EAST AURORA, NY (WKBW) — Last week, The Rural Outreach Center (ROC) fed 220 families with emergency food boxes and turkeys for Thanksgiving.
- ROC connects people with resources for food, housing, and other essentials.
- Participants like Alecia Labar receive support and reassurance for their families' needs.
- ROC has been empowering and helping residents since 2019.
The center has partnerships with several local service organizations, such as the Kiwanis, the Legion, the Moose Lodge, the Boys & Girl Scouts, and Rotary Clubs, to reach people in any community in the South Western New York area.
The community center has reached people from Warsaw to Olean.
Alecia Labar is just one of many participants in the Rural Outreach Center's programs, which connect people with resources for food, housing, and other necessities.
"The ROC helps give me the additional support and backbone that I need to reassure me that I'm doing everything I need to do for the greater interest of my kids," said Labar.
The community center on Olean Road has counseling, play therapy, care coordination, mentoring, and tutoring sessions. They also engage in various programs that help build their confidence and ability to be self-sufficient.
The ROC hopes to inspire empowerment, have people break the cycle of rural poverty, and create collaborations with organizations to optimize people gaining wealth and health.
"I wouldn't have gotten as far as I've gotten with my walk in life and where I am and what I stand up for the small farms and for the food supply that's out there that needs to be out there for the communities," said Gerald George, a rural farmer in Chafee, NY.
The model of empowering people to change their lives works.
Frank Cerny with the Rural Outreach Center (ROC) tells 7 News that since 2019, the community center has helped encourage residents from Olean to Warsaw and everywhere in between by connecting them with food, clothing, and job opportunities.
"So our objective is to find those people and have them find us and then find a way that they can help themselves," said Cerny.
The ROC is a first stop for those who do not know where to get the help they need.
"I'd put them right at the top of the list. I am thankful for them every day," said George.
Read more about what the ROC can help you with here.
