New Wheels For Summer

Our Bigs & Littles enjoyed a fun night of roller skating to some cool tunes at Depew Skating Center. Some of our Bigs & Littles were seasoned skaters, while several put on skates or roller blades for the first time ever! It was wonderful to see our matches work together to help those new to skating make it around the rink. In some cases, our Littles were a BIG help in keeping their Bigs staying upright! Of course, there were a few fancy skating moves, a few spills and lots of laughs! All would agree it was a great night full of fun and memories!

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Erie County is honored to celebrate Lorna MacDonald Czarnota as this week’s featured Women Who Move the City Wednesday (WWMTC) Honoree!  Lorna, an award-winning storyteller and author, has delighted audiences in schools, libraries, festivals and conferences throughout the United States, Canada, and Ireland with traditional and original stories since 1985.  She is the founder and executive director of Crossroads Story Center, Inc., a not-for-profit reaching at-risk youth through story, music and art.  The organization is dedicated to helping young people navigate troubled waters through the model of story by mentoring and forming productive adult/youth partnerships.  Lorna’s healing story work is recognized in national and international storytelling communities. Lorna was the resident storyteller for nine years at Hopevale Residential Treatment Center and presents…

Announcing the 2019 Defenders of Potential Honorees Kennedy Colon Lauren Lewis  Tiffany Lewis  Gregory Straus Ryan Taughrin Get Your Tickets NOW! Celebrate this year’s incredible honorees at Mentors Who Move the City  on Thursday, May 9, from 5:30-8:30 at Salvatore’s Italian Gardens! Tickets are only $40 and include cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, a swag bag and an opportunity to network and learn about local businesses. Click here to purchase your tickets! Learn more about this year’s honorees on Mentors Who Move the City Mondays beginning Monday, April 1 by visiting our website or following us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.  Each week will feature one of our remarkable honorees. For more information about event sponsorship or vendor opportunities, click here or contact Ashley at agriffin@beafriend.org or (716) 873-5833,…

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Erie County and Media Sponsor, Kiss 98.5 are excited to honor Megan McNally as this week’s Women Who Move the City Wednesday Honoree! Megan McNally is co-founder and Executive Director of The Foundry, an organization on the east side of Buffalo that supports business creation, education and creativity. Located in a historic 25,000 square foot building, The Foundry offers workshop space for start-up businesses, artisans and tradespeople, as well as a multi-function community space to support arts performances, DIY education and public gatherings. It has become a recognized place for the encouragement of new ideas and productive action. In the last year, The Foundry has hosted workshops for over 400 participants and introduced new individuals into the east side community. Additionally, The Foundry…

Gregory Straus – Defender of Potential  Greg Straus is the a Licensed Real Estate Broker at 716 Realty Group and co-founder of Redline Rentals of Buffalo, a high performance and luxury company. Starting from a young age, Greg was instilled with a sense of community and help for others. Greg’s father took care of all the neighbors growing up. Eventually, Greg took over care for those elderly neighbors and started his first business shoveling snow. Being a product of catholic schooling, he always found himself volunteering in some way.   Greg was moved to NYC after college for the local company he worked for and while he was there, he became a mentor to a young man named Joshua from Harlem, through a company-local school…