Say Yes Buffalo

Say Yes Buffalo Say Yes Buffalo's mission is to remove barriers to educational and career attainment for our youth.

Say Yes Buffalo is a landmark collaboration that brings all sectors of the community together to provide holistic, year-round support to Buffalo Public School District students throughout their K-12 years and beyond. Beginning with the 2012-13 school year, Say Yes Buffalo began implementing support services to address academic, social/emotional and health needs of students in the Buffalo Public Sc

hool District. Services currently available include:
-Scholarships (funded by local, private sources) to attend vocational and/or 2 and 4-year colleges (scholarships are available to graduates of public and charter schools in the city of Buffalo)
-Student monitoring system to ensure students are on track to thrive and successfully graduate high school

Additional services are being rolled out to one-quarter of the District’s public schools each year for the next three years. These services include:
-On-site Say Yes staff person (Site Facilitator) devoted to student support
-After school and summer enrichment programming
-College coaching
-Mentoring programs
-Tutoring and academic assistance
-Legal assistance for families
-Health and wellness supports

Services will be rolled out to schools depending on what Say Yes “Cohort” they have been assigned to. Say Yes and its partners divided the Buffalo Public Schools into four Cohorts, with each including equal representation of high, mid and low performing schools. For more information about Say Yes Buffalo Scholarships and Grants, as well as when specific Say Yes Buffalo services are coming to a specific school visit our website at www.SayYesBuffalo.org.

We are excited to welcome Farwizah Muhammad Farook to the Modern Youth Apprenticeship program. Farwizah will be working ...
08/20/2025

We are excited to welcome Farwizah Muhammad Farook to the Modern Youth Apprenticeship program. Farwizah will be working part time as a Business Operations apprentice with Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo. Say Yes Buffalo is grateful to partner with Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo in providing opportunities for workforce participation and economic mobility for graduates of our Buffalo Public Schools.

When asked what her goals are for her apprenticeship, Farwizah answered, “My goals and hope for my apprenticeship is to excel in everything I do, whether it be academically or professionally at work. I want to use my knowledge and skills to help others and to truly make a difference. I also hope to build strong connections through networking, which I feel will open many doors for me. I hope to move towards financial stability sooner. But overall, I see this apprenticeship as an opportunity to invest in my future for the better, not just for me but for my community, and, most of all, my family."

Learn more about Modern Youth Apprenticeship: careerwisegreaterbuffalo.org

It's back to school season! 🎒📚✏Thanks to Live Well Erie for compiling some of the many back to school events starting to...
08/15/2025

It's back to school season! 🎒📚✏

Thanks to Live Well Erie for compiling some of the many back to school events starting today! We decided to break it down by ZIP code. No matter where you are, there's an event happening to help your kiddos get ready for a great year of learning.

(Please note that the bit.ly links must be written in ALL CAPS for them to work!)

🎉 Last week, we celebrated the incredible accomplishments of our Spring & Summer 2025 interns and supervisors at our ann...
08/13/2025

🎉 Last week, we celebrated the incredible accomplishments of our Spring & Summer 2025 interns and supervisors at our annual Internship & Career Pathways Luncheon Celebration!

A huge thank you to Rich Products for hosting us once again, and to our amazing funders—Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo, and Hodgson Russ LLP—for making this work possible for our Say Yes Scholars in college. ✨

This season, 19 Scholars secured 20 internships (one intern even took on two!) and we supported 5 more Scholars who gained experience in the court system. At the Luncheon, interns shared powerful reflections on their growth, and we were inspired by two program alumnae who are now mentoring the next generation.

We’re beyond proud of every intern and grateful to our dedicated employer partners for investing in Buffalo’s future talent. 🙌 If you are an employer local to Buffalo and are interested in providing paid internship opportunities to Say Yes Scholars, reach out to Johanna Caplan at jcaplan@sayyesbuffalo.org to have a conversation!

The new apprentices of CareerWise Greater Buffalo's Modern Youth Apprenticeship program have completed Apprenticeship Un...
08/07/2025

The new apprentices of CareerWise Greater Buffalo's Modern Youth Apprenticeship program have completed Apprenticeship University and are now ready to start working toward their industry certificates with our higher education partners and hands-on learning with their employers. We are excited to introduce Cohort 4. The are 9 bright, innovative, and eager- to- learn young professionals:

Aliziah Figueroa | M&T Bank | Bank Teller Apprentice | Villa Maria College

Farwizah Muhammad Farook | Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo | Business Operations |Villa Maria College

Jah’Nari Smith | M&T Bank | Business Operations Associate | SUNY Erie

Keion McGlothin | Walsh Duffield | Marketing Apprentice | Villa Maria College

Nyshaiha Willams | Tops Markets | Grocery Manager Apprentice | Villa Maria College

Sahmari McAdory | Lawley Insurance | Personal Insurance Apprentice | Villa Maria College

Seven Pentelton | M&T Bank | Business Operations Associate | Villa Maria College

Xavier Reed | Rich Products | Culinary Apprentice | SUNY Erie

Click the link below to learn more about the Modern Youth Apprenticeship Program:
https://www.careerwisegreaterbuffalo.org/

Looking for members of the class of 2025 who are seeking help to 🚀 their careers! Are you enrolled but not sure you've c...
08/06/2025

Looking for members of the class of 2025 who are seeking help to 🚀 their careers!

