Evans Secures $7.4 Million for 8 Community Projects

February 12, 2026 Press Release PHILADELPHIA (Feb. 12, 2026) – Congressman Dwight Evans (D-PA-3) today announced he secured $7.4 million for eight community projects in the 3rd Congressional District in a recently passed federal funding package. “Bringing federal funding home for Philadelphians has always been one of my priorities in Congress, and I’ll keep pursuing more funding for our communities,” Evans said. The federal funding is designated for these projects: Ana Blakiston Day School - schoolyard improvements and equipment upgrades - $717,593 James G. Blaine School - schoolyard improvements - $850,000 Richard R. Wright Elementary School - schoolyard improvements, infrastructure, upgrades, and equipment - $850,000 Build-out of the Temple University Public Health Simulation Center - $1,031,000 – Evans said, “This project has great potential to improve the quality of health care.” Health-care education is increasingly adopting implicit bias training to increase awareness among their students of how inaccurate assumptions and beliefs about a patient can impact care. To make a difference in health care and improve health outcomes, health-care professionals need to translate their heightened awareness into tangible behavioral change. Simulation-based education is a novel approach to teach behavioral skills to help eliminate bias and achieve health equity. Community College of Philadelphia - housing development and renovations - $850,000 – The project addresses housing affordability and insecurity, two important issues in Philadelphia. By removing a barrier to success, the project will help improve students’ outcomes and provide significant benefit to communities. An estimated 17 percent of CCP students are housing-insecure, the highest figure for a higher education institution in the city. Temple University’s Community Kitchen - $1,500,000. This project addresses existing levels of geographic, racial, and socioeconomic inequalities by providing access to essential nutrition education and cooking classes. Through targeted outreach efforts, underserved people in North Philadelphia will gain invaluable knowledge and skills to navigate food insecurity and combat obesity-related health risks, reducing their reliance on processed foods and fostering a culture of healthier eating habits, Evans said. Healing Our Community (EMIR-Every Murder Is Real) - $1,031,000. Evans said EMIR Healing Center will collaborate with other organizations to offer meeting space that is safe, reliable, convenient, and comfortable in which to hold joint community events that foster healing and wholeness in Germantown, a predominantly Black neighborhood. Wistar Institute of Anatomy and Biology - lipid nanoparticle manufacturing equipment - $619,000. Evans said this grant will benefit both the local and regional scientific community by increasing access to this new and important technology. Access to lipid nanoparticle manufacturing capacity has been very limited in the Greater Philadelphia tri-state region, and the technology has the potential to generate novel delivery systems for a diverse range of therapeutic applications. Each of the three school projects will serve and benefit the schools’ low-and moderate-income students and families and the surrounding communities by constructing an outdoor space at each school that supports and promotes high-quality learning experiences and healthy living. All three were also supported by U.S. Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA). Evans represents the 3rd Congressional District, which includes Northwest and West Philadelphia and parts of North, South, Southwest and Center City Philadelphia. He serves on the influential House Ways and Means Committee, including its Subcommittee on Health. The committee oversees taxes, trade, Social Security and Medicare. Evans’ website is evans.house.gov and his social media handle is @RepDwightEvans on Youtube, Bluesky, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Threads. ### Issues : Congress Food Insecurity & Agriculture Housing Middle Neighborhoods Public Safety & Gun Violence Education Health Care