The Baby Institute’s mission is to empower parents to become their child’s “first teacher” and advocate, helping their children become Pre-K and kindergarten ready. In doing so, they aim to increase the number of students entering school prepared to learn.  Research has long shown that education is a proven ladder out of poverty and yet by the time they enter school, low-income and minority children have a fraction of the vocabulary of more affluent children and are less school ready overall, a disparity, unfortunately, reflected in our local communities.

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The Baby Institute Parent Workshop seeks to offer a Parent Workshop in 2023 focused on lifting women and children out of poverty in Albany’s most underserved neighborhoods through early childhood education. The 9-week program provides a curriculum on childhood literacy, cognitive development, nutrition and behavior. By continuing to offer this program, The Baby Institute will create better opportunities, health and environmental outcomes, and greater economic stability.

Connect Center's mission is to break the cycle of poverty by connecting youth to careers. Connect Center is a community hub for connection and empowerment. They provide after-school and summer S.T.E.A.M.-based youth development programming alongside community aid initiatives in order to provide support in a holistic manner.

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The Connect Center For Youth in Cohoes seeks to implement a formal career pipeline centered around the growing eSports and related fields in parallel with its existing STEAM program. The new program, offering infrastructure and device upgrades, increased hands-on education and access to transportation, will increase post-secondary recruitment opportunities for the youth of Cohoes. The Connect Center combats poverty through free sustainable education in STEAM and other career-transferable skills such as culinary arts, music, journalism, engineering, and financial literacy to combat food insecurity and close the digital wealth gap.

As an initiative of Cornell Cooperative Extension, the Schenectady Menstrual Health Coalition (SMHC) works to promote the health and well-being of individuals who menstruate in our area. SMHC works to increase period equity by bringing period products directly into under-resourced communities through a network of established and trusted community-based organizations.

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Schenectady Menstrual Health Coalition seeks to bolster sustainability as a multifaceted initiative fighting period poverty by providing menstrual products and educational materials free of charge to people disproportionately impacted by the expenses of these products. If successful, SMHC plans to purchase menstrual hygiene products, educational and promotional materials, and install community period boxes strategically in close proximity to partner organizations.

Wellspring’s mission is to support survivors and engage the community to end relationships and sexual abuse.

Wellspring is the domestic violence and sexual assault services resource for Saratoga County residents and the sexual assault services resource for Washington County. They support survivors by providing emergency shelter, a 24-hour hotline & live chat, counseling, long-term housing assistance, case management and much more. All of their services are free, non-judgmental and confidential. To help spread awareness and promote social change, Wellspring advocates work directly with the community through educational and school-based programs.

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Wellspring is seeking funding to offer an innovative new program entitled Workforce Development to women and single parents, many of whom are survivors of domestic violence in Saratoga County. The new program launching in 2023 (serving approximately 60 participants annually) will address the life challenges faced by survivors by assisting with housing costs, childcare options, transportation and computer access to provide crucial skills and training. Participants of this 4-8 week program will be connected with local employers, increasing their household income by an estimated $20k-$30k. In addition, they will have access to scholarships and grant opportunities for future growth and development, and a better future for themselves and their children.