The FOHY Story
photo: Tom Roeschlein
Why FoHY?
Friends of Hudson Youth (FoHY) was founded in 2018 by a small group of local residents to fortify the Hudson Youth Department (HYD), a municipal agency. Many of our founders had attended the Hudson Boys and Girls Club as children, when it was a celebrated local institution. Ownership of the Boys and Girls Club building at 18 S. 3rd Street transferred to the city in 2005, when it became the Hudson Youth Center.
Until that time the HYD had operated a summer programs and recreational sports leagues. With the absorption of the Boys and Girls Club's building and role, its function expanded to include an after-school program during the school year. Over the ensuing years the HYD struggled for funding and staff to meet its greatly expanded role.
Friends of Hudson Youth was established to help rebuild and strengthen the HYD.
We recognized that the HYD was a vital resource for the Hudson community, providing urgently needed childcare and recreation along with nutritional, academic, social, and emotional supports to Hudson’s kids and their families. And it needed additional community support to leverage what the city could provide in order to thrive.
Starting Out
In the summer of 2018, our first donation to the HYD was a canoe. We saw it as a tangible symbol marking the launch of our efforts.
Every summer kids at HYD's day camp at Oakdale Lake experience boating (many for the first time), and that original Old Town canoe is now one of a fleet of four!
First Summer
We were able to fund a rich series of nature programs for the day camp at Oakdale that first summer, even though we had limited revenue starting out.
Our other important initiative that year was reinvigorating the recreational sports leagues. With staffing and funding challenges, both the basketball and soccer leagues had lost enrollment.
Parents and community members repeatedly told us that these leagues were among the most important offerings of the HYD, given how few affordable recreational and sports activities are accessible to local families. We also knew how important organized athletic programs are to childhood development.
With FoHY's support, the HYD eliminated registration fees so that everyone could participate. We have continued to grow and improve these programs, even with some unfortunate interruptions due to Covid.
New Support & Local Impact
By 2019, our early success at tapping community support allowed us to fund new programs in music production and dance, as well as providing support for existing programs like circus arts. At the Youth Center that year, we built and stocked a library, and refurbished the computer lab with new equipment.
As summer approached, for many reasons it became apparent that maintaining a team of lifeguards would be a challenge for the HYD, so we took on the Lifeguard Program at Oakdale Lake as a major initiative, and it has been a win-win-win.
For one, kids must have lifeguards present to be able to swim and boat during camp. Second, the entire community can enjoy safe, free summer recreation at the beach. Finally, the program is also a terrific workforce training opportunity that we wanted to make widely available to our diverse teen population. We underwrite the cost of the required training, which removes a major obstacle for low-income youth, and we bolster the payroll to make lifeguarding a worthwhile summer job.
The impact has been significant; we have had a full lifeguard staff in recent summers while other recreational facilities in the region struggle to hire.
Withstanding the Shutdowns
With the Covid shutdowns in 2020, our urgent concern was food. Like the schools, the HYD is normally a reliable source of meals, which many families depend on for their kids. With our financial support, the HYD operated a citywide emergency food distribution for the first six months of the pandemic.
That summer, we funded a modified summer program which took place at multiple outdoor sites in Hudson. Art, music, nature, and circus classes continued, when every other summer youth program in Columbia County was shut down. And while other towns closed their lakes and ponds, we kept Oakdale Beach open all summer with lifeguards and safe distancing protocols.
New Conditions, New Efforts to Support
Things returned to quasi-normal in 2021, with the Youth Center reopening, camp returning to Oakdale Park, and the soccer league restarting that Fall. But Covid protection was still a critical concern. FoHY funded tents for the day camp, so that kids could maintain separate pods, and extra supplies so that the pods could function independently.
We launched a Bike Co-op which has become one of our most popular programs. Kids who wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford bikes participate in an Earn-A-Bike Program. Working on donated bicycles, they learn to strip down and rebuild them, and then become proud bike owners. To date over 50 young people have completed the program, and the co-op has expanded to now serve both the HYD summer camp and the wider community.
Ongoing Growth
2022 and 2023 saw rising enrollment at the Youth Department as we continue to increase our support to match their success.
Basketball was able to start up again in the winter of 2023 with over 150 kids participating.
We have a renewed emphasis on art, music, and media classes, in response to the great need for creative expression during this highly stressful time.
With FoHY support, the after-school program now has a second location, so that children in grades K-2 have a separate space and an experience better suited to their needs.
Participation by teens is up substantially at the Youth Center, and we are developing new programs that support them in making successful transitions to higher education or careers.
We are so grateful to the generous donor community that believes in our work and gives steadfast support. But of course, there’s more than money behind this success. The committed HYD staff, volunteers and freelance educators who design and lead the programs we fund are all inspired partners, without whom none of this would be possible. We are grateful to everyone who plays a part in making Hudson a better place to grow up!
Friends of Hudson Youth is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.