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Young alumni help Buffalo family
By KEVIN FRYLING
Reporter Staff Writer
Thirty UB alumni have left a positive mark on a Buffalo family of seven through their recent participation in a Habitat for Humanity home restoration project.
Ursula and James Davis and four of their
five children sit on the front porch of the house that UB GOLD members helped to
renovate.
PHOTO: DOUGLAS LEVERE
"Watching people come out to work on a person's home who they don't even know is very, very comforting," says Ursula Davis, who will own and occupy the home in the Hamlin Park neighborhood with her husband, James, and their three daughters and two sons ranging in age from 6 to 16.
"People just give so much of themselves," adds Davis. "We could never say thank you enough for what [the volunteers] have done. Each one of them has left their fingerprints in our hearts and in our home."
The alumni are members of UB GOLD (Graduates of the Last Decade), a newly established alumni group whose principal goals include connecting the university's young alumni to service opportunities throughout Buffalo and Western New York.
They worked on the Davis house, located on Glendale Place near Canisius College in the historic Hamlin Park neighborhood, on Aug. 18.
"Habitat for Humanity was definitely a success," says Sara Annunziata, B.A. '06, MBA '06, chair of the community service committee for UB GOLD and a systems analyst at the Harlequin Books distribution center in Depew. "This is a great activity because at the end of the day, you're really helping someone get a new house. We had an overwhelming number of people interested."
In fact, Annunziata says interest in the project was so great that organizers had to place a cap on participants from UB after only two days. She says alumni volunteers quickly doubled the 15-person limit normally placed on participants from one organization assigned to a single Habitat work site.
Cynthia Tysick, B.A.'99, M.L.S. '01, PMCRT '01, associate librarian in the UB Libraries who participated in the Habitat project, says she understands the importance of finding secure housing from personal experience as a child. "I've always wanted to volunteer for Habitat for Humanity," she says, adding she signed up for the project only minutes after receiving an email notification from UB GOLD. "I think it's great that the alumni association does things like this to give back to the community."
Sylbie Hodas, B.S. '00, a physical therapist at Ken-Ton Physical Therapy in Kenmore, says participating in a Habitat for Humanity project has been among her longtime goals as well. "What Habitat for Humanity does is wonderful," she says. "It's a great opportunity for people who might not otherwise own a home."
A third alumni volunteer notes his interest in projects such as the home restoration stem from a sense of responsibility to the local community. "I was taught to leave a place better than when you found it," says Robert Tocker, B.A.'02, M.A. '02, a UB law student and former senior analyst for the Buffalo Fiscal Stability Authority. "I volunteer because it's something I believe in."
UB GOLD will offer alumni many more volunteer opportunities in the upcoming months, according to Annunziata. "Our goal is to act as a liaison," she says, "to marry volunteer groups that need volunteers and people who are excited or interested in volunteering for community events."
Many young alumni are eager to pitch in to help their local communities, and countless charitable organizations in the region require volunteers for their projects, she adds, noting that UB GOLD members have provided support to several events this summer in addition to the Habitat for Humanity project, including participation in the Taste of Buffalo and Rock the Barn, a fundraiser featuring live music, both of which benefited Meals on Wheels.
"If you're staying in Buffalo, UB GOLD is a great opportunity to do something good for the community," says Annunziata. "It's an opportunity to network, but more importantly, it's really your chance to stay active in the community and give back to different community organizations that need your help and your time."
For more information about UB GOLD, as well as upcoming volunteer opportunities and other activities, click here.