Wow.
I have to admit, I’m a little surprised by this one. Seven locations – all with completely full or overflowing bins!!
But – why on earth would I be surprised at all – this is TOTALLY Buffalo. Totally. The most generous place with the most generous people.
We started a boot drive for the Buffalo City Mission when we heard about their desperate need. I knew we had a homeless problem here in Buffalo, but to be honest, I didn’t realize how bad it had gotten. When I worked at Channel 2 – I did some stories and covered some of the Mission’s events – but being out of the business for a while, I guess I was also out of the loop.
At any rate, I saw the problem and wanted to help. Here’s what I’ve learned.
- Buffalo has approximately 6,000 homeless people.
- 84% are families.
- 25% are children.
Homeless doesn’t necessarily mean they are living on the streets – it means they do not have a home of their own. They could be staying with friends or relatives, often hopping from place to place. They could be staying in a car. It’s incredibly sad.
Often times homeless people have very little in the form of possessions and clothing. Many walk for hours each day, in shoes with no support, holes in them, no way to keep their feet warm.
This means the hundreds of shoes and boots that you’ve donated are much needed. And we can’t thank you enough.
We also can’t thank the local businesses who helped by serving as collection sites. Let’s face it, businesses have many other things to worry about – and it can be a pain to have folks going in and out, dropping boots, clogging their entryways. But, these businesses, these Western New Yorkers care a great deal about their community and are always willing to help out. We are waiting for the Mission to pic up the bins, so we will have a final count at some point!
We really want to offer up a HUGE thank you to our friends at –
- Buffalo Riverworks, 359 Ganson Street, Buffalo
- Rolly Pollies (all three locations), 4058 N Buffalo Rd, Orchard Park, 9630 Transit Rd #100, East Amherst,  1669 Hertel Ave, Buffalo.
- Pink Martini Gift Shop, 2445 Grand Island Boulevard, Grand Island
- Merle Norman Cosmetics, 2101 Military Road, Niagara Falls
- The Perfect Gift Boutique, 6000 Goodrich Rd., Clarence Center
Thank you, thank you, thank you! To those who donated, shared our story, told their friends, and to everyone who helped in any way – truly – thank you!
Now, what project should we take on next??
🙂
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