Main caption: Leaders from Delaware North, the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy and the city of Buffalo on July 7 announced a transformational partnership, including a $1 million investment from Delaware North, to support the long-term sustainability and daily stewardship of Buffalo’s historic Olmsted park system. Pictured at the press conference are (from left to right): City of Buffalo Interim Parks Commissioner Steve Buccilli, Deputy Mayor Maria Whyte, Service Collaborative of WNY Executive Director Kate Sarata, Buffalo Olmsted Parks Board Chair Amy Abrahamson, Buffalo Olmsted Parks Executive Director Catie Stephenson, Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan and Delaware North CEO Jerry Jacobs Jr.
Delaware North on July 7 announced a transformational $1 million gift to the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy (BOPC). Directed to the Conservancy’s newly launched Endowment Campaign, the gift will support the long-term sustainability and daily stewardship of Buffalo’s historic Olmsted park system, which consists of 850 acres of urban parks, parkways and circles designed by America’s first landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted over 150 years ago.
Delaware North also announced support for The Service Collaborative’s Buffalo Service Corps to place five AmeriCorps volunteers in the Olmsted parks to supplement the conservancy’s operations team. Working alongside conservancy staff, members will support specialized projects across the park system, including landscape stewardship, ecological management, restoration initiatives and horticultural projects.
Delaware North CEO Jerry Jacobs Jr. announced the gift at a press conference alongside BOPC Executive Director Catie Stephenson, Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan and The Service Collaborative of Western New York Executive Director Kate Sarata.
“The Olmsted parks belong to everyone,” Jacobs said at the event. “They are one of the things that make Buffalo so special, and they deserve the kind of steady, enduring support that allows them to thrive. This is an investment in the long-term care of these parks and in the generations of Buffalonians who will enjoy them in the years ahead.”
The $1 million gift advances the conservancy’s endowment campaign, an effort to establish a permanent source of support for the operations and maintenance of Buffalo’s internationally significant Olmsted-designed parks and parkways. Income generated from the endowment will provide long-term financial stability and help safeguard the future of Buffalo’s historic landscapes.
“Delaware North has stepped forward as a true leadership partner, making an extraordinary investment in both the future of Buffalo’s parks and the work required to care for them today,” Stephenson said. “Their leadership gift to our endowment campaign will help ensure these historic landscapes remain vibrant and sustained for generations to come, while their support for a new partnership with The Service Collaborative strengthens our ability to care for the park system today.”
The gift is a continuation of Delaware North’s long history of financial and volunteer support of the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy. Since 2017, the company has contributed more than $450,000 to the conservancy for numerous mission-critical projects, and the company’s team members volunteer annually within the parks during Earth Month.