CAO of WNY hosting Autumn Festival events to share COVID-19 relief services, spaghetti

The Community Action Organization of WNY (CAO) is hosting an Autumn Festival today to help Head Start/Early Head Start parents or guardians impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Families can learn about CAO’s COVID-19 relief services. Lunch will be provided.

CAO CEO L. Nathan Hare said he wants the community to know of the resources available through the CARES Act, the Community Services Block Grant, and programs the agency runs.

“CAO’s Autumn Festival aims to inform our community that we are here to help,” Hare said. “We can decrease the unemployment rate across Western New York by connecting low-income families with job training and opportunities. We have so many resources available for our community’s immediate needs.”

CAO’s Employment and Training Director Joseph Milazzo has been collaborating with companies across the region to communicate job opportunities to job seekers.

“There are many jobs available across Western New York that are full-time within manufacturing, health care, customer service,” Milazzo said. “We are here to connect the public to these opportunities and any guidance they need along the way.”

CAO staff will be present Friday to provide information on job opportunities, mortgage and rent relief services, and other COVID-19 relief services available to those financially impacted by the pandemic.

Head Start/Early Head Start parents or guardians can stop by select Head Start sites Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. to pick up spaghetti dinners for their family and to learn about CAO’s COVID-19 relief services. CAO staff and volunteers will be available until 2 p.m. to provide information and connect families to services.

CAO Autumn Festival will take place at

• Ferry Academy, 909 E. Ferry St., Buffalo
• Infant of Prague Academy, 921 Cleveland Drive, Cheektowaga
• St. Agatha Academy, 75 Abbott Road, Buffalo

CAO staff will be available to discuss the following COVID-19 relief services:

• Employment and training
• Rent and mortgage relief
• Utility assistance
• Emergency food resources
• Senior care services
• School-aged child care
• Crisis help
• Drug addiction
• Mental health
• Parent/student advocacy
• Block club development
• Business development

CAO has a five-pronged strategic approach to fight poverty, which includes community health, economic empowerment, educational advancement, neighborhood revitalization and workforce development. The organization developed its COVID-19 relief services based on a COVID-19 community needs summary, which can be found here.

The Community Action Organization of WNY was designated in 1965 as the official antipoverty agency for Erie County, with a mission to serve the unmet needs of the low-income populations. Today, CAO serves more than 50,000 families and individuals within Erie and Niagara counties through a variety of programs and services. Visit caowny.org for more information.