Wilson also helped feed the community.

Wilson also helped feed the community.
“This is truly a sad day for Buffalo,” said Mike Billoni, public and community relations director of the Food Bank of Western New York.
He pointed out that the Wilson Family Foundation and the Bills organization have been helping the Food Bank for more than 20 years, and that “we became
almost like family with the Wilsons.”
He recalled the time in 2008 when the Fan Food Drive was under way during a game at the stadium. It usually raised $12,000 to $15,000, and Ralph Wilson
usually matched the donations.
“A couple came up to us with a check and asked if Mr. Wilson would match it. It was for $100,000,” Billoni said. After a visit to the owner’s box, and an
answer of “Absolutely!” from Wilson, the Food Bank had one of its best drives ever, collecting about $220,000.
“People didn’t realize what a huge heart he had for the people of Western New York, and he didn’t want any credit. He just wanted people to be taken care
of,” Billoni said.
The list is long of Wilson’s other charitable endeavors, including college scholarships, help for the SPCA, and donations to the University at Buffalo
Department of Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine, which treated some of the Bills’ players. The foundation also gave $1 million in 2010 to support Kaleida
Health’s adult day care centers in Amherst and North Tonawanda, and the Visiting Nurses Association.
As Roswell’s Johnson said, “Everything Mr. Wilson did, he did with passion and vigor and enthusiasm. He was a very special man.”