Legislators Lorigo, Dixon meet with Cornell Cooperative Extension’s first Primetime interns

Erie County Legislators Joseph Lorigo and Lynne Dixon met with some of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Erie County’s (CCE Erie) 4-H Youth Community Action Network (CAN) teen leader interns, who were the first to be supported by Erie County’s Primetime Funding Program, and found the experience was extremely successful.

 

Before the end of each school year, Erie County provides funding to various organizations to support summer programming for youth, which is known as Primetime Funding. This was the first year that CCE Erie, based in East Aurora, was chosen to receive funding and utilized the grant to provide hands-on experiences for seven at risk youth. The interns were placed at several sites, including Mercy Nursing Facility at OLV and Legal Services for the Elderly, Disabled, and Disadvantaged of WNY.

 

Legislator Dixon visited Mercy Nursing Facility to meet with intern Donovan Wallace, a Lackawanna resident and student at Global Concepts Charter School, to learn more about how the Youth CAN program has helped him in his pursuit to becoming a physical therapist. Interning two days a week at the facility this summer, Wallace helped run the exercise program for the residents, leading them through the workout.

 

“Donovan is extremely focused and is already talking about his plans for college, possibly locally at the University at Buffalo. He spent his summer gaining useful experience. When I talked to him about interning with elderly residents, he said he enjoyed helping them, noting how nice and kind they were. Mostly, he liked that he could help them,” said Legislator Dixon. “Seeing firsthand how the Primetime Program impacted Donovan’s life is extremely beneficial in recognizing how we can best utilize that funding. Together we can keep our youth on the right paths.”

 

As the program was coming to a close, Legislator Lorigo met with Felissa Masumbuko, 4-H Youth CAN Teen Leader Intern and Global Concepts student, to learn more about her internship with Legal Services for the Elderly, Disabled, and Disadvantaged of WNY.

 

“Legal Services for the Elderly, Disabled, and Disadvantaged of WNY does great work for our community and I was pleased to learn they were partnering with CCE Erie to work with youth through Primetime Funding. Through the program interns received hands-on experience that will benefit them throughout their professional careers. Felissa impressed me, taking full advantage of the opportunity and wouldn’t have been able to have this experience without Primetime,” said Legislator Lorigo.