This week, U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Fla., announced more than $2 million in federal funds will be headed to the Tampa Bay area.
Castor said the Tampa Bay Women’s Business Centre at the Helen Gordon Davis Centre for Women will get a $420,000 from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) which “will fund the Centre’s CARES Project which is designed to help female entrepreneurs and business owners with training, education, and counseling as they navigate the impact of the COVID-19 virus.”
“The Centre for Women provides crucial assistance to small business owners. Its services are especially vital during the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic fallout,” said Castor. “The Women’s Business Centre will assist women-owned, small businesses to apply for emergency assistance and achieve greater economic security for their families – in short mitigate impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a time of uncertainty, I’m grateful that our Tampa area community can rely on the Centre for Women to support the local businesses that make Tampa so special.”
“The grant will make it possible to expand staff and technology at our current site and open a satellite office in St. Petersburg to more conveniently serve clients in Pinellas County,” said Ann Madsen, the executive Director of the Centre for Women and vice chair of the Association of Women’s Business Centers.
At the start of the week, Castor announced two grants totaling more than $1.7 million for the Tampa Housing Authority which were funded by the $2.2 trillion stimulus package that Congress and the White House agreed to at the end of March.
“During the COVID-19 pandemic, our neighbors who rely on public housing need peace of mind that help will continue to be available,” said Castor. “I am proud to have secured these funds which will help residents and relieve some of the burdens felt by our neighbors. This funding is a lifeline that will support efforts to keep everyone housed which is a cornerstone of staying safe and healthy. My team and I are focused on speeding emergency aid to Tampa in the days ahead.”
Most of those funds–$1,427,946–will be for tenant-based rental assistance while $342,339 will be penciled in for supplemental public housing operating funds.
Reach Kevin Derby at kevin.derby@floridadaily.com.
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