Thank you to Quinten Gavin from Digital Realm Agency for capturing the event!

Thank You for helping us create an memorable Community Celebration!

From the bottom of our hearts, we thank everyone who helped make our Fourth of July Community Celebration a special event.

While the weather certainly changed our plans, what stood out most was the spirit of our community. Neighbors helped neighbors, families gathered together, children continued creating crafts and making memories indoors, and so many of you stayed to enjoy the fireworks together. It was a beautiful reminder of what makes our community special.

A heartfelt thank you to our sponsors, volunteers, vendors, musicians, and community partners who made this event possible.

Special thanks to O’Connor and Partners for sponsoring our fireworks, and to Ulster Savings Bank, Dedrick’s Pharmacy, and Ulster County Tourism.

We’re also grateful to Woodstock Harley-Davidson for their effort and generous donation, everyone who brought their vehicles to our Car Show despite the weather, the Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, 4-H, Ulster County Youth Bureau, UlsterCorps, The Family organization, Helping Hands, and the New Paltz Rotary for sharing their time, energy, and support.

A special thank you to My Kingston Kids who created a fun, creative, and inclusive space where children could play, explore, and simply enjoy being kids. We were proud to support another local nonprofit, and we appreciate the resilience they’ve shown as they continue rebuilding after the storm. Thank you to Dedrick’s Pharmacy for making their participation possible.

Thank you to Gratefully Yours for setting the stage and getting the event started, and to JP Fabella for his beautiful performance of the National Anthem.

Finally, thank you to our more than 50 business sponsors, our generous donors, and every member of our community who attended, volunteered, or supported this event in any way. Your kindness and generosity continue to make our work possible.

For over 10 years, Local at Heart has been committed to helping meet local food needs by supporting community food pantries and our neighbors facing food insecurity. We are continually humbled by the businesses, organizations, volunteers, and families who believe in our mission and come together to make it possible.

Thank you for showing, once again, what community truly looks like. We are honored to serve alongside you, and we look forward to continuing this work together.

Who We Are

Impacting the Community for 10 years

We continue to work with a dedicated group of caring partners in the community.

What We’ve Done

Plant and Learn – Local at Heart helped purchase materials for Cornell Cooperative of Ulster County to teach individuals how to maintain a sustainable garden in June 2026.
In November 2025, Family of Ellenville was between deliveries, so we dropped off food to help fill their shelves
Roost Arts hosted RoseAnn Fino for a benefit concert supporting Local at Heart, September 2025.
In 2024 we donated to the New Paltz Methodist Church in support of their Senior food supplement program.
Our first BINGO fundraiser in 2024 allowed us to donate to the Sparrow’s Nest for meal preparation and delivery to Ulster County to families with a cancer diagnosis.
Family of New Paltz was a benefactor of funds that we raised with your participation in our BINGO event.
The Helping Hands Food Pantry in Gardiner volunteers use hand carts to move the delivered food from the truck into the building. We were happy to donate 3 new carts in 2024.
We found out that Jim Tinger and the New Paltz Youth Program needed a new BBQ Grill when the students from NPYP volunteered to help us with the 2024 Fall BINGO event. We were happy to give them the help they needed.
In February of 2024 on #LeapofKindnessDay we purchased a new refrigerator for the Rondout Valley Food Pantry so they can continue to provide food for their local community.
In January of 2024 we made a donation to the New Paltz Rotary in support of their Backpack Program geared toward 70 families in New Paltz with food insecurity.
We made a donation to Family of New Paltz who supports many individuals that rely on their services to help feed their families.
In 2023 we made a donation to the Methodist Church.
In 2022 we donated to Rosendale Food Pantry and Our Lady of Fatima Plattekill Food Pantry in an effort to support the growing need for food supplements.
We were happy to donate to the New Paltz Rotary on behalf of the many local families that are struggling in these hard times. Thank you to Dawn and Bob Rich and the members of the Rotary for their organization and work for their important ongoing support for the kids in our community.
Support the New Paltz United Methodist Church with a donation for their weekly food supplement program 2022. With escalating food prices the needs for seniors and migrant families in our community are growing.
Donated to Project Help Your Neighbor 2020, in light of so many who are unemployed due to the pandemic. The program provides residents with meal vouchers from local restaurants.
Volunteer at the Helping Hands Food Pantry in Gardiner to separate and distribute food.
Assisted local education group – NPUT, New Paltz Middle School, and New Paltz PTA to collect and distribute food to residents as they face unemployment due to the Covid 19 pandemic in 2020.
In 2019 Local at Heart donated to New Paltz Reformed Church for appliances and construction of Certified Kitchen for use by UlsterCorps. This location will be a distribution point for fresh hot meals. Facilitated and helped to coordinate the kitchen redesign.
Provided reusable bags to food pantries in Gardiner, New Paltz, Rosendale, and Rondout to replace plastic bags.
Facilitated food recovery program between Mohonk Mountain House and Family of New Paltz in 2019.
Funded the Summer Food Program, which feeds hungry New Paltz area children who miss out on school lunches during the summer months. Worked with local Girl Scouts to bag food.
Made substantial monetary donations to Family of New Paltz, Saint Joseph’s Food Pantry, and the Student Christian Center Food Pantry.
Provided several industrial transport carts to Gardiner’s Helping Hands Food Pantry to aid in transporting food.
Worked with the New Paltz Community Foundation to renovate the St. Joseph’s Food Pantry. New custom shelving and cabinets were built, a new restaurant grade freezer and refrigerator were added, and a much needed lighting upgrade was completed. Made a monetary contribu- tion to purchase the appliances.

The food needs are great and to help our partners, we need help from you. Please contact us if you would like to join us or help with our efforts. If you are able, please make a donation today to help us maintain year-round assistance.