Join us at our Hope Center at 243 Sears Street at Hope House for our quarterly event to bring resources to you. We’ll be tabling with many community partners from 3:00 – 6:00 pm with our clothing boutique and essentials pantry open as well.
MUC Community Day
Join us at our new Hope Center location at 243 Sears Street at Hope House. We’ll be tabling with many community partners from 3:00 – 6:00pm with our clothing boutique and essentials pantry open as well.
Hope Center Soft Opening Next Month
We are excited to announce the soft reopening of the Hope Center happening in early August 2023. Located now at 243 Sears Street at Hope House, the Hope Center is opening its doors to resume some of its programming, continuing in the 20+ years of service to our Broadway Fillmore community and Western New York.
Our clothing boutique and personal essentials pantry will be opening on Monday, August 7, 2023 in the lower level of Hope House. Entry to the building is on the south side of the building, with walking and driving access to the parking lot from either Sears Street or Playter Street. Enclosed is a flyer to share with your networks and clients as well as hours below.
Personal Essentials
- Every 1st, 2nd & 3rd Thursday of the month
- 1:30pm – 4:00pm
Clothing Boutique
- Monday – Friday
- 1:00pm – 4:00pm
- Maximum five (5) items per month
Our food pantry will be reopening at a later date – stay tuned for more information on that date and a community resource day to launch the full grand opening of the Hope Center in the Fall. If you have any questions, please reach out to our Hope Center Director, Kevin Glover at 716-290-7543 or kglover@urbanctr.org.
Volunteer Opportunity: Urban Diner
Our Matt Urban Hope Center’s Urban Diner serves a fresh, healthy meal to residents free of charge on weekdays. We are looking for volunteers to help with food preparation (10:00AM to 1:30PM) and diner service (1:30PM to 4:30PM). Due to social distancing requirements, we cannot accommodate large groups for volunteering at this time.
Those interested in volunteering can contact Sarah Maurer at smaurer@urbanctr.org or (716) 893-7222 x232.
Eviction Prevention Funds Available Through STAND UP Buffalo
The Matt Urban Center, in partnership with the City of Buffalo’s STAND UP Buffalo program and 211 WNY, is providing rental assistance to at-risk residents who have been economically impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Arrears assistance for a maximum of three months and up to $4500 can be provided to those experiencing a COVID-19 hardship who meet income requirements.
Community members who are interested in applying to this program must first contact 211 WNY for initial intake and eligibility assessment. Those deemed eligible will then be referred to staff at our Matt Urban Hope Center. For more information, please visit www.211wny.org
Remembering Earl Blacksheare
The Matt Urban Center suffered a tremendous loss with the recent passing of Mr. Earl Blacksheare.
Earl was the heart and soul of our Hope Center, where he worked for over a decade, performing intake with clients and making referrals to get them connected with the resources they needed. Earl’s big booming voice was the first people heard when they called the Hope Center, and his was the first face they saw when they came in for services. Earl was a bright light for many, helping guide them to the programs and services that they needed to improve their situations, whether it was assistance finding housing, benefits, or a hot meal.
Not only did Earl have a tremendous positive impact on those who came to the Hope Center for help – he also made a lasting impression on the people he worked with every day. Some of our staff shared their remembrances of Earl, in honor of his memory and their time spent working alongside him.
Earl was part of our family. Although you don’t come to work to gain friends, you kind of become family and learn to depend on them for a lot of different things. Earl left a blueprint for us and how we should treat people. We’re just going to miss him.
-Kevin Glover
Every day for the last 4 and a half plus years, I’ve walked past Earl at his desk. We always had a very similar exchange when he first got to work for the day.
“Hey Earl, how’s it going?”
“I’m just groovy man, just groovy.”
“Groovy!”
I’ve missed that exchange every single day since he’s been gone. I remind myself every time I walk past his desk that Earl is “just groovy man, just groovy.”
Earl always knew it was me walking by because he always said I was running through the Hope Center, and that I moved too fast and didn’t know how to slow down. But if I was wearing a different pair of shoes compared to normal, he would stop me and ask me what I had on my feet. He was used to me wearing sneakers and being fairly quiet when I walked past him, but when winter crept in and I switched to boots, I had a whole new sound. He’d ask me to describe what I had on my feet to him so that way he could associate that sound with me coming up the hallway in my boots.
