Community centers across Delaware will be renovated and expanded — changes ranging from HVAC upgrades to completely new facilities — as part of a federal investment in organizations impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
More than $65 million has been committed to 29 nonprofit organizations that offer education and job training opportunities in disadvantaged communities, invest in economic infrastructure like affordable housing and dedicate resources toward recovering learning losses suffered during the pandemic.
Gov. John Carney described it as an investment in the groups that “came up big during the pandemic” helping fractured communities recover. As they’ve sought to help others, the organizations have had their own finances and staffing strained too.
The Christina Cultural Arts Center on North Market Street in Wilmington offers after-school programs, pre-school and paid internships to students, as well as public gallery exhibitions and live performances. The programming has been kept alive with funding from previous federal and local programs, but the number of enrollees and interns has been falling, according to education director Shysheika Edwards. Staff haven’t received raises to keep up with the increased cost of living.
The center is now due to receive $4.5 million. It will help the organization expand its services to start helping the line of interested families its spread-thin staff hasn’t been able to reach. It’s also working towards securing a new headquarters.
“Our goal is to make the arts affordable,” Edwards said. “This helps us and helps the community.”
The Food Bank of Delaware has more traffic today than it did at the height of the pandemic as Delawareans contend with record inflation.
“We are just busting at the seams,” said Communications Director Kim Turner. “Even before the pandemic we were running out of space.”
The Food Bank started construction in September on a new Milford facility that will be about four times the size of its current building. It will receive $5.5 million towards the $34 million project. Without the funding, Turner said the organization would “probably have a really long fundraising campaign ahead of us.”
The Food Bank is also getting $1.9 million to upgrade its Newark facility. At both locations, the Food Bank is focused on changes that will make its facilities feel more like a grocery store, transitioning away from its COVID drive-up model to a more inviting experience.
“One of our goals is to provide dignity to people in their time of need,” Turner said.
Where is the money coming from?
The money comes from a capital projects fund that is part of the American Rescue Plan Act, President Biden’s nearly $1.9 trillion “build back better” program passed in 2021.
The Capital Projects Fund has so far focused on awarding states money to deliver affordable and reliable internet. Broadband availability has been a point of emphasis for the Biden administration after the pandemic laid bare its importance in remote work and learning.
Although some of the money directed to Delaware benefits organizations that provide public WiFi access, Delaware’s allocation is centered around organizations that “directly enable work, education, and health monitoring.”
American Rescue Plan Coordinator Gene Sterling said, “Delaware ended up pretty much first in line” through Carney’s advocacy for community centers. Delaware has already invested state and federal dollars into building out its broadband network, particularly in rural areas of western Kent and Sussex Counties.
On that front, Carney said the state’s focus is on making internet affordable. It recently announced a push to increase awareness of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), a federal program that provides households with a monthly discount of up to $30 on their internet bill.
Overall, Delaware received about $925 million through the American Rescue Plan Act. Other investments include $50 million for job training, $40 million for libraries and $30 million in incentives to developers to build affordable housing.
What other organizations are getting money?
The largest allocation is going Community Education Center at the former Nylon Capital Shopping Center in Seaford.
The Mill co-founder Robert Herrera is leading a $60 million project to turn the fledgling shopping center into an innovation district with plans for workforce training, higher education courses, health care, shared office space for entrepreneurs and shops and restaurants. Carney said the state has a call out to its universities to bring courses to the center. The education center will receive $20 million.
The Boys and Girls Club is improving its HVAC systems and upgrading outdoor playgrounds at its nine Delaware facilities with $1.57 million. The Forum to Advance Minorities in Engineering (FAME) will receive $7 million for a new headquarters to bolster its workforce development programs.
Among the other organizations receiving money are the Hockessin Police Athletic League (PAL) of Delaware ($1.8 million), the Claymont Community Center ($4 million), the Kingswood Community Center ($4 million), the Mary Campbell Center ($6.4 million), West End Neighborhood House ($2.78 million) and Kappa Mainstream Leadership ($1.3 million).
Contact Brandon Holveck at bholveck@delawareonline.com. Follow him on Twitter @holveck_brandon.
