EAST AURORA, N.Y. (WIVB)– A local organization is receiving a major grant to further its mission of ending rural poverty.

The Rural Outreach Center is located just south of East Aurora.

It’s been helping people throughout Western New York since 2013.

The center is receiving $334,000 from The Mother Cabrini Foundation.

Executive Director Frank Cerny tells us the money will be used to spread its model of uplifting people who’ve fallen on hard times.

“We will essentially put together a manual, could be video, could be manuals, could be booked, and whatever to describe our model which is an empowerment model. That helps move people from dependency to self-sufficiency.”

Frank Cerny, Executive Director, Rural Outreach Center

You can learn more about the Rural Outreach Center, click here.

Cerny says the center is currently raising money to construct a new home base near East Aurora.
He’s hoping to break ground later this year.