A uniquely Red Hook charitable organization, which has given more than $2 million over its 10 years of operation, was recognized last week for its contributions to the community.
The Ascienzo Family Foundation was honored at the annual Family Services Family of the Year Awards with the Right to Thrive Award. The ceremony was held Thursday, July 10, at The Grandview in Poughkeepsie.
The foundation was founded a decade ago by Nick Ascienzo, an educator who spent 42 years in the Red Hook Central School District, and former students Sophie Laing and Ali Fraenkel. Its board includes current and retired Red Hook teachers, Fran Thompson, Jen Melitski, Sue Kaiser, and Deb Fraleigh, as well as Ascienzo and Fraenkel. And, most of the 50 members of its ambassador program are Red Hook High School graduates.
The ambassador program brings the foundation’s mission to life through advocating for grants that support food security, senior services, education, and health and well-being. In 2024 alone, the foundation gave more than $185,000 in grants to nonprofit organizations, spanning across the region and the country.
Notably among the more than 200 local grants issued, The Ascienzo Family Foundation funded free breakfast for every Red Hook Central School District student for the past two years and covered the cost of the district’s Summer Academy, which provides students with college preparation and niche-interest instruction for three weeks each July.
“These acts are more than generous — they are transformative,” Superintendent of Schools Dr. Janet Warden said in introducing the award at the ceremony. “Their commitment to social justice, community health, education, and poverty alleviation is not just a mission statement — it’s a daily practice. One carried out with compassion, humility, and a deep belief that everyone deserves to thrive.”
The Right to Thrive Award recognizes “those whose kindness, empathy and generosity have made a meaningful impact on the community,” according to Family Services, which noted in the event program “The Ascienzo Family Foundation is being honored for exemplifying the true meaning of compassion and fostering a sense of belonging and safety, so everyone has the supports they need to thrive.”
Ascienzo, in accepting the award, said he and the foundation’s members were “humbled” by the honor.
“We are, indeed, a family of graduates and teachers, past and present, who shared in a long and rich tradition in excellence in education and protection of kids and young adults,” he said. “The reality is, all of us are students and teachers in serving others.
“We guard the existing good. And, with diminishing resources and obstacles all around us,” he continued, “We must be progressive in its expansion.”
Fraenkel, in her remarks, recalled what it was like to be in Ascienzo’s classroom. She spoke of a stool by his desk on which students could sit and interact with the educator, building trust.
“We believe and we trust that our partners and our grantees know what’s best for them, and that it’s our job as stewards of resources to give space and time to listen to them,” she said, “much like those early days on the stool.”
In addition to the award itself, The Ascienzo Family Foundation received certificates of recognition and citations in honor of the award from such entities and officials as Dutchess County government, Rep. Pat Ryan, State Sen. Rob Rolison, City of Poughkeepsie Mayor Yvonne Flowers, and State Assembly members Didi Barrett, Jonathan Jacobson and Anil Beephan. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand issued a letter congratulating both the foundation and the ceremony’s other honorees, Community Partner Award winners Alex Tuller and Dean Temple.
“For 10 years you have distributed over 200 grants and donations, assisting senior services, educational programming and alleviating food insecurity,” the citation from Barrett reads. “Your support of others exemplifies compassion, fosters a sense of belonging and safety and provides the support and resources for those that need it most.”
Warden called the foundation’s work “the example we hope our children follow.
“Thank you for giving not just your resources,” she said, but your hearts — and for showing us all what it means to truly care.”