Amazing quality work. I'm very pleased with the result. I…read morebrought in a pair of chanel flats that were damaged by another local cobbler, he was able to fix the damage, re-sole the bottom and buff out the scuffed leather on the toes. Absolutely beautiful, they look brand new again. They will last many more years. HIGHLY recommend !!

Always remember to stop in and see what he's been working on. He's got great vintage pieces all the…read moretime. He performs cobbler miracles to those classic pieces, shoes and bags alike. Is it made of leather? He can likely make it even better!

A comprehensive resource center for Veterans in Western New York. NOT affiliated with the VA, this…read morenon-profit offers career counseling, referrals for homeless Veterans, a clothes closet, & a bank of computers available for job search. There is also a large common room with a large TV. Coffee and tea are always available. Paula's Doughnuts donates several dozen almost every day. Paula takes care of the Vets.

From the owner: The Veterans One-stop Center is a nonprofit that makes it easy for Veterans and their families to…read moreget the help they need in one place. We offer support with housing, benefits, mental health, fitness, peer support, and the transition back to civilian life. What makes us unique is that any Veteran can come to us, no matter their status. There are no barriers, no appointments, and no confusing steps. Just walk in and get connected to real help. We serve 13 counties in Western New York and focus on making every visit welcoming, respectful, and helpful. Most of our funding goes right back into programs for Veterans, so the support you get is our top priority.

On the corner of Hertle and Commonwealth is Dress for Success. Open perhaps a week. Looks…read moreterrific. They take donations on Wednesday's. Boutique open afternoons weekdays. So if you have some good work clothes you don't use, consider dropping them here. Shoes and purses too.

I first found out about the Massachusetts Avenue Project when I was looking for place near me to…read moredrop off kitchen compost. MAP is one of the drop-off locations for the City of Buffalo's residential food scrap collection program. If you'd like to participate, you can bring your scraps any time and look for the orange bins on the outer side of the fence. But MAP is more than just a place to drop off compost. It's an urban farm on the West Side that provides job and leadership training for low income youth. It also hosts cooking classes and gardening workshops, and a seasonal farm stand. You can also rent space in their farmhouse and/or commercial kitchen as well. I believe you can contact the org to request a tour of the farm (suggested donation $5), though I got a chance to see the grounds and go inside the farmhouse during MAP's annual seedling sale, where they also had outside vendors. Even though we didn't buy any seedlings (my recent track record with plants is not so great), it was still a fun visit. My three-year-old was interested in MAP's resident chickens, the demonstration beehive, and in the baby cows that were visiting the farm that day. We also purchased some food from one of the outside vendors, and some honey made by MAP's own bees. I'd definitely recommend being on the lookout for other MAP events if you're interested in locally grown food or edible gardening.

This is for M.A.P.'s farm location; 389 Mass. Ave. Went here for a visit with a bunch of other…read moreteachers to learn more about the organization and what they do. M.A.P. is an urban garden that is trying, very successfully IMO, to fill a "food drought" that is on the west side of Buffalo. They sell fruits, vegetables, fish, eggs and even chickens for awhile. Cool garden items: -They have two awesome aquaponic system to raise the fish and filter water. -Cool sized compost heap. -9 city house plots but you can't tell the size just from looking at the front For a $2 suggested donation, someone will show you around and answer all your questions!

The American Red Cross is more than just blood drives and there are some great volunteer…read moreopportunities available.  I am a volunteer  for disaster services and volunteer recruitment. In these roles, with proper training I am able to deploy to a variety of disasters or other catastrophic events. We've had people deploy to areas such as Puerto Rico after the hurricane,  the midwest after flooding and even here in WNY when a shelter is opened the Red Cross is there to respond. This doesn't apply to just large impact events as the Red Cross will come in and provide assistance after a house fire.  As part of the disaster services team additionally you can train to participate in a variety of community and education opportunities such as Sound the Alarm where applicants get 3 FREE smoke alarms installed in their residence (no requirements) and receive fire safety education. Additionally there are opportunities such as the Pillowcase Project where volunteers come into school and discuss disaster preparedness at a school age appropriate level and provide a pillowcase to the students to help them be better prepared or at the adult level you can be a preparedness educator providing adults and teens with disaster preparedness education that covers topics like natural disasters, manmade disasters and active shooter. You'd be surprised how much supplies you should have on hand to be ready for just a few days.  90% of the work completed by the Red Cross is done by volunteers! That includes a variety of roles well beyond my own experiences above. You can provide administrative assistance in the office,  volunteer for blood services by scheduling appointments and working the check-in table or providing transportation. Furthermore there are fundraising volunteers, volunteer recruitment volunteers and services to the Armed Forces.  If you want to learn more, be a recipient of a service such as Sound the Alarm or interested in becoming more involved and make a difference in your community and beyond I highly recommend you check out: https://www.redcross.org/volunteer/become-a-volunteer.html

Give blood every 56 days... You can save up to three lives with every donation!!!…read more I've been donating my blood since I was 16 years old, even though I needed parental permission at that age. Even before that, I would go with my Dad every time he donated because I thought it was such an easy way to give back. Since moving back to Buffalo, I've been donating as close to every 56 days as I possibly can, in order to maximize the number of lives I could potentially help to save! Have you given blood? Have you helped to save a life? Some blood types are rare, meaning all the more reason that everyone should try to give blood - at least once! I understand giving blood isn't for everyone but I hope people at least try it once before they dismiss it altogether... ...especially because there are such great places to donate in the Buffalo/Western New York area. Whether it's a roaming blood drive or the American Red Cross site on Delaware Avenue, I've never been disappointed giving blood with the Red Cross. When I'm not donating at UB's North Campus, I frequent this National Red Cross. It's clean, there are plenty of snacks, coffee, water, juices, etc. and their hours are wonderful. They're open six days a week now - closed on Wednesdays of all days! I was in and out in less than an hour. Another thing I like about the Red Cross (as an added bonus) is their tokens of appreciation for donating blood. Sometimes they give away t-shirts and sometimes they have monthly raffles such as gift cards for gas. While this review is about donating blood, this Red Cross is home to other opportunities as well - CPR/AED training, disaster relief, and more! Check it out!