Washington, D.C. – Thursday, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) secured a $387,500 grant for the Pennsylvania Wilds Center for Entrepreneurship to stimulate growth in the region’s tourism and outdoor recreation workforce.
The grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission will be matched with $258,500 in local and state funds to help rural North Central Pennsylvania communities, including coal communities, spur new investment and create good-paying jobs.
“The Pennsylvania Wilds Center has worked for years to grow tourism and outdoor recreation in 13 counties in North Central Pennsylvania,” said Casey.
“Their work showcases our state’s crowning natural resources and stimulates local economies, creating jobs for Pennsylvanians where they live.
“This grant will help the PA Wilds to expand its work to strengthen the region’s outdoor recreation workforce and support rural economies.”
As the Pennsylvania Wilds Center for Entrepreneurship has fought to bolster the region’s outdoor recreation and tourism industry, Casey has successfully fought for funding for the organization.
Last September, Casey secured a $736,000 economic development investment for the economic development initiative.
In December 2021, the Pennsylvania Wilds Center for Entrepreneurship was awarded $500,000 as part of the Build Back Better Regional Challenge, an American Rescue Plan initiative that allocated more than $200 million for coal communities, to support the region’s emerging outdoor recreation industry by capitalizing on the growing tourism market through recreation infrastructure development, workforce development, and incentivizing private investment.
Casey continues to advocate for additional federal resources to allow the PA Wilds to further the mission to preserve natural resources, invest in the outdoor recreation and tourism industry, and help revitalize communities across the 13-county region.
This grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission was made via the Appalachian Regional Initiative for Stronger Economies. The program was created with funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which Casey fought to pass in 2021.
