Casten Delivers $250,000 in Funding for Academic Support Program at the Boys and Girls Club of East Dundee
Casten Delivers $250,000 in Funding for Academic Support Program at the Boys and Girls Club of East Dundee
Carpentersville, IL, – On Wednesday, April 20th, U.S. Congressman Sean Casten (IL-06) visited the Impact Center of the Boys and Girls Club of East Dundee to announce he has secured $250,000 in community project funding for the organization to use to address learning loss among students.
During the event, Boys and Girls Club of Dundee Township CEO Drew Glassford led a tour of the facility and discussed the work of the Impact Center to support students in the community. In addition to academic support, the Boys and Girls Club of East Dundee offers college prep programs, workforce training, and hands-on skills including 3D-printing and bike repair. Throughout the visit, Congressman Casten heard directly from the Impact Center's staff how COVID-19 has impacted their programming and the importance of social emotional learning.
The $250,000 in funding secured by Congressman Casten will go towards an academic and social emotional learning (SEL) support program. This would be used to run programs aimed at low-income K-12 students to address learning loss and social-emotional learning needs caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Ninety-one percent of the kids we serve are at the poverty level or below, and suffered a disproportionate share of learning loss and trauma during the pandemic compared to resourced families," said Drew Glassford, CEO of the Boys and Girls Club of Dundee Township. "We are so grateful to Congressman Casten for recognizing this impact, and for securing funding to provide academic and social emotional support services vital to helping those who need it the most."
Congressman Casten said, "Students have been hit incredibly hard by this pandemic. I'm proud to have secured this funding to help address some of the issues it has caused—like learning loss—by providing low-income students with the resources needed to build towards academic success."
To access more photos and videos from the visit, click here.
On Wednesday, Congressman Casten also visited Barrington to discuss the $500,000 in funding he secured for a Pedestrian Grade Separation at Main Street and the Canadian National Railroad.
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"After an extremely competitive project submission process and many months spent advocating tirelessly for our community, I am proud to deliver $7.9 million in Community Project Funding for Illinois' 6th district," said Congressman Casten. "From addressing learning loss and combating homelessness to helping our small businesses and making it easier for folks to get to work, these investments will supercharge economic development and support the most vulnerable, making a real difference in the lives of so many in Chicagoland. I am proud to have fought for funding that will make our community healthier, safer, stronger, and even more resilient. This is democracy in action."
Rep. Casten secured $7,926,644 in funding for a total of 10 community projects that will directly benefit the 6th district. These include:
- $250,000 for Boys & Girls Clubs of Dundee Township, Carpentersville, IL for an academic and SEL support program - would be used to run programs aimed at low-income K-12 students to address learning loss and social-emotional learning needs caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
- $500,000 Community College District 502 Nursing, Dental Hygiene, and Health Sciences Program: The funding would be used to purchase technology, such as radiological equipment and simulation mannequins, to better prepare students for careers in health care.
- $250,000 for DuPage Regional Office of Education, Wheaton, IL for high school work-based learning: The funding would be used to hire staff and design programs to prepare high school students for jobs and apprenticeships in manufacturing and other trades.
- $750,000 for Morton Arboretum for an Urban Forestry Project: The funding would be used for The Morton Arboretum's participation in The Chicago Region Trees Initiative (CRTI) which assists municipalities, counties, and other communities in the 7-county Chicago metropolitan region to: plant and grow trees to mitigate and develop resilience to climate change; plant and care for trees to assist community health; and address environmental inequities in underserved and diverse communities. This project increases the urban canopy, diversifies the urban forestry to reduce catastrophic loss, improves capacity of communities to plant and care for trees, and increases tree production.
- $614,000 for Deer Park Boulevard - Road Program: The funding would be used for Deer Park Boulevard - Road Program for road reconstruction of 2,750 roadway. Deer Park Boulevard is a thoroughfare through in their commercial district. The current conditions show signs of aging and problematic sound structural condition.
- $500,000 for Barrington - Pedestrian Grade Separation at Main Street and the Canadian National Railroad: The funding would be used for Pedestrian Grade Separation at Main Street and the Canadian National Railroad, which would allow for uninterrupted pedestrian traffic at this rail crossing in a safe and accessible manner.
- $197,644 for Bridges Communities, Inc. - Capital Rehabilitation of Glendale Heights Program Campus: The Bridge Communities plans to renovate its Glendale Heights campus, comprising one eight-flat building and one six-flat building. For 33 years, Bridge Communities has been serving extremely low to low income homeless families, mostly single mothers with two or more children. Bridge provides safe, clean and affordable housing and needs to complete this moderate rehab project in order to continue doing so for the families.
- $3,000,000 for 360 Youth Services - Youth Affordable Housing Resource Center:The funding would be used as a Youth Affordable Housing Resource Center to provide youth-specific housing and homelessness prevention services in DuPage, Kane, Will and surrounding counties. The Center will be a regional access point for trauma-informed mental health care, crisis intervention, family services, vocational training, educational support, rental assistance, legal aid and LGBTQ+ affirming services.
- $1,080,000 for Downers Grove Sanitary District for Sanitary Sewer Rehabilitation: The funding would be used for Sanitary Sewer Rehabilitation, approximately 4,500 lf of 42-inch reinforced concrete pipe would be rehabilitated using cured-in-place pipe (CIPP), which will prevent root intrusion, eliminating obstructions and lost capacity due to infiltration and inflow
- $785,000 for Village of Burr Ridge for Stormwater Management Improvements: The funding would be used for a regional watercourse in Burr Ridge that is conveyed beneath Elm Street by a large, corrugated metal pipe that has significant corrosion and has reached the end of its useful life. A collapse of this pipe would impact Elm School (District 181) for several months, impede regional traffic in Hinsdale, Willowbrook, and Burr Ridge, and likely result in private property damage to adjacent homes.
The twelve-bill government funding package will help middle class families with the cost of living, create American jobs, supports the vulnerable, and work to help small businesses and restaurants that are key to our economic future. Taken together, the funding for Illinois 6th and the funding increases for critical government programs will reverse decades of disinvestment in our communities and strengthen our nation.
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