Buffalo, NY—Today, Mayor Byron W. Brown announced a new partnership between the City, the Buffalo Public School System, and the Buffalo Bills to launch a public awareness and community empowerment campaign that will encourage people to complete their census questionnaire, register to vote, help close the digital divide, and support law enforcement initiatives in the City of Buffalo.
Mayor Brown said, “I want to thank the Buffalo Bills players who took the lead in advancing this partnership, Terry and Kim Pegula for supporting the players’ efforts, and Superintendent Kriner Cash for working together to help address some of the issues that we must solve to make our City a more just, equal, and fair one that lives up to the ‘City of Good Neighbors’ reputation we have worked so hard to establish.”
The initiatives were selected by Bills players because of the immediate impact they can have on the community and fostering greater racial justice and equality. Bills players and the Pegula’s have committed to donating funds that will help provide technology solutions to approximately 4,500 Buffalo School students who have been unable to access their on-line learning resources because of digital infrastructure gaps.
Superintendent Cash said, “Thank you to Terry and Kim Pegula, the Buffalo Bills, and to Mayor Byron Brown, for recognizing the equity and inclusion needs of our families in the generous spirit they have become known for. Education, Empowerment and Equity are an essential triad for the historically disenfranchised among us. I salute the effort, and I know I speak for the Buffalo Board of Education and all of our students and families in offering profound gratitude for this important initiative.”
In addition to supporting these three initiatives, the Buffalo Bills players expressed their support for the Mayor’s police reform efforts under the Buffalo Reform Agenda. The players’ support for the “#8cantwait” campaign, the tenants of which are included in the Buffalo Reform Agenda, is what led them to announce their endorsement of Mayor Brown’s efforts to reform police practices in Buffalo. Information on the Buffalo Reform Agenda, including a list of new policies and procedures included in this effort, can be found on the City’s website: buffalony.gov.
