Community Academic Center Celebrates Fifth Anniversary

In 2011, Buffalo State opened a little storefront with a big agenda: to support cradle-to-career programs for children and their families on Buffalo’s West Side. That storefront, the Buffalo State Community Academic Center (CAC), is celebrating its fifth anniversary on Thursday, December 1. The CAC will hold an open house as part of “Peace, Love, and Grant Street,” the neighborhood’s annual holiday festival.

“We hope people will stop in and see what we have going on,” said CAC program director Maureen McCarthy, The CAC, located at 214 Grant Street in Buffalo, will be open to the public from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. Visitors can help to make small gifts for children of refugees, such as welcome signs and blankets.

The CAC came into existence thanks to the generosity of longtime Buffalo State supporters Eleanore Woods Beals, '50, and her husband, Vaughn Beals. In the five years of its existence, the CAC has helped more than 10,000 children and families.

Its success is due to its unique structure. The CAC builds partnerships with community organizations and schools to provide services that promote education and health. It also offers classes for English-language learners and helps immigrants prepare for the United States citizenship exam. Buffalo State students help to provide those services through the college’s service-learning programs. These programs provide students with hands-on experience that offers two benefits: a more thorough understanding of academic subjects and the opportunity to apply classroom theory to practical situations.

“Both Buffalo State and the community have benefited from this relationship,” said McCarthy. “We’re very grateful to our community partners and the faculty and students who have built a strong relationship between our campus and our neighbors.”