5/14 Response Resource Sharing

In response to the anti-Black hate crime that took place on Saturday, BMAN has started a resource thread on our Facebook community page. Members are posting updates to this thread, which you can view here even if you do not have a Facebook account. This page will organize the available resources, opportunities to get involved in response to this shooting, and donation pages.

We will continue to send our regular newsletter twice a month and will continue uplifting these resources in each edition. To join the newsletter mailing list, follow this link or email buffalomutualaid@gmail.com.

Other Resource Threads

In addition to what we’ve listed below, Colored Girls Bike Too has put together a list of links with many donation and signup opportunities, which you can find here. Black Love Resists in the Rust (BLRR) has also put together an extensive resource list here.

GoFundMe has put together a list of current fundraisers, which you can find here.

For updates to emergency response efforts, please follow @ColoredGirlsBikeToo & @BLRRBuffalo on Instagram.

Immediate Needs/Events

Sign Up to help with pop-up food distributions

Starting May 19th, every Thursday at 5:30pm and every Saturday at 1:30pm, BLRR and Colored Girls Bike Too, two local Black owned and operated racial justice organizations, are going to be hosting emergency food pop-ups at different locations around the East Side. You can sign up to volunteer at the food pop-ups with this link. See the Colored Girls Bike Too Instagram for further information on pop up locations, times, and volunteer sign up: @coloredgirlsbiketoo.

The first pop-up will be hosted at the corner of Jefferson Ave. & Utica Thursday (5/19/22) at 5:30pm.

BLRR’s Food & Mental Health Donation Fund

If you would like to make a monetary donation to support the emergency food pop-ups and mental health micro-grants (mentioned later in this newsletter), please follow this link.

Support BLRR’s Campaign to Decolonize Urban Spaces & Mobility

Please support BLRR’s goal to change the NYSERDA Clean Neighborhood’s Grant Application to include solutions that (1) emphasize anti-racist solutions, (2) prioritize multi-sector approaches, (3) deliver intentional benefits, (4) build community capacity, (5) be community-driven at every stage, and (6) establish paths toward wealth building

Add your name to the letter here.

Note: You can add your name only as a suggestion, and BLRR will add your name to the document officially at a later time. Please add your name at the bottom of the page.

Buffalo Community Fridge Update

The community fridge at 257 E Ferry St has received a lot of attention since Saturday and had to stop accepting donations of money on Sunday. On Monday 5/17, they asked that all food donations go to FeedMore WNY at 91 Holt St. Please also redirect your monetary donations to organizations like Black Love Resists in the Rust , Colored Girls Bike Too (Cashapp $coloredgirlsbiketoo), Rooted in Love Inc. , and WNY Mobile Ops.

Normally, the community fridge accepts donations of fresh produce, milk/eggs/cheese, formula/baby food, juice, water, and labeled cooked meals (no raw meat). Please keep the fridge in mind moving forward and follow them on Facebook or Instagram for updates on when they are accepting donations again.

Volunteering with FeedMore

Please see this LinkTree from FeedMore WNY to sign up to help with different food distribution events.

Showing Up for Racial Justice

Text from SURJ: “After the racist attack in Buffalo, NY that killed 10 people in a Black neighborhood, many of us are asking ourselves what to do in response. The white supremacist ideology embraced by the murderer was the result of decades-long strategy of the Right to organize white people to align themselves with white supremacy. As white people, our role is to out-organize the Right in white communities by bringing massive numbers of white people into multiracial movements for justice. Join SURJ and our partners on the ground in Buffalo to grieve the senseless deaths- and hear about how you can plug into the work of fighting white supremacy.” Sign up here for the meeting today. SURJ’s monthly meeting is next Thursday, May 26th, and you can sign up for that here .

Food Assistance

Food and Mental Health Support Request

This form is for ongoing Food and Mental Health support. In conjunction with Colored Girls Bike Too and several other organizations, BLRR is hosting multiple food pop ups per week in various Black neighborhoods as we know this Tops serviced most of Buffalo's Black community. BLRR is also organizing hot food popups and both hot food and grocery deliveries to folks who fill out the form.