Are you enrolled but not sure you've completed everything to get your Say Yes scholarship?
✅ We got you!

Need help applying for financial aid?
✅ We got you!

Don't know what college programs or job training programs are available to you this late in the game?
✅ We got you!

Yesterday we celebrated the induction of nine new apprentices who were hired with amazing local employers like Community...
08/01/2025

Yesterday we celebrated the induction of nine new apprentices who were hired with amazing local employers like Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo, M&T Bank, Lawley, TOPS Friendly Markets, Walsh Duffield Companies, Inc., and Rich Products Corporation. They’ll be working part-time over the next 2-3 years while taking college coursework to complete a certificate or associate’s degree. Upon successful completion they’ll have access to full time roles making at least $45K.

We also saw seven apprentices complete our program and take the next steps in their professional journey. Some are already working full-time, others plan to further their education.

We thank all of our employer partners and higher ed champions, SUNY Erie Community College, Villa Maria College, and Hilbert College who make this work possible.

Many thanks to some of our funders who flew in to celebrate with us — Ivy Sullivan and Sandra Bleckman. You make this all possible by investing in our work.

Together, we’re changing the narrative of what success looks like for Buffalo’s emerging talent. We can’t wait to see what they do next!

America York Power Authority

Say Yes Buffalo’s Workforce Development team is grateful to the Supervisors of our new cohort of apprentices in the Mode...
07/23/2025

Say Yes Buffalo’s Workforce Development team is grateful to the Supervisors of our new cohort of apprentices in the Modern Youth Apprenticeship (MYA) program for taking time to visit the apprentices during Apprenticeship University's Meet Your Supervisor Day last week. For many apprentice/supervisor pairs, this is their first encounter. Through guided ice breaking activities, apprentice/ supervisor teams learn more about their counterpart’s communication, collaboration, listening, leadership, and learning styles while also getting to know more about each other on a personal level. Apprentices and supervisors also engage in defining the ‘Why?’ of their participation in the Modern Youth Apprenticeship program. This is a declaration they will refer to in challenging times and to help create goals for development.
We are excited to watch these relationships continue to blossom in the coming months!

We had an amazing time Bowling with the Say Yes Alumni Network at SPARE Lanes on Friday evening! From laughter to strike...
07/21/2025

We had an amazing time Bowling with the Say Yes Alumni Network at SPARE Lanes on Friday evening! From laughter to strikes and even a few gutter balls, the night was full of fun, connection, and community. Thank you to everyone who came out — we love seeing our alumni show up and show out. Until next time! 💚💙

Give716 kicks off tonight—and you won’t want to miss these drops! 🎉🔹 At 7:16 PM, the first 3,000 donors will score an ex...
07/15/2025

Give716 kicks off tonight—and you won’t want to miss these drops! 🎉
🔹 At 7:16 PM, the first 3,000 donors will score an exclusive Give716 T-shirt.
🔹 At 8:00 PM, the first 100 donors will unlock a chance to receive a Josh Allen jersey!

Set your alarms and get ready to give big—these limited drops go fast.
Wondering what else you could receive for giving during specific times? Stay tuned and watch our posts closely for more surprises!

Donate here: https://give716.org/share/give716/101/charities/say-yes-buffalo-scholarship-inc

We are excited to participate in this year's Give 716. Fundraising will begin at 7:16 p.m. tomorrow, Tuesday, July 15 an...
07/14/2025

We are excited to participate in this year's Give 716. Fundraising will begin at 7:16 p.m. tomorrow, Tuesday, July 15 and will run through 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, July 16.

The goal of Give 716 is simple: to unite Sabres and Bills fans with the Western New York Community in an epic day of giving! Nonprofits deliver for our community every day, so let's come together as one team, for one day, and become a symbol of generosity not only for our local community, but for the world. Give 716 will bring together individuals, groups and businesses in support of any nonprofit headquartered or providing services in one of eight counties to include Erie, Niagara, Orleans, Genesee, Wyoming, Allegany, Cattaraugus and Chautauqua.

Please support our organization with a donation during this year's Give 716 with this link:https://give716.org/give/give716/give716/2025-give-716/charities/say-yes-buffalo-scholarship-inc/checkout (If you wait until tomorrow, you can get some fun incentives and matches!)

We are thrilled and honored to be participating amongst so many organizations who are also doing incredible things to make our community a better place!

Address

1166 Jefferson Avenue
Buffalo, NY
14208

Opening Hours

Monday 8:30am - 5pm
Tuesday 8:30am - 5pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 5pm
Thursday 8:30am - 5pm
Friday 8:30am - 5pm

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Say Yes Buffalo posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Practice

Send a message to Say Yes Buffalo:

Shortcuts

Share