Adirondack Adventure Center Buys Land, Upgrades The Experience For Its Customers WAIT House Gets Grant From TD Bank For Agency’s Affordable Housing Efforts

The WAIT House in Glens Falls was one of only five nonprofit organizations in New York state to be awarded a housing grant from TD Bank as a part of the company’s Housing for Everyone program.

Warren Washington County Homeless Youth Coalition, which runs the WAIT house, was awarded a $175,000 grant, the bank announced.

TD Charitable Foundation, the charitable giving arm of TD Bank, awarded a total of $7 million to 37 nonprofits across the bank’s national footprint.

“The Housing for Everyone grant program underscores TD’s longstanding commitment to community enrichment, as well as the bank’s efforts to help people live with greater financial confidence through the TD Ready Commitment, TD’s corporate citizenship platform,” the company said.

A new land acquisition will allow Adirondack Adventure Center to upgrade its Lazy River Tubing Adventure on the Hudson River.

The upgrades include a private access point, a smoother and safer bus ride to and from the river, a more flexible schedule, onriver tube storage, Internet and telephone service, and trip customization for customers including a private beach and island.

The announcement was made during a ribbon cutting ceremony on June 16, with the Lake George Regional Chamber of Commerce.

“These upgrades allow us to expand our business and make it safer and more convenient for everybody to come up and experience tubing and the beauty of our area. One of the things that gets us up and going in the morning is being able to share this experience with everybody,” said owner Dane Morton. “It’s a huge deal for us. It’s really going to help us expand our business further.”

Th is acquisition of 165 acres of land along the Buttermilk section of the Hudson River is the fi rst phase in a thee-phase plan to upgrade the tubing experience.

“We congratulate Adirondack Adventure Center on this major upgrade to the tubing experience for their customers. It is wonderful to see our area attractions continually investing in their businesses and growing,” said Lake George Chamber Executive Director Gina Mintzer.

Adirondack Adventure Center offers three outdoor activities; Lazy River tubing, whitewater raft ing and treetop adventure/ ziplining, at one convenient location.

Officials said the completion of phase 1 will allow provide for the following upgrades:

• A private access point to the river which will allow everyone to get on the water faster and more efficiently. People won’t have to wait for other companies or the general public to access the river.

• A smoother and safer bus ride to and from the river. The route to the new put-in spot is entirely on paved roads. There are no more one-lane dirt roads with potholes.

• A more flexible schedule. Instead of four trips departing every 90 minutes, Adirondack Adventure Center will now offer six trips departing every 60 minutes, making it easier and more convenient for customers to pick a time to tube.

• On-river tube storage. All tubes will be stored at the new access point which means customers will no longer have to wait for guides to load and unload tubes from the buses. There will be less time dealing with trip logistics and equipment equals more time on the water for their customers.

• Internet and telephone service at the new access point means people will be able to communicate back and forth with the main office in case of weather or other emergencies, making trips safer.

• Trip customization. In the past, guides determined where and when customers had to stop on the water for a break to swim and for how long. Now customers will be able to stop wherever they want, whenever they want, and for however long they want, as long as everyone is off the river by 5:30 p.m.

As part of the land purchase, there will be a private beach and private island for customers to explore and enjoy.

The Adirondack Adventure Center is located only seven miles south

Lake George village.

WAIT House serves youths in Warren and Washington counties “who present as homeless, runaway, or street-involved.” The organization provides supportive housing and related services “necessary to live and grow emotionally, educationally, spiritually, mentally, and physically to become healthy, productive adults,” organization officials said.

As individuals and families across the country struggle with inflation and an exponential rise in rental costs, affordable housing providers face increased hardship given the growing demand for affordable rental units and emergency rental assistance.

“The affordable housing crisis continues to burden the most vulnerable members of our communities and the organizations committed to supporting them,” said Paige Carlson-Heim, director of the charitable foundation. “At TD, we’re committed to doing our part to help create a more sustainable and inclusive future for everyone, and that includes providing access to safe, affordable homes.

“This year’s grant recipients are mission-critical to that work, and the TD Charitable Foundation is proud to support them in their efforts to create a positive impact and a pathway to housing stability in the communities we serve.”

Since 2003, the WAIT House mission has been to provide stability to youth who present themselves as homeless. They accomplish this through the immediate provision of coordinated services; reunification of families where appropriate; the provision of supervised emergency and transitional housing; with the goal of personal responsibility and self-sufficiency.