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Rep. Wild Secures Funding for Nine Community Projects, Totaling $10 Million

July 13, 2021

Rep. Wild secured nearly all of her requested projects, bringing $9.8 million back to PA-07

Today, Representative Susan Wild (PA-07) announced she secured funding for nine of the ten Community Project Funding requests she submitted to the House Appropriations Committee on behalf of community projects throughout PA-07.

"I am proud to deliver vital funding to community projects that will provide much-needed updates, amenities, and support for the people of PA-07," said Rep. Wild. "The pandemic has exposed where our community is need of key investments, so I couldn't be happier that all of these projects are true community endeavors that will ensure hardworking Pennsylvanians are supported and that our community has the tools it needs to build back better."

"Our facilities provide essential services to countless families across the region, particularly during the challenges of the last year, through the pandemic and subsequent economic downturn," said Scott Peckins, Pocono Family YMCA CEO. "I want to thank Rep. Wild for her tireless leadership in fighting for this funding and for the families the Pocono Family YMCA serves."

"The outstanding evidence-based programming of Functional Family Therapy - Child Welfare will be life changing for youth and families throughout Lehigh and Northampton Counties," Mike Ramsey, Clinical Director of Behavioral Health at Valley Youth House. "This funding received through the efforts of Representative Susan Wild's office is transformational for Valley Youth House as we become among the first in the state to provide these services to families with youth ages birth to 18."

"NNC would like to thank Congresswoman Wild for supporting this funding, which will allow us to transition our current NOAA Environmental Literacy Grant-funded community work on weather, climate and environmental hazard topics into a permanent CREATE Resilience Research and Community Learning Hub," said Rachel Hogan, Executive Director at the Nurture Nature Center. "The hub, which will serve the Lehigh Valley and beyond, will engage municipal leaders, residents, high school youth and research institutions on a range of resilience focused education and research initiatives. From youth climate leadership programs, to municipal roundtables, hazards research, and art and science-based community education programs, the CREATE Resilience hub will keep resiliency topics and actions at the center of regional community dialogue."

"I would like to take this opportunity to thank Congresswoman Susan Wild for her leadership in getting 2.9 million dollars for this very important and worthwhile project," said Bethlehem Mayor Robert J. Donchez. "I am very excited that this will assist the Food Co-Op with their permanent location on East Broad Street and to begin to put down roots in our community. The Food Co-Op will serve the Bethlehem community with the needed service of fresh groceries and produce in a walkable area. This project will be an important catalyst in the recently completed Northside 2027 Neighborhood Revitalization Plan."

"The secured funding means even more high-quality support for students across the Lehigh and Northampton Counties," said Kim Schaffer, Executive Director for Community Bike Works. "This money will go towards our ultimate mission – engaging students in youth bike mentoring to ensure they have the tools they need to succeed. Community Bike Works sincerely thanks Rep. Wild for fighting for this critical funding."

"Science education is more important than ever in our rapidly-changing world. We cannot thank Congresswoman Wild enough for investing in the development of a major new science center in downtown Allentown. Federal funding will help ensure that we break ground for the new Da Vinci Science Center at PPL Pavilion in downtown Allentown in early 2022," said Lin Erickson, Executive Director and CEO of DaVinci Science Center. "Thank you for sharing in our vision to expand access to science learning for youth and families throughout the greater Lehigh Valley region. Science literacy empowers individuals, spurs economic development and contributes to a healthy, vibrant community."

"Summer can make or break the education of lower-income kids. While middle- and higher-income peers maintain—or even gain—knowledge during summer breaks, lower-income children lose two to three months in reading comprehension," said Reverend Greg Edwards, President and CEO - Resurrected Community Development Corp, Founder of the James Lawson Freedom School. "By the end of third grade, lower-income children are typically two years behind in reading, due in large part to summer learning loss. Without significant intervention, most who fall behind by third grade will never catch up. The funding received from Congresswoman Wild through the federal Community Project Funding Program for the James Lawson Freedom School in collaboration with the United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley will ensure that hundreds of students and families in the Lehigh Valley have the opportunity to experience the dynamic culturally relevant educational experience that only Freedom Schools provides."

"This funding will go a long way to providing needed improvements to the fire department, including for our emergency shelter expansion, and ensure the Mt. Bethel Fire Department is able to quickly and safely provide for our community," said Dale Handelong, Fire Police Captain at Mt. Bethel Fire Station. "We were glad to show Rep. Wild around our facilities earlier this month to demonstrate the importance of this project."

"We thank Congresswoman Susan Wild and her staff for helping to secure a Community Funding Grant that will establish a City of Allentown, Emergency Operations Center (EOC)," said Allentown Mayor Ray O'Connell. "It is important to be able to prepare for and to respond to events that call upon all of our public safety resources. This will be a huge addition."

"The EOC will serve the city and region as a centralized Command and Control facility for large scale events that require a multi-agency response," said Allentown Emergency Management Coordinator Lee Laubach. "The City of Allentown has long needed the capability to organize emergency responses to search and rescue, Hazmat, bomb and weather-related events. Thanks to the efforts of Congresswoman Wild, we will now have that capability."

