Brush Up on Buffalo

This is exactly what Buffalonians are all about!

I applaud each and everyone of you who volunteer to help their neighbor.

Exactly how many abandoned or uninhabitable houses are sitting-around Buffalo nowadays?

"Clean up, paint up, fix up, NOW!" Remember that slogan from the late 1950s? That slogan was directed at live-in homeowners.

Today, 2010, as both homeowners and their houses age both in and outside this City, and incomes go lower for most everyone making it difficult and impossible for the home-owning elderly to maintain both themselves and their homes, these two legit questions arises:

(1) What sort of screening is done concerning whom the volunteers are, and, if the volunteers are screened, who does the screening--as in: who is screening the screeners?

(2) Is any sort of free maintenance directed to absentee-owners' rental properties?

Remembering again back into the 1950s and before; volunteers were mostly rich ladies!!!

Crisa -- Brush Up Buffalo only paints low-income, single-family, owner-occupied homes. As for the screening process, it's quite thorough! There are all sorts of factors we evaluate and verify: income, employment, disability, condition of house, etc. As mentioned above, most of the homeowners we help do tend to be either elderly or disabled -- or both.

As for the volunteers, we have a secure sign-in process at www.brushupbuffalo.org. The vast majority of volunteers are actually teams ranging from 5 to 40, from banks, churches, law firms, and more. And no one can just "up and paint." Everyone online agrees to a liability release form, as well as the few who come the day of the event and register on the spot as individual painters. Plus, everyone receives -- and must wear -- that year's Brush Up Buffalo t-shirt. It's like a wearable admission stamp.

In closing, I'll also say two things: 1.) There are many homes that we wish we could paint, but unfortunately they're rental properties. 2.) With one coat of paint, the houses may not look completely perfect, but it's always a marked improvement. Often times, the descending of dozens/hundreds of volunteers on a particular street gets other homeowners motivated to do yard work, cleanup, etc. Most importantly, the repainted houses can offer a psychological boost to the neighborhood. In my opinion, I think it's tough to argue against the notion that a nicer-looking neighborhood can lift one's spirits.

Hope all that information helps. Please register today! It's a ton of fun... and Buffalo deserves the support.