Buffalo Creek Academy Food Deliveries

If you live in the area around the Jefferson Ave Tops, you can sign up at this Google Form to get free food delivered to you, or to get assistance getting food from the grocery store. Updates about further services offered will be posted to their Facebook page here.

You can donate here to the Buffalo Creek Academy to help them continue providing these services.

FeedMore of WNY Statement

“On Monday, May 16, from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m., a food distribution will take place at the Resource Council of WNY, located at 347 E. Ferry St, Buffalo, NY 14208. Distributions will continue to take place at the Resource Council of WNY from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Sunday, from May 17 through May 25.

Anyone who is looking to donate food and resources to assist with these distributions may drop them off at the FeedMore WNY warehouse located at 91 Holt Street, Buffalo, NY 14206 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, and from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday. FeedMore WNY and the Resource Council of WNY currently are requesting donations of nonperishable protein items, shelf-stable fruits and vegetables, beverages and snack items. Toilet paper and related personal care products, as well as diapers, are also in need.

The community is encouraged to call FeedMore WNY at (716) 822-2002 for questions related to donating or receiving food assistance. FeedMore WNY will continue to provide more details in the coming days as they become available.”

Transportation Assistance

In support of the community served by the Jefferson Ave. Tops, NFTA-Metro is suspending fare collection on routes #12 Utica, #13 Kensington, #18 Jefferson, and #24 Genesee for the remainder of May.

Tops is also running shuttles from 10am – 7pm daily from Jefferson Ave & Riley St. to the nearby Tops on Elmwood Ave.

Lyft and Uber are also providing free rides

• Use code BuffaloLyftUp for free Lyft rides up to $25 in 14208 and 14209 zip codes. Up to 8 rides to and from Tops Friendly Markets (425 Niagara St, Buffalo) and Price Rite (250 Elmwood Ave, Buffalo).
• Free Uber Rides - Use Code SHOPBUF to get up to $20 off a ride in 14202 & 14209 zip codes. Receive a free ride up to $20 to and from Tops Friendly Markets (425 Niagara St, Buffalo) and Price Rite (250 Elmwood Ave, Buffalo)

Mental Health Resources

Many mental health resources are also listed on Page 5 of the BLRR resource list linked again here.

BLRR Micro-Grants

Black Love Resists in the Rust will provide up to $500 for Black people impacted by recent events. These mini-grants can be used to support anything mental health related. Sign up here.

Free Trauma Counseling at 1100 Jefferson Ave

At the Wiley Center at 1100 Jefferson Ave, free trauma counseling will be offered every day (until at least 5/26) from 1pm-9pm.

ECMC Virtual Help Center

More Mental Health Resources may be coming out in the coming days. Please follow @voicebuffalo, @ColoredGirlsBikeToo, & @BLRRBuffalo on Instagram for updates.

More Donation Opportunities

Fund for Access to Mental Health Services and Food

You can donate here to a fund for ongoing access to mental health services and fresh food in the impacted area, organized by Black Love Resists in the Rust.

Donate to Buffalo Creek Academy to fund Food Deliveries

You can donate here to the Buffalo Creek Academy to help them continue providing their food delivery services.

VOICE Buffalo’s Radical Love Fund

From VOICE Buffalo: “VOICE Buffalo’s Live Free and Street Certified coalitions understand the importance of radically loving our siblings who have been impacted by incarceration and unfairness from the justice system. When we look at the injustice of mass incarceration and the current state of all those struggling with incarceration, we clearly recognize the massive inequities, the denial of resources to those in the system, as well as the refusal of adequate care of any sort.

Our Live Free and Street Certified coalitions want to be able to show radical love to these individuals, and those connected to them, by being able to offer Radical Love Funds, or short term financial assistance, that will serve as a positive impact in their lives, and the lives of those around them.”

You can learn more and donate/sign up to receive a grant here.