Brush Up Buffalo, a not-for-profit, all-volunteer organization focused on revitalizing City of Buffalo neighborhoods, recently secured $11,000 in sponsorships. The donations will help to fully finance Brush Up Buffalo 2008, an annual event where more than 600 volunteers repaint 15 to 20 low-income homes in the city. This year's event takes place on Saturday, June 14 in the Lovejoy neighborhood, in the area bounded by Bailey Avenue, William Street and Ogden Street.
Recent donations include:
- The Margaret L. Wendt Foundation - $5,000
- Bank of America - $3,000
- M&T Bank - $1,500
- Damon & Morey - $500
- Malcolm Pirnie - $500
- UPS - $500
Donations from the corporate sponsors provide for the cost of paint, supplies, insurance, and food. Additional sponsors and in-kind donors to date for Brush Up Buffalo 2008 include LPCiminelli ($8,500 sponsorship and logistical support), Sherwin-Williams (discounted paint), Painting and Decorating Decorators of Western New York, 360 Professional Services Group,
Buffalo Business First, Buffalo State College, clevermethod, Full Circle Studios, HSBC and Kensington-Bailey Neighborhood Housing Services.
Brush Up Buffalo also recently confirmed the Central Terminal as this year's staging area. Volunteers are asked to meet there by 7:15 a.m. on the day of the event.
The organization also encourages volunteers to sign up online at
www.brushupbuffalo.org by Memorial Day, although additional volunteers may register up to the day of the event.
Since its inception in 1996, Brush Up Buffalo volunteers revitalized 11 neighborhoods in the City of Buffalo, painting more than 220 homes. Last year, in approximately five hours, more than 600 volunteers painted 12 homes in Buffalo's West Side along Plymouth Avenue and Hudson Street.