The West Side Community Collaborative is the second community partnership that Daemen has entered into in the City of Buffalo. The College has established a Center for Community Excellence in Buffalo’s Seneca Babcock neighborhood -- the result of a working partnership between Daemen and the Seneca Babcock Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs; Teen Haven; and the Seneca Street Methodist Church. Developed over the past two years, more than 100 Daemen College students and faculty are providing needed services to neighborhood residents, including health care screenings, tutoring, reading programs, and introductory computer skills. The Seneca Babcock Center for Community Excellence and the Daemen/West Side Community Collaborative are under the direction of Dr. Richard S. Knaub, director of the Daemen College Center for Sustainable Communities and Civic Engagement.

“These community partnerships reflect key values of the Mission of Daemen College – education and service, “ noted Daemen President Dr. Martin J. Anisman. “The partnerships link the core curriculum of the College, liberal education, and civic engagement with the development of practical skills. Our goal in Seneca Babcock and on the West Side is to improve the lives and well-being of families and children, by providing services that are much-needed, but not obtainable by every resident.”

Connecticut Street Association President Robin Johnson, who is also owner of a West Side business, Vilardo Printing, points out the benefits that the Daemen/West Side Community Collaborative will bring to West Side residents.

“We are now very much a multi-cultural community. At Grover Cleveland High School, for example, there are 46 different languages spoken – there’s a real need for educational tutors. Also for computers and computer skills. There are many new residents of the West Side who are immigrants, and I think this partnership will ultimately help strengthen the social structure of our community.”

Knaub points out that the most immediate need is for tutors for students from K - 12th grade, citing the fact that budget cuts have eliminated these programs from neighborhood agencies.

“The College has funds for literacy training kits, and is applying for several grants to augment its resources for the West Side Community Collaborative,” he added. “There are also a number of health initiatives being developed.”

Knaub said he expects that Daemen students will begin work on some neighborhood initiatives on the West Side over the summer. Daemen service learning students will then likely start their activities, including tutoring and mentoring of Buffalo schoolchildren, in the fall. In addition to Daemen students and faculty, who will provide energy and expertise to the partnership, the College has also hired Jolene Baller as its new West Side Community Coordinator.

The collaboration between Daemen College and community leaders in the Seneca Babcock neighborhood began in December of 1998, when the Reverend Brian Rotach of the Seneca Street Methodist Church met with social work faculty from Daemen, to discuss the needs of the residents of the Seneca Babcock community. He revealed some startling statistics: forty-five percent of Seneca Babcock residents living below poverty level, with fifty-three percent of adults having not completed high school. Rotach outlined additional, literacy and health-related needs, as well. Since that time, the College has engaged students from several Daemen academic departments, including social work, physician assistant, education, and humanities programs, in an effort to make a difference in the lives of the residents of this Buffalo neighborhood. Last year, more than 100 Daemen students served over 300 students, ages 3-18, in Seneca Babcock. The partnership is supported by a $600,000 grant from The John R. Oishei Foundation. The Center is also receiving support from KeyBank, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Computers for Children, the Buffalo Renaissance Foundation, the Junior League of Buffalo, and the Providence Fund

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