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July 25, 2002
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Mike Andrei
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BUFFALO RENAISSANCE FOUNDATION AWARDS $2,000 TO DAEMEN COLLEGE TO PROVIDE LITERACY TRAINING FOR BUFFALO RESIDENTS
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The Buffalo Renaissance Foundation has recently awarded Daemen College $2,000. The funds will be used to purchase English literacy-training kits, to be used by Daemen students and faculty, who will be tutoring low-income students on Buffalo’s East Side.
Since the early 1980’s, Daemen students have volunteered throughout Western New York through the Daemen Community Service Program. In 1998, Daemen students and faculty began concentrating their efforts on the Seneca Babcock neighborhood; what began as periodic volunteering developed into the Daemen College-Seneca Babcock Partnership. With support from The John R. Oishei Foundation, Daemen has taken the partnership to a new level this summer, opening the first Daemen College Center for Community Excellence, on Seneca Street. Students from the Daemen education, social work, and physician assistant programs provide direct services in the Buffalo community, including English and math tutoring, computer training, free health care screenings and tax assistance. The Center for Community Excellence is a project of the new Center for Sustainable Communities and Civic Engagement at Daemen College. Established through a grant of $600,000 from the Oishei Foundation in November 2001, the Center educates and trains students to address problems that impede the development of strong, sustainable communities and neighborhoods. One of the key goals of the program is to establish additional Centers for Community Excellence in other high-need areas of the city. Ed Clausen, vice president for academic affairs and dean of the College, stated, “The importance of the Centers is that they directly link the concepts of sustainability with the necessity of civic engagement and responsibility. Rather than volunteering once or twice, students develop lasting relationships with community members, distinguishing service learning from the old model of community service. Faculty and students develop a real presence in the community and they provide services that will have a sustaining impact on the lives of the residents and communities with whom they work.” The Buffalo Renaissance Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to "Building a Better Buffalo". Since 1981, the foundation has worked to foster a better quality of life in Buffalo and the Western New York region through active support of public, educational, charitable and benevolent organizations and activities. Daemen College also receives support for this project from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Foundation, KeyBank USA, the Providence Fund and in-kind support from Computers for Children, Inc. (* Note: For additional information on the Buffalo Renaissance Foundation, contact Vicki Haas, (716) 743-7500). |