Brush Up Buffalo Heads to University District

For the past 12 summers, Brush Up Buffalo has rallied volunteers and sponsors to come out for one day to help improve the city's neighborhoods, and they have now announced that for this season they will work in the University district which includes the streets Winspear, Highgate, Lisbon, and Dartmouth.

 "We have about a dozen homes picked out right now, but we could do more depending on sponsors and volunteers," said Roseann Scibilia, president of Brush Up Buffalo.

This year the event has about 100 volunteers signed up, but Scibilia is hoping to see 500 or more community members come aboard by June 20th.

  Last year's Brush Up Buffalo was centered in the Lovejoy neighborhood, and with the help of 600 volunteers they painted 15 homes. Some of the volunteers for the event this year are people from the Lovejoy neighborhood who were able to see what a difference Brush Up makes and wanted to help bring the revitalization to other neighborhoods.

Local businesses also provide invaluable resources including materials, donations, and volunteers. Businesses include Bank of America, Tops Friendly Markets, LPCiminelli, and Valspar, who is donating 75 five-gallon cans of paint for the event.

Since 1996, Brush Up Buffalo has painted over 235 houses in neighborhoods all across Buffalo.

Brush Up Buffalo is a not-for-profit organization that utilizes community-minded volunteers and donated supplies to help low-income families in the City of Buffalo spruce up their homes and revitalize their neighborhoods.

The event this year will take place on June 20th and anyone wishing to volunteer can show up at The University at Buffalo's south campus at 7:30 AM that morning.

For anyone who would like to volunteer or for more information, please visit the Web site www.brushupbuffalo.org or call the Brush Up Buffalo hotline at 716.250.3353. Brush Up Buffalo can also be followed on Facebook and MySpace.