Grand Island Cultural Center surprised by unexpected donation

Story and Photo by Alice Gerard

Senior Contributing Writer

Karen DeGlopper, treasurer of the Buffalo Launch Club Mates, said the old St. Stephen Roman Catholic Church building holds special significance.

“I was baptized in here, so it has a lot of personal meaning to me that we were able to raise funds for this church,” she said. “I was always afraid that they would let it go or tear it down, and I hated seeing that happen. So, I’m excited that they’re getting it back in shape again.”

On Dec. 18, the Buffalo Launch Club Mates donated $1,330 to the Grand Island Cultural Center, located in the former St. Stephen Church.

“We raised (the money) with an event, which was a Las Vegas night at the Launch Club. It was an event for the members, and we opened it up to the public, also. It’s a yearly event for fundraising,” said Josephine Ciffa, president of the Buffalo Launch Club Mates. “The event was fabulous.”

The Las Vegas night event, which featured a Bills Mafia theme, was held Sept. 20. It featured casino-style gambling, food, a cash bar and a basket raffle.

The objective of the Buffalo Launch Club Mates, Ciffa said, is “to promote and establish sociability among the women members of the Buffalo Launch Club.”

Frank Burkhart, secretary of the Grand Island Cultural Center, said the donation was completely unexpected.

“We were out here working on the stairs, and Josephine and her husband, Vinny, stopped by,” Burkhart said. “I didn’t even know who he was. He told me who he was, and I said, ‘Oh, yeah, I know your wife.’

“ ‘While we were at your “Rockin’ the Grounds” event, we saw what you guys did downstairs,’ ” Burkhart reported Vinny saying. “ ‘We’re running this event, and we’d like to make you guys be the beneficiary of it.’

“That caught us by surprise. We’re thrilled. Just for a perspective that the goal of the Cultural Center is to bring together different groups on Grand Island and bring together a sense of community. A large part of that is giving. That’s what the Launch Club is doing. That’s what we’re doing. We’re trying to give back to the community and make this building a place where the community can gather for all sorts of things. It’s great to have somebody step forward unsolicited from the community to do that.”

Burkhart also talked about the musical, “Joseph and Mary,” by Jerry Cahill and Jim Ineson, which was recently presented at the Grand Island Cultural Center. The retelling of the Christmas story was produced by the Parish Players and BelleIsle Entertainment. Burkhart noted the play was the first event offered at the Grand Island Cultural Center, which is still undergoing renovation.

“That was wonderful,” he said. “It was a perfect play to put on at Christmas as the inaugural event. The inside of the building … the downstairs, as you know, has been completely renovated.”

Funds from the Buffalo Launch Club Mates’ donation, as well as funds from “Joseph and Mary,” “will go to renovating the inside of what used to be the church, the sanctuary. So, our next goal is to get that renovated,” Burkhart said.

Funds from “Joseph and Mary” will also be donated to the Neighbors Foundation.

“We were not planning on doing (‘Joseph and Mary’). We had a member of the community, Karen Conboy, who approached us and said, ‘We have this play, and it would be a perfect fit for this building.’ And she convinced the board to pull out all the stops to get a certificate of occupancy for the upstairs and to finish the outside and all that,” ,” Burkhart said.

“We were not planning on doing anything until we were completely renovated. Now, we’re looking at other options, because we don’t have quite enough money to finish the inside. The painting alone will be about $30,000. We’re going to replace the floor, which is probably another $25,000. Even though we have a good start on that, we still need to raise funds.”

Burkhart said the Grand Island Cultural Center recently received a $20,000 grant from M&T Bank – “That will go a long way toward painting.”

There are currently no upcoming events scheduled at the Grand Island Cultural Center.

“One of the ideas we’re kicking around is doing a concert in the church. To be determined after the new year,” Burkhart said. “We have a lot of people to expend and a lot of energy getting us to this point, and everybody’s taking a break right now for the holidays. We’ll regroup after that to figure out our next steps.”