All nine of these projects were chosen out of fifty applications submitted to Rep. Wild's office. The application window was quite short, and the award criteria were extremely specific. Despite these challenges, Rep. Wild secured funding for community projects that will support the public good of PA-07. Seven of the nine projects were fully funded at the level of support they requested. Two projects, the Allentown Fire Department Emergency Operations Center and the Mt. Bethel Fire Department Emergency Shelter Expansion were funded to the extent possible by the Appropriations Committee as they require state or local funds to match the federal funds secured for them. The projects are listed below in alphabetical order:

Allentown Fire Department

Project: Allentown Fire Department Emergency Operations Center

Requested Amount: $172,794

Amount Awarded: $129,596 (75% federal/25% state or local match)

Full Street Address of the Intended Recipient: 641 S. 10th St. Allentown 18103

Description and justification for use of taxpayer funds: Equipment, secure communication receivers, emergency back-up power generator, and other necessary items identified by the Allentown Emergency Management Agency Coordinator to establish the region's first Emergency Operations Center in Allentown's renovated fire and rescue training facility.

City of Bethlehem

Project: Bethlehem Food Co-Op

Requested Amount: $2,900,000

Amount Awarded: $2,900,000

Full Street Address of the Intended Recipient: 10 E Church St. Bethlehem, PA 18018

Description and justification for use of taxpayer funds: Store build out, equipment and initial inventory for a new full-service nonprofit grocery store owned by community members on the north side of the City of Bethlehem.

Community Bike Works

Project: Bike Shop Renovations

Requested Amount: $1,400,000

Amount Awarded: $1,400,000

Full Street Address of the Intended Recipient: 921 Spruce Street Easton, PA 18042

Description and justification for use of taxpayer funds: Capital improvements to Community Bike Works' new Easton and Allentown bike shop/youth centers to support the students of Lehigh and Northampton County.

Da Vinci Science Center

Project: Da Vinci Science Center at PPL Pavilion

Requested Amount: $3,000,000

Amount Awarded: $3,000,000

Full Street Address of the Intended Recipient: 3145 Hamilton Blvd. Bypass, Allentown, PA 18103

Description and justification for use of taxpayer funds: Construction for new Da Vinci Science Center location in Center City Allentown, projected to open in 2024, which will expand STEAM activities for Lehigh Valley students, host international science exhibits, and generate an estimated $33 million in local economic activity every year.

Mt. Bethel Fire Department

Project: Mt. Bethel Fire Department Emergency Shelter Expansion

Requested Amount: $450,000

Amount Awarded: $255,000 (55% federal/45% state or local match)

Full Street Address of the Intended Recipient: 2341 N Delaware Drive, Mt. Bethel, PA 18343

Description and justification for use of taxpayer funds: Construction and renovation of the regional emergency shelter, including ADA-compliant bathrooms, new HVAC system, nursing rooms for new mothers, equipment and supplies for the shelter, and showers that can be used in hazardous chemical remediation by firefighters in the event of a chemical spill.

Nurture Nature Center

Project: CREATE Resilience Research and Community Learning Hub

Requested Amount: $140,000

Requested Amount: $140,000

Full Street Address of the Intended Recipient: 518 Northampton Street Easton, PA 18042

Description and justification for use of taxpayer funds: An interdisciplinary, resiliency-focused hub for learning and improving local response to climate and weather-related hazards and environmental risks in the Lehigh Valley region, including youth leadership programs, information and resource exchange for municipal and institutional leaders, and public programming.

Pocono Family YMCA

Project: Expansion and renovation project to modernize the 100-year-old facility

Requested Amount: $1,000,000

Amount Awarded: $1,000,000

Full Street Address of the Intended Recipient: 809 Main Street, Stroudsburg, PA 18360

Description and justification for use of taxpayer funds: It will include a community gathering space, aquatic center improvements, a modern wellness center, inclusive locker rooms and family changing areas, expanded parking lot, and expanded childcare services.

Resurrected Community Development Corp/United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley

Project: The James Lawson Freedom School

Requested Amount: $575,000

Amount Awarded: $575,000

Full Street Address of the Intended Recipient: 1110 American Parkway NE, Suite F-120, Allentown, PA 18109

Description and justification for use of taxpayer funds: Training, program fees, and equipment to help expand RCDC's K-12 Children's Defense Fund Freedom School program from three to six sites in Summer 2022.

Valley Youth House

Project: Meeting the Mental Health Care Needs of At-Risk Children & Families in the Lehigh Valley

Requested Amount: $397,474

Amount Awarded: $400,000

Full Street Address of the Intended Recipient: 3400 High Point Blvd., Bethlehem, PA 18017

Description and justification for use of taxpayer funds: Funds to rapidly develop and implement the evidence-based Functional Family Therapy through Child Welfare (FFT-CW®) program by providing in-home mental health services to young children and their families across the Lehigh Valley, saving an estimated $6 million in foster care-related social services spending every year.

The 10 projects selected by Rep. Wild were submitted to the House Appropriations Committee for review and approval. In compliance with House Rules and Committee requirements, Wild has certified that she and her immediate family have no financial interest in any of the projects she has requested. Those certification letters are available here.

Additional information about the criteria for Community Project Funding can be found HERE.