Cantalician Center Presents Russell J. Salvatore with

"Cantalician Community Leader Award" at Annual Celebration Event 

BUFFALO, NY - Cantalician Center for Learning presented Russell J. Salvatore with its Cantalician Community Leader Award (CCL Award) at its annual Cantalician Celebration at Templeton Landing on Thursday, May 23, 2019. The Restaurateur and Philanthropist was presented the award for his recent generosity of a donation worth $200,000 from the Russell J. Salvatore Foundation for Cantalician Center's soon-to-be Russell J. Salvatore Courtyard at its Academic Campus in Depew, New York.

The annual CCL Award is presented to a person or organization in the community that has gone above and beyond their role to ensure the Cantalician Center will continue to provide exceptional service, no exceptions for years to come. The award recipients that proceed Salvatore include: Senator Timothy Kennedy and Matt Wolfe, President of Tri-Main Development.

"We cannot be more thrilled to present this year's CCL Award to Mr. Salvatore. He is one of the most selfless, giving people in Western New York and we are honored that he recently bestowed that generosity onto our organization. The soon-to-be Russell J. Salvatore Courtyard will serve as a safe and educational space for the students we serve, ensuring that we continue to provide exceptional service, no exceptions for years to come. We believe that our ability to do that is a direct result of the giving spirit of Mr. Salvatore," said Anne Spisiak, Executive Director.

About Russell J. Salvatore:He opened Salvatore's Italian Gardens in 1967, which would be designated a Distinguished Restaurant of North America in 2002. In 2008, Salvatore opened Russell's Steaks, Chops & More, which would be named the region's second-best restaurant in a 2018 survey of Business First readers. He donated the land and building for the Trocaire College Extension Center, now known as the Russell J. Salvatore School of Hospitality and Business. In 2012, Salvatore created the Russell J. Salvatore Foundation. He was presented with the Outstanding Philanthropist Award by the Association of Fundraising Professionals in 2015. In 2017, Salvatore donated $1 million to Erie County Medical Center's capital campaign. He has been collecting food and donations for the Food Bank of Western New York for several years through the "Ham-A-Lot" drive. Salvatore's credits also include donations to the Lancaster Educational Alumni Foundation for the Athletics Program at Lancaster High School, Aids Community Services, Buffalo State College, Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, Kids Escaping Drugs, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, the Variety Club of Buffalo, Cantalician Center for Learning, and more.

Cantalician Center is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that offers meaningful, integrated services to hundreds of children and adults with disabilities and people in need across Western New York from birth through retirement through its Early Childhood Community Services, School Age, Preschool, and Daycare services, as well as its Day Habilitation Services, Respite, Employment Services, and Contract Sales through its division Diversified Labor Solutions.

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