First Niagara provides funding for Isaiah 61 Project

Bank will provide financial support for home rehabilitation

The First Niagara Foundation and the Isaiah 61 Project (a ministry of Global Outreach Mission Inc.) are partnering to provide job training and housing rehabilitation services for residents in the City of Niagara Falls.

The Isaiah 61 Project will target a section of the community that Global Outreach Mission has identified for redevelopment and revitalization. Job training and education will be provided in the construction trades for residents who qualify for the program. Those receiving the training will then work to rehabilitate abandoned homes and turn them into affordable, decent housing. The First Niagara Foundation is providing a $5,000 grant to fund the program and purchase building materials.

"First Niagara is committed to revitalizing Western New York's neighborhoods," said Buford Sears, First Niagara Buffalo market executive. "We're working with the Global Outreach Mission to help meet the needs of families in Niagara Falls - and build toward the future success of this community."

Isaiah 61 Project Manager Jim Haid said, "On behalf of the Isaiah 61 Project, I want to thank the First Niagara Financial Group for their generous financial support toward the mission of our project. A passage from Isaiah 61 reads, 'Rebuilding old ruins, raising up former desolations, repairing ruined cities, giving beauty for ashes.' We are reclaiming our city one home, one family, one person at a time. We thank First Niagara for their ongoing support of our community and those who call it home. It is only when an entire community comes together that we all achieve and succeed."

The Global Outreach Mission Inc. says the Isaiah 61 Project is designed to respond to and provide for the needs of low-income households in the City of Niagara Falls, as those needs arise.

About The First Niagara Foundation

First Niagara Foundation is a not-for-profit corporation founded in 1998. It is committed to supporting organizations in the communities in which members live and work with specific focus on youth and education, community development and neighborhood revitalization. In 2012, the foundation contributed more than $10 million in charitable grants to community partners. For more information, visit www.firstniagara.com/community.