Amanda Purcell reports for Columbia-Greene Media that while Hudson struggles with funding its youth activities, some local residents have formed a non-profit group to donate to the cause. The Common Council voted June 19 to allow the Friends of Hudson Youth to donate to the Hudson Youth Department through the end of the year. Peter Frank, chairman of Friends of Hudson Youth Board, said, “Its facilities need help, and its budget and staff are stretched thin.... Our role is to raise support from people who care about the kids and provide additional recreational and educational activities that can bolster the work of the department.” Money raised will go towards the program's Oakdale Day Camp including half-day canoe trips to Stockport Creek and Ramshorn-Livingston Sanctuary, seine net fishing in the Hudson River, a nature scavenger hunt at Mud Creek, and workshops in trail maintenance, wetland exploration, and pond ecology at Oakdale Lake’s 14-acre site. The Common Council will hold a special meeting at 6 p.m. June 27 about a $50,000 budget amendment for the youth department. Friends of Hudson Youth and a similar organization, Friends of Oakdale Lake, are hosting a community picnic from 3-6 p.m. Aug. 9 at Oakdale Lake. Read the full story at HudsonValley360.com.