ECGRA Awards $227,525 to Erie County Community Centers
Today at the Afghan Community Center, the Erie County Gaming Revenue Authority (ECGRA) awarded $227,525 of funding to 20 Community Center grant recipients.
"Strong communities start with quality shared spaces," said ECGRA Executive Director Perry Wood.
"Investing in community centers across Erie County directly improves the quality of place, which is vital to advancing community and economic development strategies being implemented across Erie County," said Wood. "Community centers give our youth somewhere to go after shcool, different cultures a place to gather, and communities a shared place to celebrate. It is their hard work that is essential to Erie's growth."
Community centers in Erie County have provided residents with basic health and well-being, job training, mentoring, education, nutrition and other benefits to a large cross-section of the community. Strategically located, community centers are vital to rural and urban areas alike. ECGRA considers community centers to be neighborhood or community hubs whose primary focus is social, educational, cultural and recreational activites serving a segment of the population, such as children or senior citizsens.
"For many Afghan families, Erie became a second home after leaving behind uncertainty and hardship. The Afghan Community Center is now a place where families find support, education, and opportunity. ECGRA's support sends a powerful message that every community in Erie matters and deserves the opportunity to grow and succeed," said Afghan Community Center President and CEO Saeedullah Taraky.
To see a list of the 2025 Community Centers recipients, click here.
