KINGSTON – The Arc of Ulster-Greene has been awarded a $5,000 grant from Ulster Savings Charitable Foundation to revitalize and repurpose its facility in Ellenville to establish the Cornell Creative Business Center Ellenville. The grant will be used towards creating a light manufacturing and shipping/receiving facility able to house multiple small businesses with immense economic opportunity for the Ellenville area and local small manufacturers.
The Arc of Ulster-Greene is a private not-for-profit agency founded in 1956 by families in Ulster and Greene Counties who believed that their children with disabilities should have the same opportunities as their peers. In 2016, both the unemployment rate of people with disabilities, and the economic and development need to revitalize Midtown Kingston was increasing. The Arc of Ulster-Greene created the idea of bringing businesses into Kingston and employing people with disabilities at a vacant work center thus establishing the Cornell Creative Business Center. The grant that they received will be used to create a similar one in Ellenville.
“By developing this manufacturing space, this project creates a resource to grow businesses and create job opportunities, as well as attract new businesses, in a distressed area in great need of economic revitalization.” said Lori McCabe, Director of Communications and Public Relations of The Arc of Ulster-Greene. “We are grateful to Ulster Savings in helping us accomplish this goal,” she added.
The Ulster Savings Charitable Foundation was formed in 2003 to assist the local community in areas of housing, education, and human services.
For more information about The Arc of Ulster-Greene and Cornell Creative Business Center, please visit them online at www.thearcug.org.