-Skylar Diamond
Earl always said “Good morning Melly Mel” and this was when I was walking into the building from behind him. I always wondered how he knew it was me before I even spoke to him or said anything. He will be greatly missed at Polonia Hall.
-Patricia Chism-Melvin
I didn’t work directly with Earl every day, and most of my interaction was over the phone, but even with calls that had no easy answer he was up for the challenge and ready to assist in any way. We’d often hang up with no real solution, only for my phone to ring a few minutes later with a bit more information that would point me in the right direction. You could hear his smile through every call.
-Maya Shermer
Earl was such a kind, sincere person, and that came out in every interaction I had with him – from those phone calls where he would reach out seeking information for a client, but always made sure to take a few moments to find out how I was doing, or when I would say farewell on my way out of the Hope Center and he would say “alright Sarah, you take care and be safe out there.” The Hope Center and the Matt Urban Center as a whole was made a better place because of Earl’s presence.
-Sarah Maurer
Afterschool Programming Returns to Polonia Hall
We’re excited that in-person afterschool programming will return to our Polonia Hall site at 385 Paderewski Drive, beginning March 1, 2021. We will be following COVID-19 guidelines and limiting the number of participants in the program for safety reasons.
To fill out an application to participate in the afterschool program, click here.
Please contact Justin Larke at jlarke@urbanctr.org or at (716) 893-7222 x311 for more information.
Donor Spotlight: The Sengupta Family
This month we’re highlighting The Sengupta Family – Sourav, Elizabeth, and their two daughters. After touring our Hope Center facility and learning about what we do last year, the family made a very generous personal donation to our Homeless Outreach team, including monies that their daughters had saved up in their piggy bank. Coupled with their donation from last year, the Sengupta Family has provided over $24,500 to support our efforts to meet our homeless clients where they’re at and provide support and resources to keep them safe.
Our Homeless Outreach team is excited to be able to purchase some specialized supplies that they don’t have consistent access to, such as larger sizes of clothing for clients, boots and shoes, storage for donations, and transportation passes.
A tremendous thank you to the Sengupta Family for their generosity and compassion for the clients we serve!
Thank You to the Buffalo Bills!
We wanted to congratulate our beloved Buffalo Bills on an amazing season! This team has given hope to so many this year, including the Matt Urban Center and the clients we serve. We also want to give a special shout-out to the following Bills players for their acts of generosity during the holiday season:
Matt Barkley and his family made a $10,000 donation to our Hope House women and children’s shelter to make Christmas brighter for our residents (their second donation in 2020!) Matt also teamed up with local apparel company Buf on Weck to sell Buffalo Renegade shirts and hoodies, with part of the proceeds benefitting our organization.
Josh Norman and his Starz 24 Foundation donated blankets, socks, hats, gloves, hand sanitizer and hand warmers to our Homeless Outreach team to help take care of their clients during the cold winter months.
Micah Hyde’s IMagINe For Youth Foundation’s Kicks for Kids initiative donated 25 backpacks filled with Nike Sneakers, Nike Shorts, candy and Buffalo Bills gear to the children in our youth after-school program and those staying at our Hope House shelter.
The Bills’ Women’s Association also provided funds for a beautiful catered holiday meal for our Hope House residents and staff to enjoy together to celebrate the season.
We’re so grateful to have a hometown team that not only plays with tremendous heart, but also keeps our community close to its heart. We’re always rooting for them. GO BILLS!
Volunteer At Home Opportunity
Looking to give back during the holidays? Assembling personal essentials kits for our Hope Center is a COVID-safe way to volunteer on your own time!
We’ve partnered with the United Way of Buffalo & Erie County’s Family Volunteer Season program to get more folks involved in volunteering while staying safe amidst the pandemic. Any number of kits donated is greatly appreciated and will go to good use in our Hope Center’s personal essentials pantry.
Visit uwbec.org/family-volunteer-day for instructions on how to assemble the kits and info on how to get them to us.
Questions? Email our Development Director, Sarah Maurer, at smaurer@urbanctr.org.
