Assemblymember Monica Wallace (D-Lancaster) announced that she secured $5,000 in state funding for Fantastic Friends of Western New York. The announcement was made at Fantastic Friend’s Rock the Runway event held Friday at Salvatore’s Hospitality.

“I want to thank Debbie Cordone and everyone at Fantastic Friends for their commitment to this wonderful organization,” said Wallace. “Fantastic Friends is a place where children of all abilities can get together, build friendships, be themselves, and just have fun. I’m fortunate to have this organization in my Assembly District and honored to be in a position to help support its mission.”

Fantastic Friends of Western New York is a nonprofit, all-volunteer social organization for individuals of all ages with developmental and intellectual disabilities. Based in Depew, Fantastic Friends hosts social events at handicapped accessible locations throughout Western New York at which children and adults can socialize and make new friends and parents can connect and socialize with other parents. Individuals with special needs are paired with a volunteer “buddy” at events to assist them with socializing. Wallace’s funding will allow the organization to increase its presence in Western New York, bringing its life-enriching programs to more families and communities.

“As a volunteer organization, our work relies on having community partners who believe in our work and support our mission,” said Debbie Cordone, founder and president of Fantastic Friends of Western New York. “Fantastic Friends appreciates the support of Assemblymember Wallace as we work to bring our programming to more Western New Yorkers and create new friendships.”

Since taking office, Wallace has established herself as an effective advocate for the disabilities community. Earlier this year, Wallace secured state funding to install the first ADA-compliant playground equipment in Cheektowaga. Additionally, Wallace has been an outspoken advocate for the bFair2DirectCare campaign to provide overdue financial stability to direct support providers.