A Division of Cornerstone Family Healthcare
The 2021 Most Important Meal, presented by Hudson Valley Credit Union, took place on Sunday, October 24th at the Fishkill Recreation Center. We raised nearly $6,000 for our food closet program, which is one of very few HVCS programs not funded by government grants.
Thanks again to our event sponsors and advertisers. View the slideshow from the event here:
Coming in May!
Join America’s top Tupperware salesperson for a lively, fun-filled evening of laughter, contests and creative food storage solutions! Dixie Longate beams into your home through the magic of Zoom, all to raise funds for Hudson Valley Community Services (HVCS).
Tickets are only $15.00 per Zoom log-in (and yes, you can have as many people watching your screen as you feel comfortable hosting).
HVCS provides free prevention and education services to Hudson Valley residents at high risk for HIV, STDs, hepatitis C, and substance use disorder. We also provide support and connections to medical care for people living with HIV/AIDS and other chronic illnesses. Our budgets were cut by 20% during the COVID-19 pandemic, and your donations will help us restore services to people in real need.
The Zoom link will be emailed to you upon completion of your ticket purchase.
Thursday, May 20, 2021
7:30-9:00 pm
Via Zoom
Tickets: $15.00 per Zoom log-in
PLUS, win great prizes in our games and contests! Prizes include a $50 gift certificate to Solstad House in Beacon, and a $50 gift certificate and bottle of wine at Babe’s Bar and Grill in Haverstraw. More prizes to be announced soon!
SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES are also available – email jdewey@hudsonvalleycs.org for details.
Instead of our usual cereal buffet in-person event, this year’s Most Important Meal takes the form of an online auction. It will run for one week starting on Sunday, November 15th:
https://charitygrow.org/Browse/C821127/Hudson_Valley_Community_Services
Gift cards and most physical items were donated by generous supporters. The TV/movie memorabilia is on consignment from CharityGrow and will ship right to the winning bidder. Winners may need to pick up other items from whichever HVCS office is closest to them.
Once someone registers and places a bid, the website will contact them if they are outbid. Since expenses for this event were so low, we already have about $6,000 in profits thanks to our sponsors.
Hudson Valley Dance Festival
Moves Online for 2020 Edition
with Stream Set for Saturday, October 10
Virtual festival to feature premieres,
made-for-the-moment dance films
and highlights from past festivals
Produced by and benefiting
Dancers Responding to AIDS,
a program of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS
Escape to the cultural heart of the Hudson Valley without leaving your living room when the Hudson
Valley Dance Festival goes virtual for the first time on Saturday, October 10, 2020. The festival is
produced by and benefits Dancers Responding to AIDS , a program of Broadway Cares/Equity
Fights AIDS .
Dancers Responding to AIDS has already pledged a $2,500 donation to HVCS.
Watch the hourlong stream at 7 pm Eastern, at dradance.org . The stream will be available for four
days after its premiere.
The lineup is set to feature a diverse collection of festival premieres, made-for-the-moment
filmed shorts and highlights from past festivals. The virtual festival will include an original dance
film by Stephen Petronio , created at his residency center in Round Top, NY; an outdoor solo filmed
at Kaatsbaan Summer Festival in Tivoli, NY, choreographed by Caleb Teicher featuring American
Ballet Theatre’s Catherine Hurlin ; a performance from So You Think You Can Dance ’s Ricky Ubeda
choreographed by Billy Griffin and more. The full lineup will be announced in the coming weeks.
“We’ll miss gathering on the banks of the Hudson River and amid the gorgeous fall foliage, but we’re
happy to continue the tradition of sharing breathtaking dance that gives back to and celebrates the
Hudson Valley community,” said Denise Roberts Hurlin, founding director of Dancers Responding
to AIDS. “In these unprecedented times, we’re thrilled to come together virtually and provide
immediate help to those affected by COVID-19, HIV/AIDS and other life crises in the area and
across the country.”
The money raised during the Virtual Hudson Valley Dance Festival will help Broadway Cares provide
additional, emergency grants to 13 organizations based in the Hudson Valley that are already part
of its National Grants Programs. The organizations are Albany Damien Center and Alliance for
Positive Health in Albany, Animalkind, Columbia-Greene Community Foundation and Hudson Valley
SPCA in Hudson, Matthew 25 Food Pantry and Community Hospice in Catskill, Hudson Valley
Community Services in Hawthorne, Hudson Valley LGBTQ Community Center in Kingston, Rock
Steady Farm in Millerton, Roe Jan Food Pantry in Hillsdale, TOUCH (Together Our Unity Can Heal) in
Congers and Troy Area United Ministries in Troy.
