SUN FUND

If you’re wondering what you can do to help, we have activated the SUN Fund to coordinate and distribute support to the communities where it is most needed in the days, weeks, and months to come.

We will be accepting donations to the SUN Fund through our website and gifts by mail through September 30, or as conditions require. For online donations, please specify “Central Adirondack flooding” in the Special Instructions text box; you may also specify a particular community where you’d like to direct your donation. For gifts by mail, please make checks payable to Adirondack Foundation SUN Fund with “Central Adirondack Flooding” (and a specific community, if applicable) in the memo line and mail to Adirondack Foundation, PO Box 288, Lake Placid, NY 12946. Funds will be transferred to town governments to distribute according to local needs.

The Adirondack Foundation Sun Fund has been set up to get directly into the hands of those who have suffered the most damage from our recent, unexpected Flash Flood Event in the early morning hours of Tuesday, July 11th in Long Lake, NY and Blue Mountain Lake, NY located in Hamilton County NY in the center and heart of the Adirondack Mountains.

In the very early morning on Tuesday, July 11th, 2023, the Long Lake, NY Fire Department alarm sounded, echoing throughout the community of Long Lake. It rang out. Silence, just a few minutes later, the haunting sound of the fire call went off again, alerting us that someone was in trouble and needed help. After hours of soaking rain with no end in sight, the unthinkable happened. Multiple beaver dams that had been in place for decades were breeched at Shaw Pond sending a powerful, destructive, incredible force of water down Shaw Brook into the yards of our Long Lake neighbors on NYS Route 28N. Witnesses watched in horror as uncontrollable and unexpected water poured into their yards at unimaginable speed, power and destruction. Within moments it wiped out a section of road which would lead to cutting off one third of the town for days. The water continued to surge down Shaw Brook, decimating a driveway, surging into downtown Long Lake and blowing out the spillway dam impoundment on Jennings Park Pond which has been a mainstay of the character of Long Lake since it was built in 1933.

The town was spared the tragedy of human loss, but the impact was grave. Part of our community has been cut off from the town for several days while road crews work tirelessly to open one lane of traffic in the most impacted area. The NYSDOT worked with local Hamilton County and Long Lake Highway Crews repaired damage, and opened up a major thru-artery connecting the north and south of the Adirondacks via NYS Route 30 Main Street Long Lake in record time, guaranteeing that emergency crews, families, and commerce could continue moving throughout the center of the Adirondacks in Long Lake, NY’s main travel corridor.

Neighbors help neighbors clean up and rebuild as swiftly as they can and efforts to clean up are just starting. But in typical Long Lake fashion as soon as the sun comes out, the mood changes and our doors open. Our roadways are open, our businesses are open and we hope you will come and support our little community. Summer is the peak season for us and we need you to come visit! If you want to help, we’d love to have it. Check out the link in the description to the Adirondack Foundation who has opened up the SUN Fund to get funds to the people who need it the most.

Donate to the SUN FUND and help our tiny communities rebuild!

LOCAL FUNDS

Dear Friends,

One of the defining truths about the Adirondack region is that people look out for one another. We saw it during the pandemic. We saw it during Tropical Storm Irene. As we watch the updates come in from the Central Adirondacks, we see it again: emergency responders, public safety officers, federal and state agencies, businesses, and volunteers coming together to assess the damage. Central Adirondack communities have been battered by the recent deluge, especially Long Lake and the Indian Lake hamlet of Blue Mountain Lake. Roads are closed, a dam has been breached, and businesses disrupted.

And, there are already bright spots of generosity. Everywhere, Adirondackers are helping one another in ways big and small.

The situation is evolving, but our team here at Adirondack Foundation is in conversation with local leaders and our nonprofit partners to help coordinate a philanthropic response. We know the work will be just beginning as the water recedes.

If you’re wondering what you can do to help, we have activated the SUN Fund to coordinate and distribute support to the communities where it is most needed in the days, weeks, and months to come.

We will be accepting donations to the SUN Fund through our website and gifts by mail through September 30, or as conditions require. For online donations, please specify “Central Adirondack flooding” in the Special Instructions text box; you may also specify a particular community where you’d like to direct your donation. For gifts by mail, please make checks payable to Adirondack Foundation SUN Fund with “Central Adirondack Flooding” (and a specific community, if applicable) in the memo line and mail to Adirondack Foundation, PO Box 288, Lake Placid, NY 12946. Funds will be transferred to town governments to distribute according to local needs.

If you have questions about how best to make a contribution to the SUN Fund or would like to speak with a staff member about the ways in which you can support the effort, please contact Leslee Mounger at Leslee.Mounger@Adkfoundation.org or 518-523-9904.

In addition to the fund at Adirondack Foundation, here are some additional early giving recommendations.

The American Red Cross of Eastern New York is a trusted partner in the early stages of a disaster.

The Warren Hamilton Community Action Agency

Hamilton County Social Services

Long Lake Rescue Squad

Long Lake Fire Department

Indian Lake Volunteer Ambulance Corps.

Indian Lake Volunteer Fire Department

Blue Mountain Lake Fire and Ambulance Department

Hamilton County IDA

Hamilton Helps

Adirondackers look out for one another. We see it in good times and especially in challenging ones. Thank you to everyone who is out there right now working to keep our neighbors safe during this difficult time. We’ll keep you updated as we learn more.

Stay safe and thank you,