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Original article by Allissa Kline, Buffalo Business First, July 26

One of the largest private companies headquartered in Buffalo is making a $1 million contribution to M&T Bank's Buffalo Promise Neighborhood to support the expansion of early childhood education on the city's East Side.

Delaware North, a hospitality and food service management company led by chairman Jeremy Jacobs, is now the largest corporate supporter of the Buffalo Promise Neighborhood initiative. M&T (NYSE: MTB) chairman and CEO Rene Jones said he hopes the gift – announced Thursday morning – leads to additional corporate dollars for the eight-year-old initiative that aims to increase educational and economic opportunities in the 14215 zip code.

"It was always (late M&T chairman and CEO) Bob Wilmers' goal to set an example and to have others join in ... but I don't know if that mission was ever fulfilled," Jones said. "So we hope (this donation) serves to inspire a number of other local companies to address the needs of our communities. We're looking to continue to support economic development on the East Side and in places where our community is most underserved."

According to Jones, the $1 million gift will go toward the operation of the forthcoming Children's Academy at Gerard Place. The facility is under construction inside the Gerard Place Community Center at 2515 Bailey Ave.

Project costs are $2 million, including $1.6 million from M&T. Set to open in September, the tuition-free preschool will be operated by EduKids Inc., which has 14 daycare centers in Western New York.

When it opens, the preschool will accommodate approximately 100 children ages six weeks to five years who either live in the Buffalo Promise Neighborhood, have siblings who attend one of the other Buffalo Promise Neighborhood schools or whose parents are residents of Gerard Place.

It is the latest endeavor undertaken by Buffalo Promise Neighborhood, a nonprofit organization led by M&T. The bank got involved in the neighborhood in 1983 when Wilmers' interest in supporting urban public education led the bank to adopt of one of the lowest-performing public schools in the city. Now known as Westminster Community Charter School, it is one of three schools currently operating within the Buffalo Promise Neighborhood.

M&T brought the national Promise Neighborhood model to Buffalo in 2012 through a $6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education. At the time, Buffalo was one of only five communities to receive funding to set up the

Over the years, funding from three dozen partners and providers have assisted M&T's efforts. Other contributors include the John R. Oishei Foundation, Annie E. Casey Foundation and Wegmans Food Markets.

Jones said the number of children that have benefited from the Buffalo Promise Neighborhood exceeds 9,000. But there's more work to do.

"Right now the waiting list for the academy is at 475 children, so there's a big demand and we're really excited about it," Jones said. "There's a need for more educational facilities and other services that really allow members of the community to participate in the economic growth of Buffalo. We've just picked one area, which his kids and education, but it's not the only element."

Link to Original Story