Brush Up Buffalo, a not-for-profit, all-volunteer organization focused on revitalizing City of Buffalo neighborhoods, announced Saturday, June 17, 2006 as the date for its 10th anniversary once-a-year house-painting event. The organization plans to paint 20 houses occupied by low-income City of Buffalo homeowners in a to-be-determined neighborhood.

Since its inception in 1996, Brush Up Buffalo has contributed to the revitalization of neighborhoods that are important to the future of Buffalo by painting more than 190 homes. For this year’s event, the organization seeks additional program sponsors and 800 day-of-event volunteer painters. Last year, in approximately four hours, more than 500 volunteers painted 15 homes in the Kensington-Bailey area.

 “Our goal for 2006 – this milestone year for Brush Up Buffalo – is to increase our impact on the community we care about so deeply,” said Roseann Scibilia, president of Brush Up Buffalo. “We are particularly grateful for our current sponsors and in-kind donors, and now need about $1 5,000 more to adequately fund the painting operations for 20 houses. More importantly, we need the continued support of Western New Yorkers to register for the June 17 event. Year after year, Brush Up Buffalo continues to be a worthwhile and rewarding experience for all involved. And thanks to everyone’s combined efforts, after this year’s event we’ll have helped more than 200 homeowners revitalize their properties."

Sponsors-to-date for Brush Up Buffalo 2006 include Citizens Financial Group, East Hill Foundation, Ford Motor Credit, Lantrax Corporation, McGraw-Hill and UPS. Sponsors who provided $500 or more of in-kind donations for last year’s event included the Boy Scouts of America, Business First of Buffalo, Delaware Camera, Happy Ice, Perry’s Ice Cream, Russer Foods, Try-It Distributing and Upstate Farms.

Interested sponsors or volunteers are asked to visit www.brushupbuffalo.org for more information or contact the organization by phone at 716-250-3353. The fundraising preferred deadline is April 28, 2006, and painting volunteers are encouraged to sign up by May 26, 2006.