More than 200 Delaware North associates came together to do right at this week’s United Way of Buffalo & Erie County Day of Caring.
The team was Delaware North’s largest in 19 years of participating in the Day of Caring, nearly doubling last year’s total. The group split into several smaller teams, tackling projects at eight different nonprofits throughout the Western New York community. Delaware North’s culinary team at KeyBank Center also contributed, donating and serving breakfast and lunch to each of the day’s 3,000 volunteers.
Delaware North’s volunteer team represented several of the company’s locations around Western New York, including its global headquarters in Buffalo, the Amherst Campus, Hamburg Gaming, Buffalo Niagara International Airport, Niagara Falls State Park and The Westin Buffalo. The company’s leadership was also well-represented, with Co-CEOs Jerry Jacobs Jr. and Lou Jacobs and Executive Vice Presidents Frank Mendicino, Jim Houser, Maureen Sweeny and Chris Feeney all participating.
“Delaware North has called Western New York home for more than 100 years, and it is important that we continue to give back to the community that has given so much to us,” Co-CEOs Jerry Jacobs Jr. and Lou Jacobs said. “The Day of Caring is always a rewarding experience, and to volunteer side-by-side with more than 200 of our colleagues this year was especially fulfilling.”
Volunteers served at several organizations with a focus on hospitality. At the Food Bank of WNY, a group sorted and packed food items, while a second worked to clean up the shoreline of Scajaquada Creek with Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper. Another group delivered meals to the homebound elderly with Meals on Wheels for WNY, while still another taught wellness and nutrition to children at the YWCA of WNY. Two groups tackled painting and maintenance projects at the Buffalo Therapeutic Riding Center and Goodwill, another group stuffed backpacks at the Salvation Army, and the eighth group set up for an upcoming festival with Buffalo Niagara Heritage Village.
Delaware North’s efforts were lauded by both the United Way and the nonprofit agencies
that the volunteers served.
“It’s not an exaggeration to say that your team was the hardest working large group in memory,” Robbyn Drake, senior program manager of community engagement for Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper, said in a follow-up email. “We made a big impact today.”