About
Great communities don't happen by accident.
518 Great exists for the family that needs a little help, a little guidance, and a little hope. Not just when something goes wrong. All year.
How This Started
They planned for 100 families. 600 showed up.
518 Great did not start as a nonprofit. It started as a Thanksgiving meal drive that got away from them.
Six years ago Ryan sponsored 25 families for Thanksgiving through Southern Adirondack Independent Living. Chris matched it the next year, so it was 50. Last year they opened it up and 50 families signed up in the first 45 minutes. Ryan called Chris to ask what to do. Chris said keep it going.
Seventy-five more came in over the next 24 hours. By the end they had served more than 600 families, roughly 3,000 people, from Albany to well north of here. Turkeys, stuffing, potatoes, yams, pies, the whole box. THE GYM's 26,000 square feet turned into a food pantry with an assembly line running through it, a rented tractor trailer parked outside because the food would not fit indoors, and the two of them driving store to store the night before hunting down four more boxes of stuffing.
It worked. It also nearly did not. And they had to turn help away, because a vendor offered $5,000 and could not give it to them: they were not a 501(c)(3).
So they built one. 518 Great is the same work with a plan behind it, a structure that can take corporate money, and no cap on how many families get help.
On The Record
Buying Local with Mike Nelson
Chris and Ryan on the meal drive, the logistics, and why they finally made it official.
Read the interview →Where It Goes
What your money actually buys.
Not "programs." The actual thing.
Back To School Day
A full backpack of supplies for the year, plus clothes, sneakers, haircuts and dental checks. Late summer, before the first day.
Thanksgiving Meals
Turkey, stuffing, potatoes, yams, pies, the whole box. 600 families last year. No cap this year.
Groceries, Quietly
For the family that is too proud to ask. Somebody writes to us, we handle it, nobody has to stand in a line.
Clothes That Fit
Kids grow out of everything at once and it lands on a family all at the same time.
Local Partnerships
Barbers, dentists, grocery stores, gyms. 518 businesses giving what they already do.
The Other 363 Days
Thanksgiving and back to school are two days. Most families need help on an ordinary Tuesday.
Coverage
The whole 518. Adirondacks included.
From the capital cities up to the mountains, and every town in between. One area code, one place.
Contact
Email a founder. A founder emails back.
Partnerships, sponsorships, volunteering, or you just want to know where the money went. All fine.
Come run with us.
Back to School 5K & Color Run · Sat, Aug 15 · Moreau Recreation Park
Register for the Color Run