Jelly Joseph of the Take Me To the River All Stars of at Take Me To the River at Hope Center for the Arts in Springfield on Jan. 6.
Republican file photo
SPRINGFIELD — An organization providing free arts and literacy education, and college preparation services to Springfield students has received a $5 million windfall of federal funding to continue its mission, repair its facility and expand its reach.
On Feb. 3, a bill was signed into law providing $124.58 million in congressionally directed spending, also known as earmarks, for 116 community projects in Massachusetts. When combined with previously secured funding for fiscal year 2026, U.S. senators and representatives have sent a total of $221.55 million in earmarks flowing into the state.
“The Massachusetts delegation secured over $200 million for hundreds of local projects across the Bay State,” U.S. Sen. Edward Markey said in a press release. “I am proud to have collaborated with my colleagues to secure funding to construct affordable and supportive housing, expand early education programs and buy new equipment to expand patient access to care. With so much federal funding under threat, direct funding to our communities is critical.”
Markey and the rest of the delegation representing Western Massachusetts — U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and U.S. Rep. Richard Neal — worked to secure earmarks for two dozen projects in the Pioneer Valley, including improvements to the HOPE Center for the Arts.
“I think it was a mistake,” quipped Robert Bolduc, CEO of the center’s parent organization, Hope for Youth and Families. Referring to the gridlock and tense political environment in Congress, he said it is “unbelievable” that such a large amount was approved for the organization’s project, the legislation’s largest single earmark for a Massachusetts project. He credited the “compelling” nature of the organization’s mission and needs.
Hope for Youth and Families’s mission is threefold. The organization works to improve literacy among Springfield students. Despite Massachusetts standing as one of the most educated states in the country, Bolduc said, “Staggering amounts of our underserved population cannot read.” The organization collaborates with schools and other literacy organizations to address the reading gap.
When high school students have college aspirations, they often seek help with the application process from parents, college preparation services and other resources. Bolduc said many low-income students do not have those same resources, whether because they cannot afford them or because people in their lives do not have experience applying for college. Hope for Youth and Families offers help with the process, including filling out applications, essays and federal student aid forms.
The last leg of the organization’s programming focuses on the arts. “All the arts,” Bolduc said, including visual arts like photography, filmmaking, painting, drawing; performing arts, such as dance, acting, singing, hip hop, percussion, ballet, jazz quartet, clarinet, trumpet, band, violin and beats; as well as creative writing, blogging and poetry.
Bolduc said many cities have had to cut their arts programs due to funding. The HOPE Center works to fill the gap left behind with after school sessions and an all-day summer program complete with free breakfast and lunch. Students learn using professional equipment with instruction from qualified teachers, he said. Last year, Bolduc said 150 people attended lessons throughout the summer, while 185 are enrolled for afterschool programming during the current 2024-25 school year.
Hope for Youth & Families bought the former CityStage facility at 150 Bridge St. for $1 million from the city of Springfield in 2024. “Everything in that building was 50 years old. Everything had to be gutted,” Bolduc said. Renovation of the space was an extensive undertaking, and Bolduc said the first $10 million of the project’s cost was mainly funded by the family foundation that also funds the center’s operations.
However, there are many issues in the building that still need to be addressed, including the replacement of the original HVAC system. As it stands, there is no air conditioning in the summer, and the heating system has been faulty. The organization applied for the federal earmark to tackle this and other remaining projects, including procurement of a second bus to transport kids to the programs after school.
Bolduc is excited that the funding came through and is already thinking about the future of Hope for Youth & Families. He said the goal is to expand to Chicopee and Holyoke, two other cities with large populations of low-income students who need the help Hope for Youth & Families provides.
“Nobody else does anything like this,” Bolduc said of offering all three programs free of change to area students. From his perspective, the help the organization provides is essential for students. He said, “They are growing and expanding and learning things. They discover they have talents they never knew they had.”
