Community partners are banding together to expand the 5/14 Day of Service, which this year marks four years since 10 Black shoppers and employees of the Jefferson Avenue Tops were killed in a racist mass shooting.
Managing director of Clementine Gold Group, Kim LaVare, one of the organizers of the day of service, joined BTPM NPR's Jay Moran on Morning Edition to preview the day's volunteer initiatives across Buffalo's East Side.
JAY MORAN, HOST: Tomorrow, 5/14, the fourth anniversary of the racist attack on the Jefferson Avenue Tops that claimed 10 lives. There are a lot of events being planned around the city of Buffalo, including the 5/14 Day of Service and Remembrance. Here to talk about it with me this morning, Kim LaVare the managing director over at Clementine Gold Group. Kim, thanks for being with us.
KIM LAVARE, GUEST: Thanks for having us.
MORAN: It's a great to have you. And thank you very much for doing this again this year.
I know last year you had quite an event. You had a scattering of volunteers who committed to a day of service and nice activities on East Utica Street as well. Larger this year?
LAVARE: We are much larger this year. So last year, you know, we put things together, and we had about 75 volunteers, and this year we are over 600.
MORAN: Wow, 600 volunteers. What will they be doing?
LAVARE: So from 9 p.m. to 2 p.m. are acts of service. So folks will be all across the East Side, whether it's garden plantings, cleanups, we're putting together, staff bags for high point, as well as like building bouquets with some of the elders and the residents at HighPointe [on Michigan Health Care Facility].
And we also have a new initiative. It's called the Good Neighbor Fix Up. So we're working with the City of Buffalo and their Office of Citizen Services and identifying homes where there may be someone who has some different mobility needs, or who may be an elder who needed support to stay in their home. Maybe they were getting cited over fencing or brush or things like that. So we were able to meet with those folks, talk about the scope of work that they might have, and then pull together a team.
So we're actually working with the Local 210 and Local 276 as well as some construction firms; Buffalo Construction consultants and 716 Ministries pulling together those OSHA certified teams to do the work, to just help folks be able to age in place, and also to just feel excited about their neighborhood and have pride in their home because they're able to see the changes that they wish could be done.
MORAN: And it's something we really have heard about, right? That a lot of the homes, a good amount of homes on the East Side some are run down. Need a little investment, whether it's a capital investment or some really what sounds like some extensive TLC.
LAVARE: Yeah, I think that we all know at this point, home ownership can really be a barrier if you don't sort of have that pot of money for upkeep, and we're just trying to do what we can to really just instill pride and think about beautification. Also using a lot of those programming around things like CPTED [Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design], which talks about what your environment does and how you feel about where you live.
Acts of Service: 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Acts of service that honor lives lost and tragedy survivors.
- Run Supplies for Volunteer Day
- Volunteer Day Set Up
- Serve Food at the Community Gathering
- Community Gathering Support
- Good Neighbor Fix-Up
- Intergenerational Storytelling
- Support a Food Pantry
- Show Gratitude to HighPointe’s Nursing Staff
- Spread Joy with Flowers at HighPointe in Honor of Ruth Whitfield
- Help Clean Up Jefferson Avenue
- Lend a Hand at the Kat Massey Pocket Park Clean-Up
- Mulberry Street Garden Clean-Up and Planting
- Help Fill a Community Fridge
Tops Friendly Market Memorial Ceremony: 2:00 p.m.
1275 Jefferson Ave, Buffalo, NY 14208.
MORAN: We're talking with Kim LeVare from the Clementine Gold Group about tomorrow's 5/14 Day of Service and Remembrance. It's great that you've got 600 volunteers. That's awesome, but you guys also had a nice street event last year. You're going to be doing it again this year, right?
LAVARE: We are. So from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. we will be on East Utica and between Jefferson and Hoff, and that will be our community event. We like to start the day in service and end in community. So we'll have a variety of activities going on there.
We're working with Home Beneath Our Feet, on their micro greens program. So that means everyone that attends will be able to leave with a kit to grow fresh food in their area. So whether it's in your front yard, backyard, however it might work out, but trying to make sure that that connection to access to healthy foods is really important for us.
Community Gathering: 3:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Free, family-friendly space to reflect, restore, and reconnect with your community on E. Utica Street, between Jefferson Avenue and Dupont Street.
- Live music from Tru Journey
- Local food vendors
- Kids Zone: bubbles, chalk, books, art table
- Card Games in Honor of Celestine Chaney
- YMCA's ‘Y on the Fly’ van
- Microgreens workshop
- Creative Wellness Community Art Project
- Patterson Legacy Lounge in honor of Heyward Patterson
MORAN: There's a lot of other activities, and we can't get into all of them right now, our time is limited, but your group talked this over with families of the victims of 5/14?
LAVARE: Yes, we did. We met with a majority of the families, those that wanted to have something to honor their loved ones. A lot of folks picked their activity that they wanted. So we have some things going on during the community gathering, like a card tournament in honor of Celestine Chaney.
We also have transportation for folks in some of the apartment complexes in the area who may not be able to attend otherwise, and that's in honor of Heyward Patterson, because he was a jitney.
MORAN: Is there a place we can find out more information?
LAVARE: Yes, you can go to clementinegoldgroup.com/5-14.
MORAN: Thanks very much for joining us on Buffalo Toronto Public Media.
