Author: Sarah Maurer

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Join us for our Quarterly Community Breakfast!

Want to learn more about our programs at the Matt Urban Center and hear the latest update on our School 57 renovation project?

Join us on Saturday, September 22 at 10:30AM for our quarterly community breakfast! The event will take place in the third floor hall of our main headquarters at 1081 Broadway.

We will have a presentation on the renovations currently underway at the former School 57 building, followed by a roundtable with our Housing & Community Development, Youth, and Hope Services programs. A brief survey will be conducted to inform the discussion at our next meeting.

Light breakfast will be provided. Please contact us with questions at (716) 893-7222 x310 or eblacksheare@urbanctr.org.

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Creating Homeowners in Our Community

933 Fillmore Avenue

The Matt Urban Center’s Housing & Community Development department is thrilled to share that we have renovated and sold three properties in the Broadway Fillmore and South Buffalo communities to low-income first-time homebuyers!

The homes are located at 928 and 933 Fillmore Avenue and 21 South Ryan Street. All three properties were given full gut rehabs, including installation of new roofs and siding, and full interior renovations with new flooring, appliances and finishes.

One of the properties, located at 933 Fillmore Avenue, was owned by a couple who no longer live in the neighborhood. It had been their dream to fix up the house, but unfortunately they did not have the resources. They originally purchased the home for $18,000, but they decided to sell it to the Matt Urban Center for $1.00 so that it could be renovated and once again become an asset to the neighborhood.

928 Fillmore Avenue
The sale of these three properties brought in over $200,000 to be re-invested in the Matt Urban Center’s next community development project.
We’re incredibly grateful to our partners in this process: The City of Buffalo Urban Renewal Agency, Lamparelli Construction, Mia Mootry and Tamika Collins of Hunt Real Estate, Neighborworks, the Office of Joshua E. Dubs, and Marielis Rodriguez and our SNAP program workers for maintaining and cleaning the properties prior to closing.
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Employee Spotlight: Congratulations, Cherise!

We’re very proud and excited to share that Cherise Cason, one of our Youth Department site coordinators, has earned a 50% tuition discount scholarship to Hilbert College through the United Way of Buffalo & Erie County.

Cherise will be enrolled in the Master of Public Administration program at Hilbert College this fall. She has been employed in the Matt Urban Center’s Youth Department for about two years. We’re looking forward to the knowledge and skills she’ll be bringing to her work here at MUC.

Congratulations, Cherise!  

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Get Ready for Buffalonia 2018!

Join us for our third annual Buffalonia celebration at Buffalo Iron Works and party in support of a great cause!
The Matt Urban Center has been serving the East Side of Buffalo for over 40 years with the mission of providing programs that revitalize neighborhoods, serve families and change lives.
Buffalonia helps support our programs and initiatives that enhance the quality of life for all residents in our diverse community—from children through seniors, and homeowners to the homeless.
The event will feature a live band, DJ, beer and wine, food, raffles, games and a photo booth! Ru’s Pierogi Food Truck will also be on site dishing up their delicious pierogi and we’ll have desserts from Sassi Cakes!
Pre-sale tickets are $25 and can be purchased online or in person at the Matt Urban Center (1081 Broadway) or Buffalo Iron Works (49 Illinois Street). Tickets will be available at the door for $30.
Questions? Contact Sarah Maurer at smaurer@urbanctr.org or (716) 893-7222 x232.

Thank you to our generous event sponsors!

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Slow Roll Visits MUC

On Monday, July 23, a few hundred cyclists rolled through the neighborhood on the weekly Slow Roll Buffalo ride, and we had the opportunity to tell them all about the great work we do in the community!

Check out our “Stakeholder Spotlight” interview with Slow Roll here.

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Community Resource Event

On Friday, July 13, 2018 the Matt Urban Center collaborated with A Team of Hope to host a community resource event at 1081 Broadway to provide support to neighborhood residents and families who have been affected by violent crime in our community. The Matt Urban Center’s Crime Victims Assistance Program, Youth and Community Services Department, and Hope Services team shared information on the programs and services we provide.

A variety of community service partners were present to speak and share their resources, including Buffalo Peacemakers, SNUG, the Stop the Violence Coalition, Community Access Services, and Teens in Progress. We also had representatives from WellCare, Fallon Health, Lombardo Funeral Services, and BlueCross BlueShield of WNY.

We were honored to have our Erie County Legislator April Baskin, Buffalo Police Department Commissioner Lockwood, and the BPD Neighborhood Engagement Team present to speak and connect with residents.

Thank you to all who attended and showed support for the residents of our community!

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Blog: Volunteering in WNY

On June 6, our agency participated in VolunteerWNY’s initiative for National Hunger Awareness Day. We hosted a project at our Hope Center where volunteers made and packaged meals for our Homeless Outreach team to distribute to our homeless clients.

Ashley, an intern with Red Door Real Estate, participated in the project and wrote a blog about her experiences volunteering with us. Check out her blog post here.

Thank you to all our volunteers for generously donating your time to this effort! Check out the photos on our Facebook page.

 

Volunteering in WNY

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