UH Puts Hub on Hold

For nearly one hundred and twenty years United Helpers has risen to meet the emerging health and human service needs of St. Lawrence County. Our priority as a company has been to create a strong and unique network of community services for the people of the North Country. We are proud to contribute to more than 1800 lives every day.

St. Lawrence County is one the poorest counties in NYS and our economic challenges are many. One of the most significant issues facing our county is the lack of employment opportunities. In response to this issue, United Helpers created Sparx, a for-profit company focused on improving our local economy and in turn, preserving and creating new jobs. 

In 2012, United Helpers purchased and renovated the current Sparx headquarters located at 91 Main Street in Canton; a formerly empty building on Main Street, Sparx now houses over thirty employees and is driving revenue back into the local economy. 

To date, Sparx has focused on providing a unique package of back office services to small businesses and community organizations (human resources, information technology, payroll and accounting), renting professional office space, and researching job opportunities that play to our County’s strengths. Local innovation and collaboration are the focus of our efforts. 

One of the opportunities Sparx investigated is a food HUB and meat-processing center. The idea being that St. Lawrence County produces the “raw material”, but does not reap the value-added benefits (jobs) of processing. Significant time and resources was devoted to researching the HUB and we have concluded that the idea does present a “transformational” opportunity for our community’s economy.

However, Health Care Reform, and the many initiatives that are connected with Health Care Reform, call for an “All Hands-On Deck” effort and require United Helpers to focus on our long-term health care strategy. While disappointing for many reasons, continued exploration into the food HUB and processing center have been postponed while we address Health Care Reform. 

As always, United Helpers looks forward to continuing its partnerships with community agencies and working with others to help St. Lawrence County reach its economic potential.