Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Wednesday will be a special day at Sahlen Field.
Flag Day at the Ballpark will feature a pregame VIP reception to benefit Veterans Post Restoration.
"Wednesday, Flag Day, what a perfect day to have this opportunity to have this take place here," says Mike Noah of Bank On Buffalo. Noah and CEO Michael Perduzzi presented a $10,000 donation to Veterans Post Restoration at Monday's news conference announcing the event. "What better cause to help the veterans that have done so much for us over the years, active and retired. It's just amazing. We're home of the free because of the brave because of these men and women. And it means so much so it's a wonderful cause for us to get involved with and to be part of," adds Noah.
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The Bisons will host Wednesday's pre-game fundraiser at Consumer's Pub at the Park. The Bisons' Brad Bisbing says There's a 7:05pm game against the Syracuse Mets. "More importantly is what we do before that, to help us support this great cause we have a VIP reception here with another hero, David Bellavia. There'll be dinner, you can get a copy of his book "Remembering the Ramrods, and you can buy those tickets for half price" through a special link.
Jerry Kowalski of Veterans Post Restoration of Erie County says veterans are a family. "We're a brotherhood and veterans talking to brothers. Even the Iraq and Afghanistan guys come to the post, talk to your brothers. We understand we know we've been there," Kowalski says.
Many posts were built before ADA laws took effect and this project helps make them more accessible to the disabled. "At my post the American Legion Donovan Post in Cheektowaga, we needed some electrical work done. Our building was built in 1953 which means the building and the electric was very old. We had the veteran post restoration fund come in and we had new electrical lines put in and upgraded our circuit breaker panels to make the place safer for for the guys," says Kowalski.
The most recent project was at the American Legion Post 735 in West Seneca. He says there bathrooms were expanded and a ramp was built to allow those with wheelchairs to get inside.
The next project is the Marines Post detachment in Lackawanna. "It's a three story building. The main problem is getting to the second floor and the third floor. So all the meetings are held downstairs in the basement, basically, because that's the only way you can get into the building. What we plan to do is maybe put in an elevator system to make it usable for the second and third floors," explains Kowalski.
