Kurt Vogt was looking for a senior project - the capstone of his four years at Canisius College. He went to the Office of Community Based Learning and learned about community organizations seeking volunteers. Interested in NHS of South Buffalo's programs, he contacted us and offered to create a documentary as a service-learning project.
Through the following semester, Kurt spent eighteen hours shooting video footage with the weatherization crews. Cutting through the footage and stitching together the video took another twelve hours, but by then he had put together a a complete mini-documentary.
Said Shyrl Duderwick, who worked with Kurt, "It was quite refreshing, because we deal with this daily, to have an outside perspective on what we do. Kurt had a real appreciation for the skill sets - the kindness and professionalism - of the workers."
"There are so many people who don't know what's available," says Kurt on his role in advertising the weatherization program. And his impression of NHS of South Buffalo? "They really try to help the people who need the most."
The first time NHS staff saw the completed documentary was at a Canisius awards ceremony where seniors displayed their final projects. Kurt now hopes to be a freelance videographer and production assistant. If you're interested in working with him, send an email to kvogt64@yahoo.com or call him at (716) 998-0793.
