I recently saw a political post on social media which I believe was directed toward the Alden Substance Abuse Coalition,Inc. (ASAC).   I believe this because it was directed towards Colleen Pautler who is mentioned as the treasurer of this organization.  After checking with Colleen, she serves as treasurer for two organizations.  The ASAC and the Republican Committee, leading me to believe the post is about the coalition.  To be clear neither is a charity.

The Alden Substance Abuse Coalition is not a CHARITY, but registered as a 501c3, a not-for-profit organization. There are many other locally-based 501c3 organizations in our community.

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I would like to set the record straight.

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The Alden Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition has been in existence for 11 years, hosting community events such as Halloween Spooktacular and National Night Out , (as well as some smaller youth driven events).    As a coalition we fundraise all year long to bring these events to our community and support our youth.  We do not receive any special funding from the Town or the Village.  

 

The Town approached us in 2021 and asked to be part of National Night Out and sponsored a blow up Obstacle Course for the community, $600 paid to Pigbellyentertainment.  Sponsoring a bounce house for a community event does not constitute spending your tax dollars on a non-registered nonprofit.

 

In 2022:

 

• We asked the Town if they would like to participate in National Night Out again and they sponsored an Obstacle Course for the community with $800 paid to Pigbelly Entertainment. 

• As part of the Bicentennial Celebration, the Town approached us about overseeing and putting together the parade, which the coalition did, there was a cost to the Town for signs and banners for their parade which we asked to be reimbursed for.

• The Town also offered to help defray the cost of information and resources provided to the community for the Halloween Spooktacular as they had extra money from the Bicentennial events, which was split between numerous organizations in the community.  The town gave us $1000 as part of the Bicentennial celebration. 

 

That is the extent of the financial support we have received from the Town.  $2400 over 11 years.  All this information is available via a request through the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) in the town clerks office.

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We get no special treatment, in fact the members of the coalition volunteer and offer their time and services to bring these events to our community.  They also volunteer their time to decorate the park for the Christmas holidays, which is a Town-sponsored event.  The Town approached the coalition in 2020 and asked if we would decorate the park for them.  We picked out the lights, paid for them and then the Town reimbursed us.  All receipts are on file at the Town’s office.  We have offered our service every year since then to decorate the park.  Each year they add more lights and decorations.  The lights and decorations are the property of the Town of Alden.

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 Our goal is to give our youth healthy fun activities and events to participate in and an opportunity to educate them about the dangers of underage substance use.

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National Night Out is a national event celebrated by many communities.  It is a volunteer event meant to build camaraderie amongst its residents, all law enforcement, stakeholders, military sectors, and our community Members VOLUNTEER their time to bring this event to our community, The ASAC compensates no one. More than 16,000 communities host this event annually.

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As far as being non-registered as a NY State Charity, we have submitted all appropriate paperwork and were told we did not meet the criteria needed to register, we do not get more than $25,000 in donations. The Alden Substance Abuse Coalition is not a CHARITY, but registered as a 501c3, a not-forprofit organization, dedicated to community and youth programs and activities. Our Business Officials/Accountants research this annually to make sure we are reporting in all areas we need to.  Our records are available for anyone who would like to review them.  All fundraising money the coalition raises goes directly back into our community and the betterment of our youth. ​ 

 

I felt compelled to post this after repeated negative and false posts about our organization.​

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The Alden Substance Abuse Coalition Inc. was funded with federal grant money (Drug Free Communities) funds in 2019 for a period of 5 years which granted small salaries to the Program Director, Project Coordination, Treasurer and Secretary and Business Official. All tax returns are on file.

 

 

Colleen Babcock

Program Director

Alden Substance Abuse Coalition, Inc.