Madison Park Development Corporation Launches Minority/Women-Owned Business Enterprises Relief Fund in Partnership with Life Science Cares

06.04.2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, June 4, 2020
Media Inquiries for MPDC: Kelly Ransom, Director of Communications & Events
P: (617) 721-9306
Media Inquiries for Life Science Cares: Sarah MacDonald, Executive Director
P: (617) 637-5052
MADISON PARK DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION LAUNCHES MINORITY/WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESS ENTERPRISES RELIEF FUND IN PARTNERSHIP WITH LIFE SCIENCE CARES
ROXBURY, MA. – Today, Madison Park Development Corporation (MPDC) Life Science Cares (LSC) launch The Minority/Women-Owned Business Enterprises (MWBE) Contractors Relief Fund, an initiative to offer emergency financial assistance for Minority and Women-Owned Contractors in Greater Boston. As a community development corporation, MPDC comprehends the economic hardships of small contractors during COVID-19. Many MWBE contractors have found it challenging to access grants, funds, and unemployment assistance currently being offered by state and federal agencies.
Made possible by a grant from Life Science Cares and spearheaded by Katrina Conrad, MPDC’s Workforce Diversity Project Manager, the MWBE Contractor Relief Fund offers a one-time relief grant of up to $2,500 to qualified MWBE contractors who have been affected by COVID-19. The fund is open to Greater Boston-based MWBE contractors that currently have a city of Boston monitored project, employ ten or less, and did not qualify for the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program.
Leslie Reid, MPDC’s Chief Executive Officer, said of the fund’s creation, “MPDC has long been committed to fostering and uplifting the talent pipeline of local minority labor and contractors. The MWBE Contractor Relief Fund affirms this commitment by providing access to dedicated resources that allow contractors to return to work safely. We are grateful for Life Science Cares’ investment in this unique opportunity and look forward to supporting our vibrant Boston MWBE contractor community.”
Upon learning about the fund, Ronnette Taylor, Owner of FireCode Design, reflected, “Personal protective equipment is so expensive. For six technicians, I need 30 sets of PPE, including disinfectants, masks, shields, and gloves. That’s 140 gallons of disinfectant spray a week! Madison Park Development Corporation understands these costs, and more importantly, MPDC understands the struggle of local Black Women contractors during this crisis.”
“The life science industry relies on the talented work of contractors and subcontractors to build and renovate the buildings in which we discover and produce treatments and cures for patients,” said Sarah MacDonald, Executive Director of Life Science Cares. “We are proud to support an effort to ensure minority and women-owned contractors are able to get back to work as quickly as their peers.”
MPDC is also currently seeking additional contributors to the MWBE Contractor Relief Fund. Interested individuals or companies should visit Madison Park Development Corporation’s website at http://www.madison-park.org/make-an-impact/give/ or contact MPDC’s Resource Development Manager Kay Mathew at [email protected]/617.849.6335 to learn more about giving to MPDC.
Those interested in applying for the fund can access the application at https://bit.ly/MWBEContractorsReliefFund or contact Katrina Conrad at [email protected] / 617.849.6226 for more information.
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About Madison Park Development Corporation
MPDC was formed in 1966 by community activists who fought back against destructive urban renewal policies that threatened to decimate the neighborhood. Following a number of victories, MPDC went on to become one of the nation’s first community-based, nonprofit developers of affordable housing. MPDC has preserved and developed nearly 1300 units of affordable housing, homes to over 3,000 residents, as well as over 85,000 SF of commercial space that is bringing critical economic activity to Nubian Square. For more information, please visit www.madison-park.org.
About Life Science Cares
Life Science Cares organization is a collective effort of the Life Science industry to eliminate the impact of poverty on our neighbors in the greater Boston area– and soon in Philadelphia. Through uniting the human and financial resources of Life Science companies and industry leaders, we support service organizations that do the best work in fighting poverty in our communities.