Community Services for Every1, a local nonprofit dedicated to empowering people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, is grateful to announce a grant of $150,000 from the Golisano Foundation to help towards construction and buildout of the Lyceum Community Empowerment Center. The Center will annually enable over 200 people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to accomplish personal goals for employment, independence, wellness, and inclusion. The Golisano Foundation is one of the nation’s largest foundations dedicated to supporting programs for people with intellectual disabilities.
“We are so grateful to the Golisano Foundation for this generous grant, which will help us expand into the East Buffalo Broadway-Bailey community and address unmet needs for programming, supports, and services within that area,” said Mindy Cervoni, Community Services for Every1 President & CEO.
The Lyceum Community Empowerment Center is a new East Buffalo community learning space, a hub within Apartments at the Lyceum, a 42-unit affordable housing complex. The building is currently undergoing renovation involving the historic adaptive reuse of the former Catholic school and community center, commonly known as the St. John Kanty Lyceum. Constructed in the early 1930s, the Lyceum has essentially fallen in disuse since the Parish school closed in 1990. The Lyceum Community Empowerment Center will provide accommodating, adaptable, and accessible learning spaces; that will create flexible culinary/wellness education environments that will cater to the interests and needs of people of all abilities. The project will also create a multi-purpose classroom for small group instruction; an activity room for larger recreational events; a teaching kitchen for culinary instruction; and a community garden for therapeutic and recreational gardening. The center is due to open in early 2024.
Community Services has operated since 1989, working to support and empower Western New Yorkers of all abilities. Anyone wishing to donate to the Lyceum Community Empowerment Center can visit lyceumspace.givesmart.com. For media inquiries please contact Kelly Kinderman at kkinderman@csevery1.com or 716-883-8888 x 143.
Our Mission at Community Services is to partner with individuals of all abilities to reach their fullest potential, protecting their rights and promoting their independence and inclusion in our community.
The Golisano Foundation is one of the largest private foundations in the U.S. dedicated to making the world a better place for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The Foundation is devoted to opening doors to opportunity, changing negative perceptions and stereotypes, and forging unprecedented partnerships to ensure individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities have pathways to personal dignity, independence, and the best possible expression of their abilities and talents throughout their lifetimes. Founded in 1985 by Tom Golisano—entrepreneur, philanthropist, civic leader, and founder of Paychex, Inc. —the Foundation “imagines the possibilities,” advocating for families, fighting for their dignity, and giving people with IDD the opportunity to thrive in their communities. With more than $60 million in gross assets, it awards about $3 million annually to non-profit organizations in Western New York and Southwest Florida.