Buffalo News

Posted by Katherine Smith

$50K RELIEF GIVEN TO 6 CHARITIES

It was cold and snowing in Buffalo on January 26th, but there were warm hearts at FeedMore WNY. The Rotary Club of Buffalo donated $50,000 to six area nonprofits for COVID-19 relief. Due to the extraordinary need in our community caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Rotary Club of Buffalo provided much-needed aid to six local organizations that have been challenged to provide assistance to people in need of basic food and supplies. Leaders of the 100-member club and its foundation decided that immediate aid was urgently needed due to the unprecedented circumstances and hardship created by this continuing crisis.
 
Checks totaling $50,000 were distributed at a January 26th media event – outdoors in the parking lot – at FeedMore WNY in Buffalo (which received $25,000). Additionally, $5,000 was donated to five other organizations, Friends of the Night People, Compass House, St. Luke’s Mission of Mercy, Harvest House, and Buffalo Prenatal-Perinatal Network.
 
Mike Sendor, President of the Buffalo Rotary Foundation, said to the assembled recipients, Buffalo Rotarians, and press, “In 2020 we made $20,000 in donations to FeedMore of WNY and WNY Feeds the Frontline to help feed those in our community who are suffering and support the valiant frontline workers caring for hospitalized COVID-19 patients. In December our members decided that we must do more for our fellow citizens in this unusual and tragic time."  Our club's President-elect Susan Schwartz put it best when she said “We’ve been saving this money for a rainy day, it’s pouring outside!”
 
Carolyn Murray, Club President explained, “As the second wave of COVID-19 hit Western New York, our community is still reeling from the initial effects of this terrible pandemic.  Small businesses, restaurants, nonprofits, and their employees are suffering financial hardships unheard of since the Great Depression. Even some of our largest local corporations are facing difficulties. With unemployment rising many people are unable to feed their families or afford necessities. And those on the margins, like the homeless, are hurting the most. The Rotary Club of Buffalo and its foundation, Buffalo Rotary Foundation, Inc., chose to donate to these six local organizations which will have an immediate impact on those in our community in need.”
 
In 2020, FeedMore WNY distributed enough food to provide nearly 16 million meals to those in need – approximately 4 million meals more than in 2019. FeedMore supplies food throughout the eight counties of Western New York, from homeless shelters, Meals on Wheels, and food pantries to soup kitchens and emergency shelters.
 
Compass House provides runaway, homeless, and street youth with safe shelter and services. The Friends of the Night People organization helps the poor, homeless, and destitute in Buffalo, providing food, clothing, medical care, counseling, and hope to those in need. St. Luke’s Mission of Mercy provides meals and shelter for men and women of all ages plus housing for families, single mothers, and their children. They also provide free clothing, small appliances, and household wares as well as diapers, formula, and baby clothes. Harvest House Ministries offers medical and dental care through a clinic is operated by a volunteer medical staff. It provides free baby and children’s clothing, safe cribs, car seats, strollers, toys, books, pajamas, etc.  Its adult education center offers education and vocational training programs for individuals looking for certificate-based training programs that will lead to living-wage jobs.
 
Buffalo Prenatal Perinatal Network assists its clients with parenting needs, prevention of child abuse and neglect, support of fathers, and ensuring women are all connected to health services to ensure a healthy life for them and their children.
 
Since 1989 the Rotary Club of Buffalo’s foundation has awarded grants totaling more than $2 million to Buffalo Niagara community organizations.