Finding God’s Calling on Buffalo’s Cold Streets: As the bitter November winds do their best to sweep across Buffalo, a decades-long tradition of raw faith, gut-wrenching sacrifice, and tireless service continues under the city’s concrete bridges and within its frozen doorways. For 25 years, Pastor Eric Johns, founder of the Buffalo Dream Center, made the annual “Week on the Street” a vital community staple, raising crucial awareness and funds for the city’s neediest residents. Now, a new generation, spearheaded by his son, 22-year-old Associate Pastor Alex Johns, has stepped up to the plate. This proves the Dream Center’s mission is…
Author: Mark Lazzara
Buffalo’s legacy of technical innovation spans more than a century, from Willis Carrier’s invention of air conditioning to pacemaker advancements and airplane manufacturing. Today, Evolution Dental Science (EDS), a family-owned business with roots firmly planted in Western New York, is carrying that torch of progress. Led by CEO Andy Jakson, who brings over 30 years of experience in dental technology innovation, EDS has established itself as a leader in integrating artificial intelligence into dental manufacturing. With locations in Cheektowaga and Williamsville, EDS has produced approximately 10,000 AI-designed dental crowns since January—averaging 100 crowns daily. “Artificial intelligence has significantly transformed the…
Running on Faith: Freedom Seeker Stories is a powerful theatrical production set to premiere on February 20, 2025, at 6 PM at Mt. Aaron Baptist Church in Buffalo, NY. This free, women-led performance brings to life three compelling stories of freedom seekers, as documented by William Still, known as the “Father of the Underground Railroad.” “Running on Faith: Freedom Seeker Stories shares profound insights into the passion for liberty and the immense risks that freedom seekers took to escape the horrors of bondage. The stories conclude with a powerful message of faith rewarded,” said Celeste Lawson, author of Running on…
The holiday season is a time of joy and giving, but for many of Buffalo’s neediest children, it can be a time of hardship. We are almost at the end of the holiday season; it is important to remember that not every child will wake up to presents under the tree. Poverty is a persistent issue in Buffalo, and it has a significant impact on children. According to a report by the Partnership for the Public Good (PPG), poverty rates in Buffalo-Niagara are high, with 30% of children living in poverty, and for Black children, it is 75%. The childhood…
From time to time, I run into people who say they don’t “do” technology. Most of these people are over 55 years of age. At this moment, 28 million Americans are digitally illiterate. Compound that with the fact that 92% of current jobs require some computer skills, and we have a serious disconnect. I have been beating the same drum for a long time – every age group, especially seniors, needs to learn computer skills. Thankfully there are some organizations out there that are stepping up to help. From the milestone of feeding over 1 million meals during the pandemic,…
2022 was a summer of service and leadership for some AmeriCorps members at the Dream Center and throughout Western NY, learning the power of serving others while gaining leadership skills. Selfless service has always been and always will be a powerful tool to break away from some forms of depression. This year millions of young people, almost 20% of Americans, 17 to 25, are struggling with depression. Here are a few young people that broke the odds, serving in Buffalo’s poorest neighborhoods. Buffalo Dream Center AmeriCorps members’ summer reflections: I asked Tom Rutherford, a 17-year-old summer AmeriCorps member, “What have…
More than ever children need adequate technology and leadership development. Not long ago, a kid’s computer was mostly just fun. Now, it’s a necessity! With that in mind, AT&T, Western New York, United, and Mission Ignite teamed up to support WNY United Leadership in Training Public School Program (LIT), with funding from AT&T, to provide every one of their students with a computer. Seventy students who successfully graduated were gifted a free computer, helping to bridge the digital divide while closing the homework gap. WNY United’s Leaders in Training Summer Program is designed to help under-resourced students from four regional…
Friday January 21, 2022 marked the Martin Luther King Day of Service initiated by a small team of AmeriCorps members, to provide groceries for over one 120 needy families from the Buffalo Dream Center. “The Martin Luther King Observances in 2022 did not seem like the others in the past in Buffalo. Maybe the snowstorm, maybe apathy, or maybe it is the changing times,” said Aaron Iannello, Operations Director for Mission Ignite and its AmeriCorps program. ”AmeriCorps members approached me to do something to honor Dr King. We decided the best way to honor Dr King was to support…
Thanksgiving week, for almost a quarter of a century, finds Rev. Eric Johns, pastor of the Buffalo Dream Center living and/or working among the homeless. Along with his team, Johns can be found staying on the streets, sleeping under bridges, in parks, in shelters, and outside in freezing temperatures. They will eat in soup kitchens and spend their days with the poor. Every year the Western NY community rallies around Johns’ homeless trek, by funding the Dream Center’s “Boxes of Love.” This year’s goal will be serving over 5,000 children for Christmas, bringing the entire total of the over two-decade…
Mission: Ignite’s Operations Manager, Aaron Iannello, and a team from Mission: Ignite recently received a generous donation of laptops, desktops, monitors, desk printers, cables, and additional equipment from Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield of WNY. Mission: Ignite strives to end the digital divide in WNY, and surrounding areas, by collecting and refurbishing technology to provide STEM training to children in the community, while also reducing hazardous e-waste often created by discarded technology. Additionally, Highmark’s donations of technology assets were given to South Buffalo Community Association, Family Promise of Western New York, Gerard Place, and EdTech Western New York. In total, almost 300 laptops, and upwards of 75 desktops, 228 monitors, and…