ALFRED, NY - The Alfred University Athletics Department has been awarded a $25,000 grant to develop hiking and biking trails in the Jericho Hill fields in the Town of Alfred.
The grant, from the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Legacy Funds, was awarded by the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo. Alfred University was among 98 Western New York organizations sharing in more than $2 million in grants.
Paul Vecchio, director of athletics at Alfred University, said construction is tentatively set to begin this summer, with hopes it will be completed by next spring. The trails will be large enough to accommodate bicyclists, hikers, joggers and walkers from the University and local communities. Vecchio added that the University will utilize the trails as a practice and competition course for its intercollegiate cross country teams.
"This is another significant step in our goal of utilizing the nearly 40 acres of land that the University owns on Jericho Hill," Vecchio commented. "Those goals include creating more opportunities for the greater Alfred community and these new trails will move us forward in that goal by providing additional trails - to complement the existing cross country course developed over the past several years."
Vecchio said he is hopeful that during the winter, the trails and surrounding fields will be used for snowshoeing and cross country skiing. He thanked Jason Amore, vice president of University Advancement, and Tim Heckman, assistant director of Capital Projects/Facilities Operations, for their roles in helping secure the grant. He also expressed appreciation to the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo, "for seeing this grant as a way to create more recreational and healthy options for those in Allegany County and surrounding areas."
The Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Legacy Funds endowment was created in 2016 in honor of Ralph C. Wilson Jr., late former owner of the Buffalo Bills. Community Foundation-awarded grants support areas that were important to Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Wilson during his lifetime: caregivers, community assets, design and access, and youth sports. Alfred University received its grant in the area of design and access.
