Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (MA-5) visited the South Middlesex Opportunity Council (SMOC) on Monday to celebrate the $900,000 federal investment she obtained in the 2024 federal budget. The funding will be used to improve the HVAC system in SMOC’s Head Start facility. This will help keep the students healthy and reduce costs for the organization and parents.
“The South Middlesex Opportunity Council (SMOC) is a crucial support for many families, and their child care program is no different,” stated Whip Clark. “Thanks to the funding I obtained, SMOC will be able to improve their Head Start HVAC system. This will make sure that our young students have a safe environment to learn in.” Child care is a great investment because it helps children grow, allows parents to work, and helps the economy thrive.
“We want to thank Congresswoman Katherine Clark for providing us with a Community Project Funding (CPF) grant. This grant will help SMOC to install a new heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system in our Child Care and Head Start facility in South Framingham,” said Susan Gentili, CEO of SMOC. “The new system will make sure that children from this community, which has historically not received enough attention, will have plenty of fresh air circulating for many years.” These improvements are very important for SMOC’s goal of providing fair Head Start and Child Care programs to the families we help.
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Whip Clark has obtained a total of $13 million for 15 projects that benefit the local community in the Fifth District. The projects were chosen together with state and local leaders and include:
- Greater Malden Asian American Community Coalition (GMAACC), City of Malden: $1,000,000
- Belmont Community Path, Town of Belmont: $1,000,000
- Bruce Freeman Rail Trail, City of Framingham: $1,666,279
- Horn Pond Treatment Plant PFAS Removal Project, City of Woburn: $959,757
- EB Newton Center Health Department, City of Winthrop: $125,000
- Food for Free Equipment Upgrades, City of Cambridge: $375,300
- Hegner Community Center, City of Medford: $850,000
- Malden River Works Project, City of Malden: $1,560,000
- Riverside and Gibson Park Project, City of Revere: $500,000
- Green Infrastructure in the Mystic, Town of Arlington: $959,757
- Waltham Boys and Girls Club HVAC Project, City of Waltham: $1,046,103
- Wellesley Commuter Rail ADA Compliance Project, Town of Wellesley: $500,000
- Sudbury Emergency Operations Center, Town of Sudbury: $500,000
- Lebanon and Sylvan Street Stormwater Management Project, City of Melrose: $1,000,000
A whip Clark understands that child care is important infrastructure that is crucial for our economic success. She has obtained millions of dollars in federal funding for local projects that increase access to child care. Additionally, she has ensured that $50 billion is available to support child care providers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Clark is supporting two acts, the Child Care Stabilization Act and the Child Care is Infrastructure Act. These acts aim to reduce child care costs for families and increase the salaries of early childhood educators.
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