Lily of the Valley
Peg Overdorf and the VCA keep the soul of South Buffalo alive
By Larry Brooks
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Peg Overdorf.
Photo by Jim Bush. |
The VCA began in 1968 as a grassroots group, provoked by vandalism and determined to build a community center in the neighborhood. Councilman Dan Higgins, father of current-day Representative Brian Higgins, obtained funding to build a center and gym, but the first incarnation of the project did not include the fledgling VCA, so they occupied a storefront and began offering complementary programs. Peg Overdorf joined the group in 1976 and became its director in 1979. Tired of storefronts, she approached the city, proposing to run the official center. The parties agreed to a six-month trial in 1979. In 1980, with the help of United Way, the VCA took over operation of the center.
In 1988, then-mayor Jimmy Griffin funded a senior citizens’ addition to the center. Today the program provides older residents of the neighborhood with socialization, congregation, education, transportation, and recreation. It offers them day trips to popular places, rides to doctor’s appointments and shopping, hot lunches, health and wellness presentations and screenings, cards, bingo, and other activities.
In 1998 a state grant allowed the organization to expand into day care. VCA now runs two New York State licensed childcare centers—one in the center, one in the Larkin Building—for kids six weeks to twelve years old, plus Universal Pre-K. The VCA also offers a youth services program, “Striving for Excellence,” with programs for children in grades K-12, after school, into the evening, and throughout the summer. Activities include homework help, computer and art classes, physical education and sport leagues, a Nature Ed-Ventures science program, meals, field trips, community service projects, family events, social clubs, dance classes, and mentoring and counseling. They assist students and their parents in learning about selecting, applying to, and financing high schools, vocational schools, and colleges. Twenty-six different educational institutions, including charter and Catholic schools, participate. Overdorf says, “There’s not a lot of violence in this neighborhood, and we’re part of the reason for that.” There is also a family support service that includes a food and clothing pantry, résumé services, job referrals and postings, social agency information and referrals, and more.
In 1996, the VCA created the award-winning Valley Nature Park and Habitat Trail connecting the center on Leddy Street with the Smith Street Park. Overdorf “saw mounds of dirt in Cazenovia Park and called P. J. McParlane of the City of Buffalo. He said, ‘you can have the dirt if you can move it,’ and then I called Mike Fronckowiak of Custom Topsoil and said, ‘I have all this topsoil and need to move it.’ So he sent trucks and the city sent a high lift to load the trucks.” Then Overdorf called Mark Kirsch of the Operating Engineers Local 17 and they came with equipment to landscape it all.
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Rendering for a park at Ohio and Michigan.
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“Because I’m from the neighborhood, [my job is] a passion for me. I live in the same house I was born in. It’s not a job, it’s a lifestyle.” She’s had “the same job right out of college. There’s never a day I hate to go to work. Even on my days off, I hop in the car and come down and see what’s going on. The staff’s like that, too—doing their best.” Overdorf’s warm, personal style and bright smiling eyes coax the best out of people. She’s quick, though, to turn the spotlight away from herself to shine on others. “It takes a whole lot of people to accomplish all the things we get done.”
But, clearly, her leadership makes a difference. One day, driving through Buffalo’s East Side, Overdorf “saw empty, modular buildings sitting at Sears and Broadway and I called the mayor and said, ‘I need those buildings.’ The next thing, I received a call from Control Board Head Tom Baker who said, ‘If you can move some over there, you can have them.’” So Overdorf called Bill Bowen of the Ironworkers Local 6 and they made it happen.
The Valley Community Association sponsors the “Old Neighborhood” St. Patrick’s Day Parade, which, Overdorf says, “has grown nearly as big as the downtown parade. It brings back thousands of people with roots in these neighborhoods to recollect the good old days, listen to Irish music, and have some corned beef, beer, and lots of laughs.” Another big event is the Buffalo River Fest: a family festival and fundraiser for the association that includes live music, a heritage tent with vintage photos, a slo-pitch tournament, the Rigidized Metals River Regatta, a kids’ area, food and refreshment, a classic car show and more.
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The site from above.
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This year’s festival will be held June 15-16; most activities occur at Father Conway Park, but this time around there’s something new. The finish of the Regatta will take place at the future site of the Buffalo River Fest Park. This two-and-a-half acre greenspace on Ohio Street is the VCA’s latest, and perhaps biggest, accomplishment. VCA will break ground this year “trying to create a nucleus of attractions to bring people to the river.” When open next year, the park will include seasonal and transient docking, bike and canoe rentals, historic tours, and concessions. It’s funded by Assemblyman Mark Schroeder, the New York State Canal Corporation, the Dormitory Authority, and Bob Kresse of the Wendt Foundation, who helped make acquisition possible.
Overdorf’s irrepressible optimism expands well beyond her own zip code, “If everybody cared about something and took care of it, what a wonderful world this would be,” she says. “Get off your duff and do something.”
The Valley Community Association
93 Leddy Street, Buffalo, 14210
823-4707 / www.thevalleycenter.com
Writer Larry Brooks first met Overdorf for this interview and immediately became a fan, admiring her as a terrific example of a citizen getting things done for the good of her community.
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