News Release:
November 7, 2005
            
Media Contact:
Mike Andrei
Director
College Relations
(716) 839-8472

Sharon Benz
Special Projects Coordinator
Center for Sustainable Communities
& Civic Engagment
Daemen College
            
            


Daemen Center for Sustainable Communities & Civic Engagement to Partner with Kids Voting on the West Side on Election Day
This year, Daemen students and faculty as well as staff from the Center for Sustainable Communities & Civic Engagement will be volunteering on Election Day, Tuesday, November 8, 2005 as part of the Daemen College-West Side Partnership. The Center is partnering with Kids Voting USA, a nonprofit organization whose goal is to develop life-long voting habits in school age children. Daemen students and staff will assist children in casting a Kids Voting ballot-right alongside adults--when they come to the polls to vote with their parents or other family members.

Last year, Daemen students and CSCCE staff volunteered at thirteen West Side polling stations. Over 1000 youth voted in the November 2004 election through this project. Some of the Daemen volunteers were called upon to provide assistance to adult voters who speak English as a second language as they completed provisional written ballots.

Geographically the West Side is one of the most disadvantaged and blighted areas of the City of Buffalo. 39% of individuals live below the poverty line. The 2000 census reports that 50% of households had an income of less than $20,000. This neighborhood is also one of the City's most ethnically and economically diverse, with a large immigrant community. 30% of the population is Hispanic or Latino. Of the 2621 (7%) of individuals in the West Side Community who are foreign born, only 991 (38%) are naturalized citizens.

Jolene Baller, The West Side Coordinator for the CSCCE, notes, "There have been a few elections on the West Side where more kids voted than registered voters. Sad as that is, it is exactly why Kids Voting is so important. These youth are primed to be the next voters in 6 to 12 years. They are our future."

The Daemen College-West Side Partnership is supported, in part, by a grant from the Bettina Weary Trust. In April, 2004, Daemen College received a check of $43,000 from the Trust to support civics education, English education, and citizenship activities for children and families on the West Side.

If you are interested in learning more or in being involved, please contact Sharon Benz .