MORE THAN JUST TURKEY: Brian Morin, sales manager at TOPS Friendly Markets, guides us through the basic Thanksgiving checklist and sales aimed to please. Video by Samantha Murphy and Desiree Wiley

IN DEPTH: Grant St. thrift shop offers job training

 289 Grant Street is home to the unique thrift shop called New to You. Run by a nonprofit organization, the New to You Shop offers on-the-job training to the youth they employ as well as helping the people they serve. New to You offers students the opportunity to earn money, help their own community and learn life lessons along the way. By Brian Geerhart and Erica Lindo Full story.

Property values rise in parts of West Side

 West Side & Black Rock-Riverside Neighborhood Housing Services has been tracking home prices in the Grant-Ferry area for over three years. Over the summer, the organization surveyed 96 houses in the Grant-Ferry neighborhood and discovered a 51 percent increase in property values since 2009.
 “From observation, we’re seeing fewer vacancies and a lot of young professionals buying homes. We’re also seeing more young families in our homebuyer education classes,” said Laura Sweat, assistant to the director for resource development and communications.
 Sweat pointed out that while certain areas of the West Side seem to be booming, others are stable and still other areas see properties getting worse.
 Although it recognize there are areas that need improvement, Neighborhood Housing Services is still calling the West Side “inspiring.”
 Sweat said she believes the rise in property values could be attributed to people seeing the West Side is coming back and wanting to be a part of it. By Kaitlin Fritz and Kaitlin Riznyk

Vermont St. center hosts holiday luncheon

 The Westside Community Center is hosting its senior Thanksgiving luncheon on Nov. 24 at its location at 161 Vermont St.
 The senior luncheon is one of five such events held around specific holidays throughout the year, including Easter, Mother’s Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. The Christmas luncheon is open to all Niagara District residents.
 The community center uses programs such as this in order to give residents of the West Side activities for all ages. In addition to other senior programs, the center also has a number of youth programs that focus on education and culture in the area. By Brian Geerhart and Erica Lindo

LEAVES TO MULCH - Mike Scanlon of Buffalo donates his leaves to a recycling program that will benefit Grassroots Gardens of Buffalo. This year, the City of Buffalo and Larden Construction, Inc. are participating in this cost-reducing program that will turn leaves and yard debris in mulch. The mulch will then be donated to Grassroots Gardens, one of which is located on the West Side. Leaf collections begin Nov. 14, will go until Nov. 25 and are scheduled for the same days as garbage pickup. Residents also have the option of donating their leaves at a drop off site. The drop off sites include:
• Cazenovia Park golf course parking lot: south of Seneca Street at the foot of Wildwood Avenue • Shoshone Park parking lot: north off of Hertel Avenue at the foot of Beard Avenue • 1120 Seneca St.: parking lot between Babcock and Smith streets. Photo by Kaitlin Fritz and Kaitlin Riznyk

Church food pantry running low on turkey

 Primera Iglesia Metodista Unida de Buffalo is doing its part to help feed the needy this holiday season.
 The church at 62 Virginia St. runs a food pantry each year, helping support 20 to 40 families in the West Side. The Rev. Alberto Lanzot said that pantry is always low on food.
 “We get pounded,” he said. “We’re open Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The only contact we have is through the food bank. As soon as we fill up, we’re empty.”
 Lanzot said the area the church services is mostly Hispanic and that rice and beans are two food items that are always in demand, though with the holidays coming, they’re also short on turkey.
 “I managed to get 30 (turkeys),” he said, “but we’ll probably need 100 more. We usually give out 200 to 300 turkeys a year.” By Mike Meiler and Julia Merulla

Anti-violence group puts up billboards

 Cries from the West Side community to reduce gang violence among youth rang in the ears of many. In 2009, Buffalo State College answered by establishing the West Side Youth Violence Prevention Coalition.

 Project coordinator Jonathan Lindner focuses on directly involving the community through the coalition’s work.

 “A behavior survey has gone out, which focuses on parent behavior,” Lindner said. “They are the most crucial and critical influence in a child’s life.”

 The coalition was recently awarded a federal grant of $30,000, which will be used to place billboards throughout the 14213 zip code. The billboards will display positive messages aimed to help adults positively influence children.

 “Our role is to expand parenting to anyone who influences a child and our environmental practices are expected to be very successful,” Lindner said.

 The billboards were released Nov. 17. By Samantha Murphy and Desiree Wiley