This petition has been created to demonstrate to Congressman Conor Lamb that there is strong and real community support for The Aliquippa Green. 

Congressman, with your provision of a FY 2023 appropriation of $286,572, Aliquippa Green Inc. will be able to complete all renovations necessary to provide a full schedule of business incubation and intergenerational academic enrichment aligned with the needs of the residents of Aliquippa. Once complete, this building will serve as a symbol of rejuvenation and a beacon of hope. More importantly, it will deliver real, life changing opportunities to those in need. 

The location for the services building is on Plan 11 Extension of Aliquippa. Most recently the primary site of blighted property demolition by the City of Aliquippa and the Aliquippa Economic Development Corporation through the Neighborhood Partnership Program, the community looks forward optimistically to see the continuation of positive change, visually and practically. The property has housed many religious organizations and missions over the decades since it has been built. Over the last two years, it has become the programming site under the ownership of Aliquippa Green Inc. This neighborhood regularly sees divestment notably from the recent razing/demolition of buildings and blight. Development has become a far away dream and most commercial buildings are of no practical use. Aliquippa Green is representative of the community. We show our commitment to this neighborhood and its residents not only by activating this vacant commercial building, but by offering programs and services in it that bolster the community and strengthen our chances to thrive.

Aliquippa Green, Inc. was established in 2019 to help citizens invest and build the concept of sustainable change in their own communities. Our programs are built on the philosophy of intergenerational change.  Toward this mission our agency has sought to bring several areas of our social, educational and economic programming under one roof. Over the past two and a half years Aliquippa Green has been successfully delivering computer science-based programming to middle and high school students throughout the city of Aliquippa and is now ready to expand and serve more students and community members in 2023. The development and implementation of student-focused programs represents the first phase of our three-year strategic plan.

The specific renovation request for funding that we are making to you Congressman Lamb will turn this facility into a fully functional educational and public health services space. This project will reimagine part of the existing space into a women’s health and wellness suite complete with fitness studio, hair salon, masseuse, esthetician, and nail technician. Each space will be open to a local entrepreneur, creating more opportunities for local talent to hone their craft and fortify our local economy. Women’s only spaces are crucial for community healing and allow women a respite from the hypervigilance needed to navigate the world. Relieving this stress and allowing space for women to be themselves outside of their homes is crucial and very much lacking in the Aliquippa Community. The open space that is targeted for this upgrade will serve a dual purpose of being a professional services suite and a Women’s Wellness Center. In addition to these structural changes to create these separate functional spaces, there are other upgrades and cosmetic work that is needed.  

The third phase is to renovate the facility to meet the growing needs of the agency and the community.  Specifically, we will need to renovate the facility to turn it into a fully functional educational learning space.  The main space that will be the focus of this renovation will be turned into two large classrooms, one for the continued large class instruction of our computer programming Saturday classes and a demonstration kitchen. In conjunction with current and future funding from Foundation partnerships, we will provide educational programming and workshops designed to provide relevant and current skills to residents of all ages Monday through Saturday. The upstairs classroom will be a “smart” classroom designed as a digital media arts space where students will learn to create and produce online content and TV/video-based productions. This half of the building will also house a demonstration kitchen to provide an eating space and home economics classes. 

Our request is not programmatic; we ask for your help in renovating this building employing the leading green building principles. We seek assistance in helping ourselves to rebuild our community by providing ourselves with skills necessary to do so. Please accept this signed petition as a strong endorsement of real change in our community and support for the mission of Aliquippa Green Inc. We look forward to seeing this project included in the 2023 Fiscal year Congressional Budget.