In a city where nearly a third of the population lives below the poverty line, agencies that serve economically-disadvantaged individuals play critical roles. The Buffalo City Mission has received a major contribution in its quest to provide food and shelter to those in need.
The John R. Oishei Foundation has donated $75,000 to the downtown-based organization. Stuart Harper, the mission’s executive director, said the contribution will make a significant difference in lives of many people.
“I can’t tell you what it means to the men and women who come to us that allow us the time to work with them and help them overcome many years of challenges that they face,” said Harper at a Thursday ceremony.
The City Mission was founded in 1917 and provides a variety of preventative, emergency and long-term recovery services to homeless or impoverished individuals. It operates several facilities, including Cornerstone Manor, a shelter for women and families.
Lawrence Cook II, the John R. Oishei Foundation’s vice president, noted that it’s important to remember that the area has deep pockets of poverty . Still, Cook pointed to tangible signs that Buffalo is making progress in efforts to create new economic opportunities.
“We’re seeing cranes up in the air, buildings being built, the medical corridor is just kind of expanding like crazy; all this activity happening down on waterfront,” Cook said during a ceremony in the City Mission’s Men’s Community Center Chapel on East
Tupper. “I think we’re doing our very best to kind of claw out of this perception that we’re always identified as one of the most impoverished communities in the nation.”
Matt Neidhart contributed to this report.
