Officials celebrate passage of $2 million economic development bond bill in the House of Representatives for the Boys & Girls Club

From left, Boys & Girls Club of Greater Lowell Executive Director Joe Hungler, state Rep. Rady Mom, club member Hadassa Pelissier, state Rep. Vanna Howard and state Rep. Rodney Elliott at the club on July 2, 2024, to celebrate the state House of Representatives’ passage of an economic bond bill that is now in the hands of the Senate. The House version of the bill includes a $2 million bond authorization that will help fund the club’s ongoing Believe and Become campaign when it is included in Gov. Maura Healey’s capital plan. (Peter Currier/Lowell Sun)

LOWELL – Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives celebrated last week’s passage of the economic development bond bill at the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Lowell Tuesday afternoon. The club will receive $2 million from the bill if it subsequently passes the state Senate.

The Boys & Girls Club is in the midst of its “Believe & Become” campaign, which focuses on the expansion of the club building at 657 Middlesex Street.

So far, the campaign has raised $14.6 million, and the goal is to reach $17 million by July 31 for Phase 1 of the project. The $2 million approved will go toward renovating the building, which aims to create educational and vocational programs for the club’s youth members.

Hadassa Pelissier, 14, has been attending the club since 2021 and has witnessed first-hand the changes the club has undergone in recent years.

“When I see the impact this has on our community and the excited faces of the teenagers when they see the construction workers, it makes me proud to be a teenager here,” Pelissier said.

State Rep. Rady Mom introduced the amendment to the bill and was himself a club member in his youth in the 1980s.

“The club meant so much to me and all my family and friends to this day,” Mom said, thanking her colleagues, Reps. Vanna Howard and Rodney Elliott, for their efforts in supporting the funding and cosponsoring the amendment. “We made this possible, which means we provided the funding and continued the joy of the club and building the club so that you have a home that will last for many, many years.”

Howard said she was proud to submit the amendment for the Believe & Become campaign.

“Our youth, our teens deserve quality club programs,” said Howard. “We’re glad we could play a small part in helping the Boys & Girls Club realize your future.”

Elliott said he and his colleagues are committed to ensuring Phase 1 of the Believe & Become campaign is successful.

“We are here at the State House and we will do our part to get this across the finish line,” Elliott said.

Joe Hungler, executive director of the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Lowell, said he hopes the youth center portion of the project will be completed sometime next winter.

“We’re going to keep fighting and finding ways to make this happen for all of you,” Hungler said. “I think one of the most important things about this project for me is that throughout the project, our teens have had a say in what it looks like and what our needs are, and we’ll continue to do that going forward.”

State Senator Ed Kennedy said in a phone call Tuesday afternoon that he would support including funding for the Boys & Girls Club in that bill, but noted that the bill still needs to pass the Senate, which will put forward its own version before the two chambers meet in conference to work out the differences between the two versions.

Kennedy also pointed out that this is a bond bill, meaning that the project funding in the bill is not a direct earmark, but rather an authorization for Gov. Maura Healey to borrow money for a specific project and include it in her capital plan. If that does happen, Kennedy said, the earliest the funds could be made available is January.