All donations to MUC to be matched by Dolce Panepinto, Attorneys at Law through April 30, 2022
Buffalo, NY,– This year, Buffalonians will finally return to the Broadway-Fillmore neighborhood to celebrate their Polish heritage on Dyngus Day. The Matt Urban Center, a non-profit human services organization located in this community, is issuing a call to action for revelers to “Do Good On Dyngus Day.”
The Matt Urban Center celebrates its roots as the Polish Community Center of Buffalo every year on Dyngus Day by hosting a fundraiser for its community programs. This year, every donation to the organization throughout the month of April will be matched dollar-for-dollar, thanks to the generosity of campaign sponsor Dolce Panepinto, Attorneys at Law. Although the Dyngus Day festivities come to the neighborhood but once per year, the Matt Urban Center staff work year-round to provide essential services to community residents and to make Broadway-Fillmore a better place to live.
The Matt Urban Center is named after Lt. Col. Matt Urban, a Polish-American Buffalo native and highly decorated U.S. Army veteran who grew up in the Broadway-Fillmore community. The organization offers a variety of human services programs that support many residents of Buffalo’s East Side, including Housing & Community Development, Weatherization, Senior Services, Youth Services, Permanent Supportive Housing, Homeless Outreach, multiple food pantries, and the Matt Urban Hope Center & Urban Diner soup kitchen. The agency has also spearheaded several community development projects in Buffalo’s East Side over the years, including its most recent renovation of the former Buffalo Public School No. 57 on Sears Street, creating 27 units of affordable, supportive housing in partnership with BestSelf Behavioral Health.
In the spirit of doing good, the Matt Urban Center will donate a portion of the proceeds from this year’s campaign to their neighbors at DNIPRO Ukrainian Cultural Center in support of their efforts to provide humanitarian aid to those adversely affected by the ongoing war in Ukraine.
“The Matt Urban Center exists to serve and support our community on the East Side of the City of Buffalo, generally, and our home base in the City’s historic Broadway-Filmore neighborhood,” said Ben Hilligas, Executive Director. “We cannot do this without the support of the greater community, including our many valued partners in government, philanthropy, and the corporate and professional community. This is a special time of year in a special neighborhood, and one that reminds us of the history of our community. This rich and vibrant history includes new immigrants making a life for themselves, and that history is repeating itself today. We believe that the best days of this neighborhood do still lay ahead and that by respecting and honoring the past while embracing the present and planning for the needs of the future, we can ensure the prosperity and wellbeing of all our neighbors. This year is a little different because, in addition to supporting our clients and neighbors, we feel a responsibility to support our friends at DNIPRO Ukrainian Center who have been working tirelessly to provide resources to the people of Ukraine suffering the impact of war and displacement. We will be donating a portion of our proceeds from this campaign to support the Ukrainian Center’s relief efforts. It is with great humility and appreciation that we recognize all of our partners, and especially Dolce Panepinto for their extremely generous fund matching pledge for this critical Spring campaign.”
“Dolce Panepinto is excited to once again partner with the Matt Urban Center and support the “Do Good On Dyngus Day” initiative by matching every donation made to the initiative during the month of April,” said
Jonathan M. Gorski, Partner at Dolce Panepinto. “As a Polish-American with family members who lived in the Broadway-Fillmore area, I am familiar with the neighborhood and inspired by the good deeds and services provided by the Matt Urban Center to the most vulnerable and needy members of our community. At Dolce Panepinto, through our work representing injured workers, we are keenly aware of the struggles that our fellow Western New Yorkers face and we hope that by supporting this initiative we can make a difference.”
“By revitalizing neighborhoods and supporting wraparound services for families and individuals all over the East side for almost 50 years, the Matt Urban Center changes lives and offers hope to all those they serve — and those they will serve in the years to come,” said Fillmore District Council Member Mitch Nowakowski. “I support the Matt Urban Center every day, but especially on #DoGoodOnDyngusDay so they can continue their mission here in Broadway-Fillmore and all over Buffalo!”
Those interested in contributing to the ‘Do Good On Dyngus Day’ campaign can make a donation by visiting www.urbanctr.org/donate. All contributions made through April 30 will be matched dollar-for-dollar by campaign sponsor Dolce Panepinto, Attorneys at Law. Matt Urban Center also invites its supporters to share a photo on social media showing how they are “Doing Good On Dyngus Day” this year with the hashtag #DoGoodOnDyngusDay. The goal is to show support for the Matt Urban Center and DNIPRO Ukrainian Center, and support Buffalo’s legacy as The City of Good Neighbors.
To celebrate the return of in-person festivities on Dyngus Day, the Matt Urban Center will also have a pop-up tent set up outside its headquarters at 1081 Broadway on Monday, April 18, where refreshments will be sold. All proceeds from sales will go to support Matt Urban Center’s programs, with a portion donated to DNIPRO Ukrainian Center.
For more information on The Matt Urban Center and the ‘Do Good On Dyngus Day’ campaign, contact Ben Hilligas at bhilligas@urbanctr.org or (716) 715-2075.
The Lt. Col. Matt Urban Human Services Center of WNY is a multi-purpose community center located on the East Side of Buffalo. It is our mission to provide programs that revitalize neighborhoods, serve families, and change lives.
