Buffalo Bisons Charitable Foundation donates $20,000 to City of Buffalo's COVID-19 initiatives

Mayor Byron W. Brown today thanked the City of Buffalo’s hometown baseball team, the Buffalo Bisons, for donating $20,000 to assist the community during the COVID-19 emergency.

The donation will provide funding to Evergreen Health for its food pantry and support a new COVID-19 testing site in one of the most impacted areas of Erie County, 14215. Part of the funding will also support Mayor Brown’s 19th annual innovative childhood literacy initiative, Reading Rules! Summer Reading Challenge, which incentivizes children to continue to read during the summer months to keep them engaged in learning. The funding will also provide lunch to more than 700 essential Department of Public Works employees this week and next as a token of appreciation for their constant efforts to maintain the safe delivery of quality services to City residents and businesses during the pandemic.

Mayor Brown stated, “This is the most generous donation the City has received during the COVID-19 outbreak. I thank the Buffalo Bisons Charitable Foundation for investing in the health of their fans and community, for supporting the children who come to cheer them on, and for its demonstration of gratitude to the City workers on the frontlines who continue to put the needs of Buffalo residents and businesses before their own. We have been rooting for the Buffalo Bisons for years and I am so proud that they are also cheering for our success as we rise together again as one City.”

"The Bisons organization has always enjoyed a tremendous private-public partnership with the City of Buffalo and we are thrilled to be able to assist Mayor Brown with these important and rewarding initiatives. By assisting our neighbors who have kept the City going during this unprecedented times, who need essential food the most, and who will one day be our future leaders, we hope this donation allows us to give back to the City and the community that we love so much," said Mike Buczkowski, President of Rich Baseball Operations.

The hot, prepackaged meals were prepared by Kevin’s Catering, and safely distributed to 210 Streets and Sanitation employees during a pickup event today at MLK, Jr. Park. The remainder of the meals will be distributed throughout the week to other employees of Streets and Sanitation, Parks, Engineering Departments; as well as employees of Buffalo Sewer, Buffalo Water and Mayor Brown’s Impact Team.

The Buffalo Bisons’ donation will help support Evergreen Health’s food pantry efforts while connecting residents of the 14215 zip code to COVID-19 testing at Evergreen's 3297 Bailey Avenue location, a testing site which is scheduled to open on May 20th. While this is primarily a drive-thru testing site, Evergreen Health will accept some walk-ups. Testing is open to anyone age 16 and older, and while prescriptions are not required residents must provide proof of health insurance to schedule an appointment. To schedule testing call 716-847-2441 option 7.

"Evergreen Health's purpose is to foster healthy communities by providing medical, behavioral and supportive services to the individuals and families who need them the most, many of which are underserved by the healthcare system. One of these services is the Evergreen food pantry, which has been absolutely critical throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, since the challenges of food and finances are both top of mind for our patients and our neighbors right now," said Raymond Ganoe, President and CEO of Evergreen Health. "We thank the Buffalo Bisons and the City of Buffalo for standing behind us and helping us provide necessary resources and COVID-19 testing in the Buffalo community."