SCHUMER SECURES MAJOR INVESTMENT IN ITHACA’S CHILDREN; SENATOR DELIVERS $800,000 FOR THE GREATER ITHACA ACTIVITIES CENTER TO GROW & CREATE NEW COMMUNITY SPACE, ADD JOBS, EXPAND YOUTH PROJECTS FOR ITHACA TEENS, FUND JOB TRAINING, INCREASE CHILD CARE, & AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAMS
Schumer Delivered $$ Will Transform The Former Immaculate Conception School Gymnasium, Next To GIAC, Into One Stop Shop For Teens & School Learning Programs To Provide Quality Care And Help Students Get Good Paying Jobs
Now Aging Vacated Ithaca School Building From The 60’s Will Become New Opportunity For Children Of Tompkins County
Schumer: Underserved Ithaca Youth Will Soon Have A Brand New State Of The Art Activities Center To Call Home
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer today announced that he has secured $800,000 for the Greater Ithaca Activities Center (GIAC) to transform the former Immaculate Conception School gymnasium to house their entire teen program, indoor recreation activities, expand local job training, and micro-entrepreneurship businesses programs. The funding was secured as a part of the bipartisan omnibus spending package for FY22. Schumer said this expansion once completed will create 20 full-time, seasonal, and part-time jobs and will also free up space at GIAC’s current facility allowing them to expand other programs such as affordable afterschool care bringing at least 30 children off the wait list for the program.
“This is truly wonderful news for the Greater Ithaca Activities Center, our families, and most importantly the children of Ithaca. A once aging gymnasium will now be transformed into a site for job training, learning, and giving Ithaca’s kids, especially our must vulnerable teens, the tools they need to succeed later in life,” said Senator Schumer. “I am proud to have secured this major investment in Ithaca’s youth to give them the modern state of the art community space they deserve.”
Leslyn McBean-Clairborne, the GIAC Director said, “I am beyond excited and profoundly thankful for the passage of the Omnibus Appropriations bill establishing the FY 2022 federal budget, which include the congressionally directed spending. It is great to have earmarks back as they support projects like the GIAC gym that do not necessarily fit a prescribed box. In supporting this project, Hon. Senator Schumer saw beyond bricks and mortar to the real life-changing impact it would have – opening up scarce child-care spots, providing job training skills and jobs for those unemployed and underemployed in our community, and a safe space for teens as we develop young BIPOC leaders of tomorrow. Most importantly, with GIAC’s people-first mission, this project will help to lift many in our community who are marginalized and minoritized out of the condition of poverty.”
GIAC is one of the only agencies in Tompkins County that provides direct service programs daily to participants from young children to senior citizens. 80% of the participants in GIAC programs are low-to-moderate income and 72% of the children qualify for free or reduced meals at school. The new space will also include staff offices and training classrooms for their HETP and a revived CDL training program to provide youth and adults the job skills and certifications they need to gain meaningful employment. In addition, Schumer said that this new space will not only fulfill GIAC’s programming needs but also add indoor recreation space for the neighborhood and community at large.
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