Relief Fund for Rivertown Crew

Dear Hudson & New York & Beyond,

As a small town, and as a global community, we find ourselves staring face to face with overwhelming and frightening uncertainty as the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds. You are all aware by now that the state of NY has closed all non-essential businesses for the indefinite future. Our hopes were to remain open for as long as possible, in attempt to take care of our employees, but it is with immense sadness that we've closed our Tavern indefinitely and the Hotel will now be operating on a skeleton crew. 

This is an unprecedented situation that none of us ever dreamed of happening during our lifetimes, and now our community at Rivertown Lodge is dealing with an unexpected loss of income. Our employees are our family, and choosing to put our team on furlough so that they can collect unemployment was one of the hardest things we've ever had to do. 

Anybody who's tried to navigate the NYS Unemployment website or reach a human via phone can attest to the system being unable to handle a 950% increase of applicants. Nobody is sure of when benefits will actually be released, or what % of an employee's salary will be covered. All tipped workers who collect $$ in cash each shift find themselves at an immense disadvantage. 

We know that the future is uncertain and we all stand to experience loss. Our hope is that you will donate what you can (anything at all) so we can distribute it evenly with our team and provide them with much needed security during this time of crisis. 

We appreciate your generosity from the bottom of our hearts, and believe faithfully that we'll be here on the other side to thank each and every one of you personally. 

Please everyone, take care, be safe, and be well.

Sincerely,
-Rivertown Lodge