Friday, December 16, 2011



Read to Succeed, with the support of the Rotary Foundation of Buffalo, is bringing Dolly Parton's Imagination Library to children under age five living in zip code 14215!Your child is eligible:
From birth until he or she is 60 months (five years) old If he or she resides in the 14215 zip code on Buffalo's East side
Country music star and literacy advocate Dolly Parton created the Imagination Library to provide free books to disadvantaged children to foster a love of reading and to improve literacy skills among young children!
Each month all registered children from birth to age five will receive a new, age-appropriate book through the mail that will be theirs to keep! The child will continue to receive a free book every month until their fifth birthday - that's 60 books if a child is registered in the program from birth! This is a great way for children to start creating their own library at home.
Books in the Home Make A Difference!Research shows that children who grow up with books in their home typically reach higher education levels. A love of reading begins at home with an adult sharing story time with a child or group of children or by an older brother or sister reading to younger siblings. For children in the 14215 zip code in Buffalo, this is an opportunity to make reading fun and to make story-telling come alive with a new story each month!
Without early literacy skills, many children will struggle as they begin school. The Dolly Parton Imagination Library will provide new books to children in one of Buffalo's largest neighborhoods allowing children and families to start creating a culture of literacy at home.

Monday, December 5, 2011








Magical Memories on Main Street has begun. We are very grateful to NOCO for sponsoring this wonderful event again this year. James Newman, President of NOCO joined us at the dedication ceremony Saturday, December 3, when Rotary President Ron Caruso presented a check for $12,500 to Brian Dusenberry, President of the Theater District of WNY. Congressman Brian
Higgins and County Executive-Elect Mark Poloncarz extended their congratulations to all who worked so hard to restore these beautiful displays.
Be sure to see the dazzling display of decorated windows from the old A M & A's days. They are located on Main street, north of Chippewa. The displays will be lit and operating from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for lunchtime browsers and again for the evening crowd from 5 to 10 p.m.
The displays will be available until January 8, 2012
The Buffalo Rotary window is located in the building north of Market Arcade, home of the Rotary Club of Buffalo, located at 617 Main. Thanks to Anne Martin, and Therese Vita for their hard work decorating our window and to Mike Ryan and Richard Ridenour for helping them

Sunday, December 4, 2011





On Saturday, December 3, 2011, First Niagara Bank presented the 2011 Downtown Christmas Tree Lighting Celebration! This annual holiday event is held at Rotary Rink at Fountain Plaza (Main at Chippewa Street) and marks the official opening of the free ice-skating season at Rotary Rink. Festivities began at 5:00 p.m. with free ice-skating. At 6:00 p.m., First Niagara Bank and Buffalo Place officials conducted lighting of the tree and Santa Claus lit a fireworks display over Fountain Plaza.
Immediately following the Tree Lighting, the fun continued with visits with Santa, holiday gifts, horse and wagon rides, clowns and balloon art, face painting and free ice-skating. Buffalo & WNY children enjoyed free ice-skating.

Friday, December 2, 2011







The Buffalo Rotary Youth Exchange "Winter Weekend" is being held Dec. 2-4. All the exchange students within the district come to Buffalo for a weekend of fun that includes tours of downtown and ice skating at Rotary rink.

On Saturday, December 3, 2011, First Niagara Bank will present the 2011 Downtown Christmas Tree Lighting Celebration! This annual holiday event is held at Rotary Rink at Fountain Plaza (Main at Chippewa Street) and marks the official opening of the free ice-skating season at Rotary Rink. Festivities begin at 5:00 p.m. with free ice-skating. At 6:00 p.m., First Niagara Bank and Buffalo Place officials will countdown the lighting of the tree and Santa Claus will light a fireworks display over Fountain Plaza.
Shortly after, Magical Memories on Main Street will begin. The Buffalo Rotary window, designed by Anne Martin and Therese Vita, is located in the building north of Market Arcade, home of the Rotary Club of Buffalo, located at 617 Main. THANKS TO ANNE MARTIN and THERESE VITA FOR THEIR HARD WORK SETING UP OUR DISPLAY and to MIKE RYAN AND RICHARD RIDENOUR for helping them

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Meeting Dec 1 at Templeton Landing Community Grants




The Fall Cycle has two grant requests:

1 The Buffalo Hearing & Speech Center, Inc.’s mission is to improve the quality of life for adults, children and infants with communication disorders by delivering cutting edge diagnosis and treatment of hearing and speech impairments and related special education services.
Description of Buffalo Rotary's project: BHSC is raising funds to install an “Inclusive Play” or “Universally Accessible” playground at its main facility in the City of Buffalo that will be incorporated into therapeutic and educational programming for developmentally disabled children.

2. The Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy, (BOPC), is a 501c3 not-for-profit, independent, community organization that promotes, preserves, restores, enhances and ensures maintenance of Olmsted Parks and Parkways in the greater Buffalo
area to guarantee Olmsted Park experiences for current and future generations.
Description of Buffalo Rotary's project:When the citizens of Western New York and Buffalo exercise, visit, and play in the 1200-acres of pristine, landscaped parkland maintained by the BOPC, people interact with each other, smile and benefit socially and physically. This grant request involves a Buffalo Rotary “Welcome Location” at Delaware Park, which includes:

A three tiered drinking water fountain (child, adult and animal level)

Two plaqued park benchesplanting

Ten strong, healthy trees.

Monday, November 21, 2011

Nov 23 meeting at Templeton Landing



The Made in America Store opened on April 3, 2010. Located just 20 minutes from Buffalo and less than an hour from Niagara
Falls, NY, it is the only general merchandise store in the country that sells 100% American Made Products, down to the packaging. Their mission is to restore U.S. manufacturing jobs by providing American consumers a brick & mortar store and e-commerce site that guarantees that each product sold is entirely American in materials and labor.
Since Opening Day, the Made in America Store has been featured on ABC’s World News Tonight, FOX & Friends, and nationally
syndicated and satellite radio. AP articles have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today and newspapers across the
country. Reporters from Japan and Russia have come to the store, making it an international story. To date, more than 50 tour buses have added the Made in America Store as a destination. And, buses are added every week, some from as far as Missouri!
In addition to requiring that all products sold are 100% American Made, down to the packaging, the Made in America Store insists on top quality at comparable pricing. Their customers know they are helping to feed an American family when they shop at our store. And, each manufacturing job has a positive economic impact of providing four additional jobs for the benefit of the U.S. economy.

You will enjoy this video of Diane Sawyer on ABC News. It is a good endorsement of Mark and his store. Share it with friends http://abcnews.go.com/Business/made-america-store-30k-items-buy-growing/story?id=13943386

Monday, November 14, 2011


There will NOT be a regular meeting and lunch at Templeton Landing this Thursday!
Instead, Vocational Service Committee's Laurie Albertsson has arranged for us to visit, participate and enjoy lunch at one of the dynamic agencies of the Rotary Club of Buffalo. The choices are:
Goodwill Industries Tom Lynch 1119 William Street Buffalo 14206 854-5283
Gateway Longview Jim Sampson 605 Niagara Street Buffalo 14201 883-4531
Food Bank Mike Billoni 91 Holt Street Buffalo 14206 852-1305
Salvation Army Major Tom Applin 960 Main Street Buffalo 14202 888-6201
Boy Scouts of America. Pat Coviello 2860 Genesee Street Buffalo 14225 512-6206