“While I am proud of so many things that we have achieved during my tenure at AARCH – saving Camp Santanoni and the Hadley Bow Bridge and helping dozens of communities to undertake transformative preservation projects – I am proudest of the really exemplary public education programs that we have offered every year for nearly thirty years. These tours, workshops, lectures, print and online publications have all helped to create an historic preservation ethic in the region that is broad and deep, on top of which so many other successes will be built.”
Steven Engelhart
You can also make gifts directly to the fund at the Adirondack Foundation – to do so, contact them here.
Established in 2021, the Engelhart Education Fund (EEF) honors Steven Engelhart’s 30 years with AARCH and 27 years as its founding executive director. Proceeds from this fund are used to further AARCH’s educational work in a variety of ways, including to develop new programs, fund new publications, bring more educational content online, and reach and educate new audiences. The EEF ensures that AARCH’s programming continues to be innovative and far-ranging.
AARCH’s Extraordinary Public Education Program
Education has been at the heart of AARCH’s work since our founding in 1990. Our exemplary educational programs and projects include:
- Over 30 daylong outings each year that bring attendees to over 50 destinations throughout the region
- Public talks and webinars on AARCH’s work and current preservation issues
- Hands-on workshops on repairing wooden windows, preserving historic plaster, restoring gravestones, and dry laid masonry
- The publication of four books: Santanoni: From Japanese Temple to Life at an Adirondack Great Camp; Adirondack Churches; A Guide to the Architecture of the Adirondacks; and White Pine Camp.
- Articles for Adirondack Life, the Adirondack Explorer, and the Adirondack Almanack
- The “Welcome to Keeseville” coloring book (our first EEF-funded project!)
- Help with more than 1,000 technical assistance requests from homeowners, municipalities, businesses, and other nonprofit organizations
- Three yearly newsletter issues
- Even more online educational content through our AARCH Matters e-newsletter, AARCHer blog, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube
Building on AARCH’s Endowment
In 2025, we merged our two funds at the Adirondack Foundation, the AARCH Endowment and Engelhart Education Fund, to further strengthen our investments. The AARCH Endowment was established in 2004 thanks to a generous matching grant from the Adirondack Foundation. Both funds shared the same purpose – to be used for the support of the charitable, scientific or educational purposes of the Organization and its affiliates that are qualified charitable organizations – and now your donations in support of this work will go even further.
Check out our first EEF-funded project: the “Welcome to Keeseville” Coloring Book!
