News Release:
June 13, 2005
            
Media Contact:
Mike Andrei
Director-College Relations
(716) 839-8472

Danielle M. Woodman
Academic Grants Coordinator
839-8483
            
            


Daemen College-Seneca Babcock Partnership Receives Civic Empowerment Award
The Daemen College-Seneca Babcock Partnership has been selected for a Civic Empowerment Award. Presented by the Buffalo Niagara All-America City Committee, the Civic Empowerment Awards Program recognizes successful collaborations between citizens, government, businesses and non-profits in finding solutions to civic challenges in our communities. The 10th Annual Civic Empowerment Awards Honorees were introduced during a community celebration dinner on May 12, 2005 at the Convention Center.

Since 1998, Daemen students and faculty have provided services to low-income residents in the Seneca Babcock neighborhood through The Daemen College-Seneca Babcock Partnership, a project of the Daemen College Center for Sustainable Communities and Civic Engagement (CSCCE). The mission of the CSCCE is to provide students with an education that clearly links the well-being of the communities in which they live to their level of civic engagement to deepen Daemen College's commitment to serving Buffalo and surrounding communities in Western New York.

The Daemen College-Seneca Babcock Partnership is the first and longest of three urban partnerships Daemen’s CSCCE has with neighborhoods in Buffalo. Residents receive lasting benefits of community coordination, reduction of duplication of services, and direct services including literacy improvement and preventative health care. Students gain the valuable experiences of applying academic learning to real-life situations and working directly with individuals and communities.

The following are some direct impacts of the Partnership:
  • In Spring 2001, Daemen Social Work students facilitated the reestablishment of the Block Club. Students, faculty, and community residents protested the CTS Company, a concrete and stone crushing company that established its highly pollutive operations in the middle of Seneca Babcock. They have written and called politicians, attended court hearings, and picketed. CTS has been under court order halting operations for over a year.
  • The Boys and Girls Club, The Seneca Babcock Community Center, and The Seneca Street Church now collaborate to publish a quarterly community newsletter for 600 residents and organizations.
  • In the 2003-2004 academic year, 146 Daemen students provided after-school tutoring in English, reading, math, social studies, Spanish, and computers. In fall 2004, 55 students provided services; this spring semester, 53 Daemen students are providing services.
  • In August 2004, Daemen and Southside Elementary partnered to sponsor a summer reading camp for 83 elementary students with serious reading difficulties.
  • Daemen’s staff and students helped connect Seneca Babcock neighborhood with Lovejoy NRS (Neighborhood Revitalization Services), providing low-cost home improvement loans and security programs.
  • Daemen’s Business Club helped residents with tax forms and computer training through the Volunteer Tax Income Assistance (VITA) program.
Daemen has been awarded funding for our outreach in Seneca Babcock by The John R. Oishei Foundation, KeyBank USA, The Buffalo Renaissance Foundation, The Junior League of Buffalo, The Providence Fund. Six computers were provided at a discounted rate through Computers For Children, Inc.