ALLENTOWN, PA\u00a0\u2013 Projects to revitalize communities and support young people and low-income families in the Lehigh Valley are getting a boost from the Shapiro-Davis Administration, which recently approved more than $5.5 million in funding through the Neighborhood Assistance Program (NAP), which provides state tax credits to businesses that contribute to nonprofit organizations.<\/p>\n
Lt. Gov. Austin Davis\u00a0joined state and local leaders at a news conference today in Allentown to highlight the NAP investments, including a project by Community Action Lehigh Valley that will help youth in center city Allentown.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I was growing up in McKeesport, I spent many days at my local Boys and Girls Club, so I understand how important it is for young people have safe and supportive places to go after school and in the summer months,\u201d said\u00a0Davis.\u00a0\u201cThe Shapiro-Davis Administration is making communities safer and giving kids more opportunities by investing in afterschool and summer programs, through our new BOOST initiative, but also with NAP tax credits. I\u2019m grateful for the companies that are supporting this project in Allentown, as well as the work of Community Action Lehigh Valley, for investing in Pennsylvania\u2019s most precious resource \u2013 our children.\u201d<\/p>\n
Community Action Lehigh Valley will serve more than 200 young people through programs like the Youth Police Academy and James Lawson Freedom School. They plan to create a new youth center and employ an outreach worker with funding contributed by Capital Advantage Insurance Company, City Center Investment Corporation, PNC Community Development Banking, Peoples Security Bank & Trust Company, Truist Bank, Wells Fargo, Alvin H. Butz, Inc., Duggan & Marcon, Inc., PPL Electric Utilities and United Concordia Insurance Company. These companies will receive a total of $617,500 in state tax credits to support this project.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe expansion of the Neighborhood Assistance Program from $36 million to $72 million is a powerful investment in Pennsylvania communities,\u201d said\u00a0Community Action Lehigh Valley CEO Dawn Godshall. \u201cThis funding allows Community Action Development in Allentown, Bethlehem and Slate Belt Rising to deepen their impact \u2014 strengthening families, stabilizing neighborhoods, and creating real pathways to opportunity. We are grateful to\u00a0Governor\u00a0Shapiro,\u00a0Lieutenant\u00a0Governor\u00a0Davis and the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, for recognizing that when we invest in community-led solutions, we build stronger, more equitable futures for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition to this project,\u00a0there are 36 additional NAP projects across the Lehigh Valley, including Berks, Carbon, Lehigh, Monroe, Northampton and Schuylkill counties<\/a>. Some of the other approved projects include funding for Second Harvest Food Bank of the Lehigh Valley and Northeast Pennsylvania, a job training and leadership development program by the Pottsville Area Development Corporation in Schuylkill County and security upgrades for Safe Berks\u2019 confidential safe house in Reading.<\/p>\n In December,\u00a0the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) announced the approval of $70 million<\/a>\u00a0through the NAP to support 405 projects across the Commonwealth.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Neighborhood Assistance Program is a powerful tool that creates better quality of life for our residents by encouraging businesses to reinvest in the communities they call home,\u201d said\u00a0DCED Deputy Secretary of Community Affairs and Development Rick Vilello. \u201cI\u2019m thrilled to be here in the Lehigh Valley to celebrate this award that will enrich the lives of young people in the community and provide new resources for them to prosper.\u201d<\/p>\n The NAP\u2019s funding was doubled from $36 million to $72 million in the 2024-25 enacted state budget, and the Shapiro-Davis Administration secured continued funding for the program in the 2025-26 state budget. More information is available in the\u00a0NAP impact brochure<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ALLENTOWN, PA\u00a0\u2013 Projects to revitalize communities and support young people and low-income families in the Lehigh Valley are…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":99054,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[119,121,120],"class_list":{"0":"post-99053","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-allentown","8":"tag-allentown","9":"tag-allentown-headlines","10":"tag-allentown-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99053","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99053"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99053\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/99054"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99053"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99053"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99053"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}