Current

The 2021 Black Diamond Express Races Were a (Wet) Success!

On Sunday, August 29th, we hosted a record 176 Half Marathoners and 52 5K’ers on the Lehigh Valley Trail for the in-person 10th Annual Black Diamond Express Races, which were our first since 2019. These numbers don’t include Virtual Runners and no-shows, which brought us to 289 total participants. Our returning runners comprised 30% of the field, which is an outstanding achievement, and a testament to how people feel about these races. With official recorded Read more…

By Mendon Foundation President, ago

Black Diamond Preview Run!

Rochester Running Company / Robinhood Racing are hosting a preview run TONIGHT (7/16). For details see: https://www.facebook.com/events/493916248565424/ Join us for a preview run of the Black Diamond Express course. We are running max 6 miles.This run is an out and back.We will have pizza and beers post run if people are interested in hanging around.All paces welcome. Also, runners/walkers are welcome to go farther or shorter than 6 miles due to the out and back Read more…

By Mendon Foundation President, ago

Pick Up The Parks with Mendon Foundation Volunteers from the DAR (and Their Families!)

Several Mendon Foundation volunteers stepped up in a big way for the Saturday April 17th “Pick up the Parks” event, in concert with the Monroe County Parks Department, through coordination with the Mendon Foundation. Cindy Barben and her colleagues from the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Canandaigua, NY, Chapter cleaned up a 4.5 mile stretch of the Lehigh Valley Trail between the Mendon Youth Baseball fields and Rochester Junction. Mike, Martha and a friend Read more…

By Mendon Foundation President, ago

April 1, 2021: A Historical Account of the Creation of the Lehigh Valley Trail, Hosted by John Farrell, Mendon Foundation President Emeritus

The April 1, 2021 meeting of the Honeoye Falls – Town of Mendon Historical Society will feature John Farrell, former Mendon resident, former Mendon Foundation President, avid cyclist & involved Mendon Foundation Director & volunteer. The topic of John’s talk will be “A Historical Account of the Creation of the Lehigh Valley Trail.” In this special, never-before-seen presentation, John will share a “one night only” account of the Mendon Foundation’s groundbreaking collaborative work with Monroe Read more…

By Mendon Foundation President, ago

New book from Judy Foster features photos from the Lehigh Valley Trail

Mendon Foundation fan Judy Foster has just finished creating a new book called A Moment in Time: A Reflection of 2020. Her book totals 84 pages, full of color photography and inspirational quotes and thoughts. Over 90% of the photos were taken on the Lehigh Valley Trail, and all but one were taken within a 50-mile radius of Rush. To purchase A Moment in Time, email Judy, or reach out to her on Facebook!

By Mendon Foundation President, ago

Do we have a treat for you!

Longtime Mendon Foundation fan and volunteer Mark Skipworth has graciously agreed to work with some pre-eminent Lehigh Valley Railroad photographers, allowing us to share some of their remarkable photographs with us. Each of these photographs is from a location along what is, today, the Lehigh Valley Trail. Our hope is that these photographs will give you an appreciation for what key locations along our trail looked like, decades ago. These images can be seen on a new gallery Read more…

By Mendon Foundation President, ago

Transparency & trust

We spent some time recently to update our nonprofit GuideStar profile, in order to give our donors greater visibility into our finances and operation. As part of the journey from “Bronze” to “Silver” and, ultimately, to our “Gold” seal of transparency, we had to address the following questions. I thought that these would be good to repeat here, as they provide significant insight into our organization’s goals for the next three years. With this, we Read more…

By Mendon Foundation President, ago

We’re on Twitter!

Now that we’ve taken better control of our web site and the email addresses associated with our domain, we have a Twitter account, which will be a handy way for you to interact with us. In particular, this should be a great way for you to let us know things you notice along the Lehigh Valley Trail or on our properties so we can address those things in a timely fashion. Tweet us @mendonfdn, and Read more…

By Mendon Foundation President, ago

Final thoughts on 2020, and an appeal

Dear friends, neighbors, and outdoors lovers, Oh, the things we have lost this year! Loved ones. Our traditional sense of community. The varied textures of a life with unfettered travel and human experiences. Yet we have gained, too. An appreciation for what we have. Time with those who are closest to us. Connection with nature and the outdoors. A certain sense of quiet that is rare in our lifetimes. 2020, inasmuch as it has been Read more…

By Mendon Foundation President, ago