ONONDAGA — Onondaga County recently awarded Green Hills Farms grant funding of nearly $500,000 to help pay for improvements to the grocery store in the Valley section of the town of Onondaga.

The $485,000 award will help pay for a façade, improvements to its entrance, signage, and lighting, Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon said in announcing the funding on Oct. 27 at the small business located at 5933 South Salina St. in Onondaga. 

The Green Hills Farms funding represents the largest grant of a total Onondaga County investment of $559,000 in small businesses in the Nedrow area of the town of Onondaga.

That $559,000 will lead to $186,000 of private funding matching the investment, resulting in an influx of capital of about $750,000 as part of Onondaga County’s Main Street program, according to McMahon. 

“The county will be working with the Town [of Onondaga] and give the Town $363,000 and Green Hills will match with $121,000,” he added.

“When we went through the last 19 months, we really focused in on COVID, and we focused in on the public-health perspective of COVID. But we always knew there was going to be other impacts of the pandemic and what we’ve forgotten is how this pandemic impacted day-to-day [operations of] small businesses throughout the community and how it impacted Main Street,” McMahon said. 

He also noted how he would get feedback from Bud Kennedy, general manager at Green Hills Farms, and the leaders of other grocery-store chains during conference calls about the status of their operations. 

The funding for the grants comes from Onondaga County’s federal COVID-19 stimulus funding, he added. 

Additional Onondaga grant recipients

Besides Green Hills Farms, neighboring businesses will also benefit from the grant funding.

Ferris Motors, at 6901 S. Salina St., will use its $86,000 grant, which the business will match with $29,000, to pay for a retaining wall, new siding, paint, and fencing.

E.C.K. Tree & Outdoor Power Products, at 7000 South Salina St., will use its $56,000 grant for a new fascia and soffit (parts of a roof), commercial doors, paint, and a replacement of deteriorated pavement. E.C.K will provide a nearly $19,000 match.

EJ’s Auto at 6605 S. Salina St. will use a nearly $25,000 grant and its own match of more than $8,300 to replace the façade and doors on the business.

CNY Glass Block at 6704 S. Salina St. will receive a grant of more than $15,600 with its own match of more than $5,200 to replace two old planters and install new fencing.

Colonial Laundromat has plans for a sidewalk-replacement project with its grant of $12,000, which it will match with $4,000 of its money. 

“We challenged our partners at the local level and towns and villages to come up with plans … where we can support Main Street and support the businesses so that we can help revitalize different corridors, and the Town of Onondaga had a great plan,” McMahon said.                  

SYRACUSE — Their names are on the building that houses Syracuse University’s (SU) National Veterans Resource Center (NVRC), which includes the Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF).

Daniel D’Aniello, an SU graduate and life trustee, and wife, Gayle, have donated $30 million to the IVMF. 

The donation is meant to “secure the future and long-term success of the IVMF,” Syracuse University said. 

Daniel D’Aniello — a U.S. Navy veteran — is a 1968 graduate of SU. He’s also co-founder and chair emeritus of The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG), a private- equity firm.

“The IVMF is doing the kind of groundbreaking work that is vital to understanding and breaking down the barriers facing veterans and their families as they transition from military service to civilian life,” D’Aniello said in a statement. “The institute’s innovative programs and services provide veterans an opportunity to find a meaningful career or launch their own business. In turn, our nation’s veterans and their families contribute to their communities and serve their country in new and profound ways. Gayle and I are honored to support this work that is taking place at the University that means so much to us.”

The donation, which builds on the D’Aniello family’s $20 million gift in 2018 to help construct the NVRC, will support the creation of an endowment to provide annual operational support for the IVMF, “ensuring it remains the nation’s leading academic institute focused on the concerns of America’s more than 20 million veterans and their families,” Syracuse University contended in a news release. 

SU on Nov. 3 dedicated and formally opened the NVRC and marked the IVMF’s 10-year anniversary. 

With the D’Aniellos’ donation, Forever Orange: The Campaign for Syracuse University — a $1.5 billion fundraising campaign — has topped $1.048 billion in funds raised, the school said.

“Dan’s love for Syracuse University goes beyond alumni loyalty or the responsibility as a trustee,” Syracuse University Chancellor Kent Syverud said. “The D’Aniellos are invested in our vision for serving veterans and military-connected families. It is impossible to measure the ripple effect that his leadership and support have had on our community. Thanks to the D’Aniellos, Syracuse University’s commitment to veterans will continue to grow, to aspire to new and better programs, and to make a tangible difference to those who have served our nation.”

J. Michael Haynie, vice chancellor for strategic initiatives and innovation, created the IVMF. Haynie credits the support that Syracuse University has received from the D’Aniello family for making it possible for the IVMF to provide training, educational programming and community-based services to more than 160,000 veterans and military families since its founding in 2007.

Founded in 2011, the IVMF has grown to become “one of the most influential centers” of thought leadership, research and programming focused on the nation’s veterans and military families, SU contends. The IVMF “designs and delivers” programs — at no cost to veterans, military-connected individuals and families — focused on vocational skills training, career preparation and business ownership, while also conducting actionable research, policy analysis, and advocacy. 

With the support of public- and private-sector partners, the IVMF also works in communities across the U.S., supporting efforts to help veterans and their families navigate the transition from military to civilian life, SU said.