A sunny day of fun at Canalside was the backdrop for Explore & More and M&T Bank’s announcement of the expansion of their partnership to include a capital investment in the new museum at Canalside, and Explore & More’s assistance with first-grade curriculum for Westminster Community Charter School in the Buffalo Promise Neighborhood. These new investments bring M&T’s total commitment to Explore & More to over $500,000.
“We’ve been committed to Explore & More’s mission since the beginning, and the Museum’s expansion and relocation to Canalside is a great springboard to broaden our partnership for the community and for the children of Western New York,” said Shelley Drake, Senior Vice President of M&T Bank and President of the M&T Bank Charitable Foundation. “As a community-focused bank, we work together to help our neighbors flourish and our customers succeed.”
M&T will be sponsoring the café in the new Explore & More Children’s Museum at Canalside, which will be situated adjacent to the canal towpaths and able to serve both Museum patrons and Canalside visitors.
The Museum’s educational exhibits and programs have incorporated play into learning for the last two decades—an approach M&T wants to add into the curriculum at the Westminster Community Charter School.
“This unique partnership will expand on the innovation and imagination already taking root in our schools, bringing the latest in experiential learning to young children and their families in our community,” said David K. Chamberlain, Vice Chairman of the Westminster Foundation and CEO of Buffalo Promise Neighborhood.
“Experiential learning is at the heart of what we do, and this is an exceptional opportunity to extend the classroom and curriculum to benefit students and teachers,” said Explore & More CEO Douglas Love. “We are grateful for our longstanding partnership with M&T Bank, and believe that this expanded relationship will benefit both organizations and the community by positively impacting Buffalo’s children.”
