Cattaraugus Community Action celebrated its 55th birthday and unveiled a new logo on Tuesday.
In a socially-distanced ceremony on the front lawn of its Jefferson Street headquarters in Salamanca, Community Action officials and several partners renewed their commitment to aid low-income families.
Community Action Executive Director Tina Zerbian thanked those attending including employees, volunteers and CCA board members, community partners and elected local and state officials.
“Fifty-five years ago on this day, CCA was incorporated as a non-profit in the State of New York and designated as the anti-poverty organization serving Cattaraugus County,” Zerbian told attendees. “Innovative minds like the late Joseph Eade, a former county legislator, created this agency in response to President Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty and the Economic Opportunity Act.”
Zerbian said, “Over the next 55 years, like all vibrant living things, this agency has grown. We’ve expanded both the breadth of our services and our reach, and today, CCA offers some level of programming across the five-county area of Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Allegany, Wyoming and Livingston Counties. It was for this reason that we decided to give our agency a new look, and a new brand that is relevant and representative of our broad influence.”
While the name remains Cattaraugus Community Action, it will now be known as CCA: Connecting Communities in Action, Zerbian said.
The new logo and tagline “Building Resilient Communities” was unveiled in front of the headquarters. “The three words truly capture the work of our agency. Our new mission statement reads, “CCA builds resilient communities by helping people achieve economic, physical, and emotional security,” Zerbian said.
Employees “build resilient individuals, families, and communities every day with their programs, like emergency food and shelter, housing rehabilitation and energy conservation, preventive programs for children and families, mental health services, homeless interventions, nutrition and victim services,” she said.
The programs are all listed on the agency’s new website ccaction.org.
State Sen. George Borrello and Assemblyman Joseph Giglio spoke briefly and presented Zerbian with proclamations from the Senate and Assembly. Jacqueline Phelps, deputy district director for Rep. Tom Reed, presented a similar proclamation.
“All the great work you do is not unappreciated,” Giglio said. “It’s an organization of the heart. It’s an organization that wants to help people.” To individuals, CCA is a chance to grow, to become a vibrant part of this community.”
Councilman Sandy Magiera, who spoke on behalf of Salamanca Mayor Michael Smith, who was unable to attend, said it was a blessing when Community Action purchased the old Jefferson Street School “and restored it to what it is today.”
County legislator David Koch of Salamanca also presented a proclamation by County Legislature Chairman Howard VanRensselaer.
Cattaraugus County Social Services Commissioner Anthony Turano noted the partnerships his department has with CCA. “We’ve done a lot of work together over the years” that have raised peoples’ living standards. The county provides an increased share of CCA’s $10 million annual budget.
“The strength of our agency and our programs is based upon the strong connections that have been forged by our staff and our partners,” Zerbian told Turano.
Kerrie Parr, secretary of CCA’s board of directors, looked at the people sitting in chairs six feet apart on the lower lawn and said, “There’s no way we could do all we do without all of you sitting out there.”
Zerbian also thanked Schubert Enterprises for the banner with CCA’s new logo, which was also on cupcakes and T-shirts given out in celebration.
Originally published by the Olean Times Herald.
(Contact reporter Rick Miller at rmiller@oleantimesherald.com. Follow him on Twitter, @RMillerOTH)
