development, teamwork, community and fun to young players. Friends of Hudson Youth supports the League with additional funding from our generous business sponsors:
Hall of Fame Sponsor: Greylock Federal Credit Union
Championship Sponsors: Lili and Loo, Janney Montgomery Scott, Spotty Dog Books and Ale
All Star Sponsors: Crawford & Associates, Finch Hudson, Fingar Insurance, Hudson Clothier, Hudson Elks Lodge, William Farmer and Sons
Fall Soccer League

The Hudson Youth Department Soccer League is a co-ed program that focuses on personal growth and the opportunity for players to develop important life skills in a recreational and mutually supportive environment. The program encourages every player regardless of ability, and everyone is offered a chance to learn through teamwork, effort, and responsibility.
Hall of Fame Sponsor: Greylock Federal Credit Union
Championship Sponsors: Herrington’s, Hudson Police Benevolent Association, Janney Montgomery Scott, Maker Gymnasium, Mid-Hudson Fiber, and Stair.
All Star Sponsors: Carrie Daddad Gallery, Hudson Clothier, Hudson Elks Lodge, Lili and Loo, Spotty Dog Books and Ale, Todd Farrell’s Car Care, and Wunderbar.

Summer Programs

Waterfront Program

The Oakdale lifeguard team gives campers and the entire community a safe place to cool off in the summer. We provide funding to extend the public hours of safe swimming as well as free on site lifeguard training making this an accessible summer job and an exceptional workforce training opportunity for local teens. Lifeguards also provide Red Cross swim lessons.
Major support for the Waterfront Program is provided by the HRBT Foundation, MVP Healthcare, and Stewart’s Shops. . Additional support is provided by the Hudson Yalley Foundaton for Youth Health and Walmart.
Bike Co-op

The Hudson Youth Bike Co-op offers youth the opportunity to learn bike repair and maintenance skills. Many youth become proud bike owners through the Earn-A-Bike program, where they learn to breakdown and rebuild a donated bicycle. The Bike Co-op serves both campers and the larger community in July and August.
Additional Support for the BikeCo-op is provided by the Ackerman Foundation, the Children’s Foundation of Columbia County, Stewart’s Shops, and Walmart.
Bindlestiff Cirkus

Bindlestiff Cirkus uses skills like juggling, stilt walking, tumbling, partner acrobatics, prop manipulation and physical comedy to help youth to become stronger learners, community members, and leaders by encouraging them to express themselves creatively, challenge themselves physically, and work inventively with others.
Additional support is provided by Bank of Greene County and Stewart’s Shops.
Beautiful Racket

A music program that offers children the opportunity to explore and experience different modalities of music and sound: songwriting, recording, singing, and performance. Beautiful Racket creates a safe space for children to, literally and figuratively, find their voice.
Additional support is provided by Bank of Greene County and Stewart’s Shop.
Nature Explorers

Campers immerse themselves in Oakdale’s 14 acre outdoor classroom to study critters, ecosystems, water quality, and more. Outdoor adventures at Oakdale are complemented with field trips to farms, public lands and historic sites.
Additional support is provided by Bank of Greene County and Stewart’s Shops.
Got Game Sports

Got Game Sports provides youth with opportunities to develop discipline, teamwork, and physical well-being through sports.
Additional support is provided by Bank of Greene County and Stewart’s Shops.

Environmental Stewardship at Oakdale Park

Water Quality

In May of 2025 we officially merged with our partner organization, Friends of Oakdale Lake, to collaboratively continue their six years of work improving Oakdale Lake and Park. In that time, they’ve led a community-driven park concept redesign and raised over $200,000 for beach infrastructure, solar aerators, water testing, and a full ecological study of the lake (their findings are also available as a video presentation). We are proud to expand on this important work. Major funding was provided by NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, with technical support from Columbia Land Conservancy and Great Ecology.
Forest Regeneration

