FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:

BFNC: Jan Peters
856-0363 or 332-8270 (ext 1)

Citibank: Helen Steblecki
(718) 248-4694

Citibank Investment Hailed as First Step to Increase Minority Participation in Buffalo's Bioinformatics Economy

$10,000 Grant Will Fund Initial Efforts to Increase Access and Awareness

Citibank representatives will join community leaders from the Buffalo Federation of Neighborhood Centers, Inc., and the Black Leadership Forum this Thursday to announce a $10,000 Citibank Impact Grant contribution to help ensure access to new bioinformatics employment opportunities for women and communities of color.

The announcement will take place at 10:30 a.m. at the BFNC's Moot Senior Citizen's Center, 292 High Street. It will be followed by a jazz concert sponsored by the Community Music School of Buffalo.

John Dansler, Citibank's Vice President for Community Relations for Upstate New York, said that the grant will act as seed money to hire a part-time consultant. The consultant will help leverage additional monies needed (approximately $150,000 annually) to fuel year-round research, strategic planning and educational initiatives.

"The new bioinformatics economy has the potential to be a great equalizer in our community," said Dansler. "However, it remains a subject that far too many people outside the scientific and academic communities know about or understand. This grant is the first step in leading to full participation of women and people of color in the range of new jobs to be created by the Center for Excellence in Bionformatics, and its related spin-off businesses."

The Buffalo Federation of Neighborhood Centers, Inc. (BFNC), will act as financial manager of the grant, and will provide office space for the new consultant. BFNC, Inc., is a community-based human services provider serving 14,000 persons annually. The agency specializes in empowering the urban poor and the severely mentally ill to achieve their full potential.