The annual in-person dance festival, traditionally held at Historic Catskill Point in Catskill, NY, has
raised $910,688 for people in need across the country and in the Hudson Valley during the festival’s
seven editions.
Dancers Responding to AIDS relies on the extraordinary compassion and efforts of the performing
arts community to fund a safety net of social services for those in need. As a program of Broadway
Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, DRA supports the essential programs of The Actors Fund, including the
HIV/AIDS Initiative and The Dancers’ Resource, as well as more than 450 AIDS and family service
organizations nationwide.
For more information, please visit Dancers Responding to AIDS at dradance.org , at
facebook.com/DRAdance , at instagram.com/DRAdance , at twitter.com/DRAdance and at
youtube.com/DRAdance .
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On Monday, June 1, 2020 at 7:00 pm EST, POZ Magazine is hosting a webinar entitled “POZ at Home – Coping With COVID-19 and HIV.” This webinar is free. Register at https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_WckQRhb3QiOudAY1IoJWJg
This event is being produced by POZ At Home.
Hudson Valley Community Services’ Bob (representing our Medical Benefits program) and Jovanny (from our Men’s Services HIV prevention program) tabled at the O+ Festival on Saturday, August 3rd in downtown Poughkeepsie. O+ empowers communities to take control of their collective wellbeing through the exchange of art, music, and wellness.
Underinsured artists and musicians create and perform in exchange for a variety of services donated by doctors, dentists and complementary care providers. O+ (pronounced O Positive) calls this exchange the art of medicine for the medicine of art.
HVCS was there to connect with those who might need one of our many services.
I’m Doing It. Testing for HIV.
HVCS is collaborating with Walgreens in Poughkeepsie, located at 827 Dutchess Turnpike, for National HIV Testing Day (June 27th). Our team will be on site from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm for free confidential HIV testing, information on PrEP, as well as HIV prevention, care and treatment. We are partnering with Greater Than AIDS for this community event.
On Thursday, May 9, 2019, Hudson Valley Community Services joined forces with Pleasantville Strong and several community leaders to offer a free training and certification on how to use Narcan, the opioid overdose reversal drug. Pleasantville Strong organized the event at the Mt. Pleasant Community Center in Valhalla, and forty concerned citizens attended. Melissa Shippy, a Senior Program Supervisor here at HVCS, provided the training, and Andrea Parada, Foundation Grants & Fundraising Manager, represented the agency. Speakers included Mt. Pleasant Judge Robert Ponzini, Councilwoman Laura Rogersmalley and Town Police Chief Paul Oliva.
Hudson Valley Gives, a local day of online philanthropy, is coming up on Wednesday, May 15, 2019, and it’s your chance to connect with a non-profit providing services in your own backyard. Donate at HVCS’ special page on HVGives.org and we’ll potentially unlock some great incentives, matching funds and set new local donation records!
If you make a $25 donation, you supply a client and their family with food for three days.
Make a $35 donation, and you put socks on the feet of 18 homeless clients.
Make a $50 donation and you help three low-income people know their HIV status by covering the cost of HIV testing.
With a $75 donation, you help us provide Narcan kits, life-saving overdose reversal medication, to those at high risk for overdose (and/or their family members and friends).
Mark your calendar and get ready to donate on May 15th–and join thousands of others in making the Hudson Valley an even better place to live healthfully and thrive!
Chill Wine Bar in Beacon is hosting once again their annual “Fill Chill” food drive and dance party, with the 2018 event slated for Friday, November 16th starting at 8:00 pm. Drop off a few cans or packages of non-perishable food to help stock HVCS’ food closets for the holidays–heck, why not bring a whole bag of food? The closets also accept donations of toiletries and household cleaning products. Everyone who donates an item (or more) will be entered into a door prize drawing. You’ll also have the chance to enter the 50/50 raffle.
To keep things in the holiday spirit, Prephab, the region’s premiere DJ duo, will be spinning fun music ranging from disco to pop to dance. Chill will have their selection of wines and bottled beers available, plus their bar snack menu featuring paninis and cheese platters. Chill will donate a portion of sales to HVCS so make sure to eat and drink up!
Chill is located at 173 Main Street in Beacon. Please join us for a relaxing and heartwarming start to your Thanksgiving week festivities!