For Release:       Immediate – February 25, 2016

Contact:              Jerry Gretzinger, Vice President of Strategic Communications and Public Relations ­

(518) 956-7359 |  jgretzinger@sunypoly.edu

SUNY Poly Raises $3,300 for Guilderland Fire Victims

Donations still being accepted online

SUNY Polytechnic Institute today announced it has raised approximately $3,300 for the victims of a fire that destroyed a Guilderland home on January 24, 2016.  Two adults and four young children lived in the home, which is located in McKownville, just 1 mile from the Albany NanoTech Center.  All six residents survived. Four required treatment at SUNY Upstate Medical Center.

SUNY Poly launched a campaign to encourage support for the fire victims and created an online donation page in addition to accepting cash contributions on site. Nearly $3,300 was raised through individual donations from students, faculty, staff and alumni and will be added to a fund at KeyBank that was created on behalf of the family.

“We are deeply committed to our communities and standing with those in need.  The SUNY Poly family has come together in a wonderful show of support for our neighbors and I’m extremely proud of that,” said Dr. Alain Kaloyeros, President and CEO of SUNY Polytechnic Institute.  “I hope this contribution can play at least a small role in helping the victims get back on their feet and pledge our continued partnership with our communities.”

The residents of the home at 7 Ayre Drive included 40-year-old Daniel Morrissey and his two sons, Aidan, 6, and Tyler, 5.  Morrissey's sister, 51-year-old Christine Sawyer, also lived in the home with her grandchildren Michael, 6, and Giovianni, 3.  Their mother Amanda Sawyer also lived at the home but was not home at the time of the fire. The home and its contents were a total loss.

“The outpouring of support for the two families involved has been tremendous,” said family spokesman Mark Malone. “To learn that the people of SUNY Poly have come together and raised money to help them rebuild is just fantastic.  The family has been informed of SUNY Poly’s efforts and is so very grateful – it’s beyond words.”

SUNY Poly’s online donation page will remain active through the end of March.  The donation page can be reached by clicking  here or entering the following address into your web browser.

https://suny_poly_foundation.formstack.com/forms/morrissey_sawyer_campaign

Any additional monies raised will be contributed to the victim’s fund at KeyBank in Albany.

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SUNY Polytechnic Institute. SUNY Polytechnic Institute (SUNY Poly) is New York’s globally recognized, high-tech educational ecosystem, formed from the merger of the SUNY College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering and SUNY Institute of Technology. SUNY Poly offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in the emerging disciplines of nanoscience and nanoengineering, as well as cutting-edge nanobioscience and nanoeconomics programs at its Albany location and undergraduate and graduate degrees in technology, including engineering, cybersecurity, computer science, and the engineering technologies; professional studies, including business, communication, and nursing; and arts and sciences, including natural sciences, mathematics, humanities, and social sciences at its Utica/Rome location. Thriving athletic, recreational, and cultural programs, events, and activities complement the campus experience. As the world’s most advanced, university-driven research enterprise, SUNY Poly boasts more than $43 billion in high-tech investments, over 300 corporate partners, and maintains a statewide footprint. The 1.3 million-square-foot Albany NanoTech megaplex is home to more than 4,000 scientists, researchers, engineers, students, faculty, and staff, in addition to Tech Valley High School. SUNY Poly operates the Smart Cities Technology Innovation Center (SCiTI) at Kiernan Plaza in Albany, the Solar Energy Development Center in Halfmoon, the Children’s Museum of Science and Technology (CMOST) in Troy, the Central New York Hub for Emerging Nano Industries in Syracuse, the Smart System Technology and Commercialization Center (STC) in Canandaigua, and the Photovoltaic Manufacturing and Technology Development Facility in Rochester where SUNY Poly also leads the American Institute for Manufacturing Integrated Photonics. SUNY Poly founded and manages the Computer Chip Commercialization Center (Quad-C) at its Utica location and also manages the $500 million New York Power Electronics Manufacturing Consortium, with nodes in Albany and Rochester, as well as the Buffalo High-Tech Manufacturing Innovation Hub at RiverBend, Buffalo Information Technologies Innovation and Commercialization Hub, and Buffalo Medical Innovation and Commercialization Hub. For information visit www.sunycnse.com and www.sunypoly.edu.