EARTH DAY CELEBRATION PRESENTED BY OMEGA MENTORING PROGRAM

Released: April 19, 2024
For more information contact: Cedric Holloway, Executive Director at (716) 444-6078

The community is invited to an Earth Day Celebration hosted by the Omega Mentoring Program from 5:00 PM – 7:30 PM on Monday, April 22 at the Johnnie B. Wiley Amateur Athletic Sports Pavilion (1100 Jefferson Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14208). This event is a partnership with Friends of Reinstein Woods Nature Preserve, the Erie County Environmental Management Council, the Erie County Department of Environment & Planning, and the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation's Reinstein Woods Environmental Education Center.

This family-friendly event will feature several area community groups offering environmentally friendly activities including:
• Reuse and Recycling opportunities:
​ – bring gently used sports equipment to be reused in the community and used household
batteries for recycling
• Displays of new technology – including nine different electric vehicles;
• Information about green jobs and community initiatives;
• Craft activities, give-aways and food samples.

This Earth Day celebration will begin with a short awards ceremony featuring the annual Erie County Environmental Management Council’s 2024 Environmental Excellence Award winners and the WNY Stormwater Coalition’s Rain Barrel Painting Contest featuring several of the award-winning rain barrels painted by students from Erie and Niagara Counties.

Attendees can also learn about and enter the WNY Earth Day Challenge, which encourages residents to celebrate Earth Day by learning about the environment and taking actions locally. For every Earth Day Challenge activity completed, including attending this Earth Day Celebration, participants are entered to win prizes, such as a $500 gift card for outdoor equipment sponsored by the Air & Waste Management Association – Niagara Frontier Chapter, a year-long membership to the Buffalo Museum of Science, visits to Penn Dixie, a rain barrel, a home weatherization kit, zero waste kit, bluebird boxes, gift cards and more. For more information: erie.gov/wnyearthdaychallenge.

“The Omega Mentoring Program is thrilled to be partnering with both the County and State to highlight the ways we can work together to protect our planet and our health” said Executive Director Cedric Holloway. “We welcome all to join us at this Earth Day Celebration.”

The Omega Mentoring Program is an organization of committed volunteers and mentors who inspire and motivate at-risk youth toward college through one-on-one mentoring. Mentors nourish a sense of pride, self-confidence and competence in their mentees, which leads to greater success in family, social, academic and business situations. All school year the students in the program have been actively learning about Climate Action through site tours, presentations and volunteering. This part of their program is supported by Erie County, Friends of Reinstein Nature Preserve, and Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo.

For more information about the Earth Day Celebration, Earth Day Challenge and Omega Mentoring Program visit:
https://reinsteinwoods.org/events/earth-day-at-johnnie-b-wiley-sports-pavilion/
https://www.facebook.com/events/1109647940299442?ref=newsfeed
www.erie.gov/wnyearthdaychallenge
https://www.omegamentoring.com/
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