In collaboration with Greenagers and Tend & Gather, we sponsored a youth project week to regenerate a section of Oakdale Park in April 2025. Work included the removal of invasive species and reintroduction of native trees and shrubs that have been lost to overbrowsing by deer. Youth conservations also built a deer exclosure to protect the new plantings. Additional support provided by Partners for Climate Action, EPIC (Eutopia Program for Innovation in our Community), and Columbia County Soil & Water Conservation District.
Volunteer Days

We organize volunteer days to clean-up Oakdale Park, maintain walking trails, and create a more sustainable forest ecosystem through the removal of invasive species and planting of native trees and shrubs.
Trail Improvements

Through community partnerships with Columba Land Conservancy and others, we regularly maintain and improve the Oakdale Trail. Past projects include the creation of a forest platform, a new bridge, and stabilizing and reinforcing the trail bed.

Past Programs

Summer 2020 Programs

Despite the challenges of COVID, the Youth Department served youth in Hudson in multiple ways in summer 2020, all with additional funding provided by Friends of Hudson Youth. The Youth Center reopened to provide regular child care and recreation to a limited number of kids. A variety of distanced outdoor programs in circus, crafts, literacy, fishing, cooking, nature studies, music, and dance happened in outdoor locations throughout the city.
The HYD also launched a new “Ambassadors” program: a mobile team of department staff to circulate at public parks and places where youth congregate, keeping an eye on the community, offering masks, safety education, snacks and other supports. This program received major support from the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation.
Community Dinners

In partnership with Greater Hudson Promise Neighborhood we funded a special shared dinner at the Youth Department every Tuesday night, lovingly prepared by Miss Ida Pearl and her family. Additional funding provided by Stewart’s Shops.
Kid’s Library

Thanks to the hard work and generosity of our community we developed a beautiful new book corner at the Youth Center. Hardy’s Contracting came in over the summer of 2018 and installed custom bookcases for us. Before the paint dried, people were donating books to fill the shelves, including Susan Simon and the Hudson Literacy Fund, our friends at Columbia Opportunities, Inc.- Hudson Family Literacy Program, and book editor Charlotte Sheedy. Other neighbors, through generous donations to Friends of Hudson Youth, provided a colorful new rug and bean bag chairs so that the kids always have access to books — and a cozy spot to read them.
Snack Attack

Our generous friends at Talbott & Arding Cheese and Provisions brought a series of cooking classes to the Youth Center, teaching hands-on skills and introducing us to new foods!
Nature Explorers

We regularly support a full summer program of outdoor adventures! The campers immerse themselves in Oakdale’s 14 acre outdoor classroom to study critters, ecosystems, water quality, and more. Workshops at Oakdale are complemented with field trips to farms, public lands and historic sites.
These programs are made possible through partnerships with Audubon New York, Clermont State Historic Site, Columbia County Soil & Water Conservation District – Mud Creek Environmental Learning Center, Columbia Land Conservancy, Hawthorne Valley Place Based Learning Center, Hudson Area Library, and Olana State Historic Site.
Visual Empowerment

Nikolettea Daskaloudi uses art making materials to create visual projects that unlock our inner strength, beauty and power. Her focus is on strength-based conversation that promotes healthy self-confidence and understanding. All young artists are unique and we celebrate this in our class! Additional support for this program provided by the Bank of Greene County and Stewart’s Shops.
Sound Walking

Sound Walking incorporates elements of Deep Listening, field recording, naturalism, and free movement. Kids explore the sonic environment at Oakdale through group and individual exercises. Older students learned how to do field recordings, with their final work broadcast on 90.7 fm WGXC and incorporated into a Sound Map that the public can experience on the Oakdale Trail. Additional support for this program provided by the Bank of Greene County, the Children’s Foundation of Columbia County, and Community Bank.
Camp News

Camp News teaches broadcast and video production skills through storytelling and interviews. Campers create a weekly news broadcast of the highlights of Oakdale Summer Camp, produced by and starring the Oakdale campers. Additional support for this program provided by the Bank of Greene County, the Hover Foundation, and Community Bank.