MPAC-WNY is pleased to announce 2015 Community Service Awards. Please join us on Saturday, June 13, 2015 at the Eleventh Annual Banquet of MPAC-WNY to honor two distinguished citizens of WNY for their dedicated service and commitment to improving our region in so many ways. Banquet tickets are available at www.mpacwny.org.
Rev. Dr. G. Stanford Bratton, Executive Director of NRC, The Network of Religious Communities (NRC) is an association of religious denominations and organizations serving Western New York in many ways including fostering cooperation within and between communities of faith and operating an emergency food pantry and providing food stamp assistance in Erie and Genesee Counties.
None of this would be possible without its dynamic, but humble, CEO & Executive Director, Rev. Dr. G. Stanford Bratton. He is founder or co-founder of Buffalo Coalition for Common Ground, the Erie County Coalition Against Casino Gambling, the Coalition for Police and the Community and the Roll Call Against Racism. He is recipient of several national and local awards including the National Catholic Broadcaster’s Gabriel Award for TV Production and Edward H Rhodes Award for Outstanding Leadership in Urban Ministry from the American Baptist Churches, American Jewish Committee, Buffalo State College and the Martin Luther King Jr. Annual Celebration.
The second honoree is a true Buffalonian, Zaid B. Islam, who attended Canisius College and graduated from Buffalo Urban Center, studying sociology specializing in deviant behaviors. He is one of the founding members of the Western New York Chapter of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, currently its Vice-President. He is the President of the Fruit Belt Homeowner and the Tenant Council he organizing a weekly food pantry for the underprivileged. As the Chairperson of the Orchard Community Initiative, he brings many programs and services to the public, including establishing a computer lab. He also serves as an Islamic chaplain at the Niagara County Correctional Facility. His passion has been his family and community service. Mr. Islam has received a number of awards and we are delighted to present the Community Service Award to him at the annual banquet this year.