Gaming Revenue Authority awards nearly $2 million to strengthen Erie community facilities
The Erie County Gaming Revenue Authority on Tuesday awarded nearly $2 million in grants to 19 community facilities across the county.
The $1.6 million in grant money, part of ECGRA’s Building a Better Future program, aims to support capital improvements, programming and equipment at publicly accessible community centers.
These centers provide Erie County residents with basic health and well-being, job training, mentoring, education, nutrition and a host of other benefits, according to an ECGRA news release.
“The critical role that community facilities play in the community and economic development of a region cannon be overstated,” ECGRA Executive Director Perry Wood stated in the release.
“Serving as a hub spot for social, educational, cultural and recreational activities, these facilities have the power to transform neighborhoods creating vibrant, inclusive spaces with long lasting impacts.”
St. Martin Center, Boys & Girls Club of Erie among grant recipients
Grant recipients included the St. Martin Center Inc., which received $75,000. CEO David Gonzalez said the money will go toward critical repairs of the center’s Parade Street facility roof.
“Because of this generous grant, we will be able to continue providing services … to just about a thousand individuals every month that come through our doors for rent and food or mortgage, financial literacy, etc.,” Gonzalez said.
He added that the funding enabled the center to leverage and attract other funds.
“It really was the seed cornerstone funding,” he said. “We’ve been able to obviously put some of our monies in and fundraise the rest. So that we have all the funds for our roof, which comes out to be about $140,000.”
Another grant recipient was the Boys & Girls Club of Erie, which received $70,000. Director John Popoff said the money will go toward major renovations of the center’s swimming pool.
“It has been a longstanding tradition at the club's 129-year history to have a swimming pool on site and to offer an aquatics program to its members,” he said. “The aquatics program at the club has taught hundreds of members basic water safety, swim lessons, competitive swimming, and also recreational open swims.”
“Through this grant, ECGRA has allowed future club members the opportunity to participate in a club's longstanding aquatics program,” he added.
“There is a large population of youth without access to a swimming pool, aquatics program, or basic water safety instruction. The club is a unique offering and is the only urban-centered facility which operates solely for the youth of our community.”
List of grant recipients
Booker T. Washington Center: $125,000
Borough of Edinboro: $25,000
Boys & Girls Club of Erie: $70,000
Community Shelter Services: $105,694
Corry Higher Education Council: $59,500
Eagle’s Nest Leadership Corporation: $125,000
Edinboro Market: $125,000
GECAC: $13,680
Inner-City Neighborhood Art House: $125,000
International Institute of Erie: $125,000
John F. Kennedy Center: $125,000
Journey: Healing Together: $25,000
Martin Luther King Center: $125,000
Mercy Center for Women: $100,000
Mercy Hilltop Center: $99,000
Northwestern Community Youth Center: $18,500
Sarah A. Reed Children’s Center: $86,000
St. Martin Center, Inc.: $75,000
YMCA of Corry: $97,331
A.J. Rao can be reached at arao@gannett.com. Follow him on X @ETNRao.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: ECGRA awards nearly $2 million to enhance community facilities
