With Trump Admin. Attacking Head Start and Gutting Essential Resources, Federal Funding Secured by Pressley Will Support BCNC’s Early Education and Care

Video (YouTube) | Photos (Dropbox)

BOSTON – Today, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) visited Chinatown to celebrate the $425,000 in community project funding she secured for the Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center. The federal funding, which passed Congress as part of a previous FY2024 federal spending bill signed by President Biden, will support the BCNC’s childcare and early education programming and infrastructure for current and future generations of families in and around Chinatown.

Following a tour of BCNC, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley sat down with BCNC staff, families, and local partners to discuss the importance of affordable and accessible early childhood education programming, in particular for immigrant children and families.

“Accessible, high-quality early childhood education is not only essential to the success of our babies, but of entire families,” said Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley. “Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center provides a vital lifeline to families in the Massachusetts 7^th. With the White House callously attacking Head Start and gutting other essential education resources for families, I’m proud to support the BCNC’s dedicated educators and staff who work to support every family and every child who benefits from this program.”

“BCNC is deeply grateful for Congresswoman Pressley’s investment in the Asian and immigrant community. A capital investment in our space is about creating a welcoming and safe environment for all the children and families we serve who have come to Boston to make a better life. The new classrooms, playground, and roof provide the next generation the best possible learning experience they deserve, and their parents can feel satisfied their child is receiving a quality education,” said Ben Hires, CEO, Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center. “Special thanks to all our public and private partners from Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care, the City of Boston, Boston Public Schools, Eastern Bank Foundation, Franklin Square House Foundation, PNC Bank, Shlomo Fund and an anonymous foundation for helping make these investments possible.”

“Investing in the spaces in which children learn and play is essential to expanding access to high-quality affordable child care for families in our communities. We are grateful to be working in partnership with Congresswoman Pressley and the team at BCNC to ensure children and their families have the tools, support, and opportunities they need to thrive and succeed,” said Amy Kershaw, Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care, Commissioner.

“We are thrilled about the new investment in BCNC and are happy to have partnered on several capital improvement projects. Healthy environments are important, and it is encouraging to see local, state, and federal partners collaborating to achieve that goal,” said Theresa Jordan, Director, Children’s Investment Fund/CEDAC.

The federal dollars secured by Rep. Pressley will enable BCNC, a community-based, immigrant serving organization to update their existing early education children’s classrooms and address roof maintenance in order to continue high quality programs for Asian and new immigrant children and families who have been highly impacted by the pandemic.

Joining Rep. Pressley this morning were Ben Hires, CEO of BCNC, Kathy Cheng, Director of Acorn Center for Early Education and Care at BCNC, Michele Dandrea, teacher at BCNC, Amy Kershaw, Commissioner at the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care, and families and children served by BCNC.

Footage from the event can be found here, and photos are here.

Rep. Pressley secured the federal funding as part of a previous spending bill for Fiscal Year 2024. Rep. Pressley has secured approximately $35 million in federal community project funding for the Massachusetts 7^th since Fiscal Year 2022.

• On March 27, 2025, Rep. Pressley visited East Boston to celebrate the $1 million in federal funding she delivered to expand the Digital Literacy (DigLit) Initiative in Boston, a critical program that helps workforce development programs address digital literacy gaps.
• On October 18, 2024, Rep. Pressley visited Randolph for the formal ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Turner Free Mobile Library, a bookmobile carrying books, movies, Wi-Fi, and other resources for community members, made possible by the $524,000 she delivered in funding for the library and STEM programming.
• On October 10, 2024, Rep. Pressley joined Just A Start, elected officials and community advocates and members for the formal ribbon-cutting ceremony to unveil the Economic Mobility Hub at Rindge Commons, a 70,000-square-foot facility designed to address the evolving needs of the community.
• On June 18, 2024, Rep. Pressley visited Boston Medical Center (BMC) to celebrate $370,000 in federal community project funding she secured to support BMC’s Violence Intervention Advocacy Program.
• On June 18, 2024, Rep. Pressley visited Chelsea HealthCare Center to celebrate $1,150,000 in federal community project funding she secured to support Massachusetts General Hospital’s (MGH) efforts to address the statewide shortage of bilingual, culturally diverse mental health providers for immigrant and limited English proficiency communities.
• On April 22, 2204, Rep. Pressley and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) visited Nubian Square in Roxbury for a roundtable discussion to celebrate the $1,000,000 million in federal funding they secured for the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts (BECMA).
• On March 28, 2024, Rep. Pressley visited Roxbury to celebrate the $1,000,000 in federal funding she secured to provide emergency childcare support for families experiencing homelessness in the City of Boston.
• In February 2024, Rep. Pressley visited Chelsea City Hall for a roundtable and press conference to celebrate the $750,000 in federal funding she secured for the City of Chelsea’s and City of Everett’s Island End River Coastal Flood Resilience Project.
• In January 2024, Rep. Pressley visited Somerville to celebrate the $2.4 million in federal funding she secured to support the community-led transformation of the Clarendon Hill housing community, an ethnically, linguistically and economically diverse neighborhood.
• In December 2023, Rep. Pressley visited Brighton to celebrate $400,000 she delivered for Amplify Latinx’s ALX Small Business Program.
• In November 2023, Rep. Pressley visited Roxbury Community College (RCC) to celebrate $1 million in federal community project funding she secured for Northeastern University’s Roxbury Associate’s to Master’s Workforce Accelerator (RA2MWA).
• In June 2023, Rep. Pressley visited Chelsea to celebrate $2,000,000 in federal community project funding she secured to improve the Broadway Corridor—home to an array of BIPOC-owned small businesses, vibrant public spaces, high frequency public transit routes, and dense residential housing.
• In April 2023, Rep. Pressley visited Randolph to celebrate $524,000 she secured for Randolph Public Schools to support a mobile library and STEM programming.
• In March 2023, Rep. Pressley visited Dorchester to celebrate $250,000 in new Community Project Funding she secured for Big Sister Association of Greater Boston’s one-to-one mentoring and enrichment programs for girls.
• In February 2023, Rep. Pressley visited the African Community Economic Development of New England (ACEDONE) to celebrate the $643,003 in community project funding she secured for ACEDONE to support small businesses in predominately Black, brown and African immigrant communities.
• In October 2022, Rep. Pressley visited The Dimock Center in Roxbury to celebrate $1 million in federal community project funding she secured to support substance use treatment and programming at the health center. 
• In August 2022, Rep. Pressley visited Randolph to deliver $275,000 in federal community project funding for culturally responsive resources and digital literacy tools for Randolph Public Schools.
• In June 2022, Rep. Pressley visited the Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology to deliver $300,000 in direct federal funding for the development of a Clean Energy Building Automation Systems certificate and associate degree program.
• In May 2022, she visited Bunker Hill Community College to celebrate the $1,000,000 in federal community project funding she secured to expand the City of Boston’s Tuition-Free Community College program.
• In April 2022, she visited Randolph to deliver $1,000,000 in federal community project funding for a new school-based community health center at Randolph High School. 
• In March 2022, she visited La Colaborativa in Chelsea to celebrate the $300,000 in federal community project funding that she delivered for La Colaborativa’s COVID Employment Recovery Program.

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