Buffalo Maritime Center (BMC) is a 501c3 non-profit educational Institution. In the larger social context BMC functions as an intergenerational community center where Volunteers of all ages are trained to mentor young people in practical life skills during the regular work week, after school and on weekends.

Using boats and boatbuilding as the lure the Center is a safe place for kids and adults where the traditional values of self-discipline, self-sufficiency and a craftsman like attitude are intrinsic to the work of building a wooden boat.

In practice Staff and Volunteers are organized to offer hands on traditional skills classes and workshops that focus on wooden boats and boatbuilding for academic credit, for technical arts education in grades 5 through adult education levels, and to the general public for quality of life improvement in the community. A core belief at BMC is that there is dignity and joy to be found in performing good meaningful work with our hands.