It is time to announce the winners of the 2024 Preservation Awards!
We have 12 awardees this year that span across preservation advocacy, preservation craft, residential restoration, commercial restoration, emerging preservation leaders, lifetime achievement, and more. We will be highlighting each of the awardees over the next few weeks – to entice you to attend our award ceremony on Thursday, May 30th at the Buffalo History Museum. You can get your tickets here.
Preservation Advocacy, Erie County
Our Erie County Preservation Advocacy winner goes to Buffalo Mass Mob!
Buffalo Mass Mob was formed 10 years ago by Christopher Byrd, Danielle Huber Murtha, and Greg Witul (and former members Alan Oberst and Arthur Kogutowski) to bring awareness to our grand churches throughout Buffalo and Western New York.
About Buffalo Mass Mob: Due to declining attendance, area churches are closing at an alarming rate. Mass Mob aims to increase attendance one church at a time to raise awareness and appreciation for these grand religious works of art while also raising money so congregations can do critical repair work to maintain their buildings. Since inception, there have been more than forty places of worship visited including those that are not Catholic. Buffalo Mass Mob has hosted other fundraisers to help with much-needed repairs, such as the BuffaLovejoy fundraiser to help St Peter and Paul Orthodox Church get a new roof.
An advocacy idea for others – Mass Mob was such a popular idea, that it even spread to other cities such as Cleveland and Detroit. For those looking to start their own Mass Mob, on their website, there is a “start your own mass mob” section that details how to make one happen.
From our Executive Director, Bernice Radle:
Our sacred spaces are in crisis. We get calls daily to assist with research, the need for funds to repair their buildings, and more. We love what Buffalo Mass Mob is doing specifically because it is a direct-action effort by the community. The “mob sheet” on their website inspires other communities to take the lead, too! I love it when a small but mighty idea comes to ligfe – bringing significant resources to these churches. I hope Buffalo Mass Mob will continue for many years to come! Thank you to all the team for their hard work and dedication to our sacred spaces!
For more information on Buffalo Mass Mob, check out : https://buffalomassmob.org/