Purple Line Transit Partners has announced a new round of Beyond the Rails community grants to six area organizations, three based in Silver Spring.
The construction of the 16-mile, 21-station Purple Line light rail system is over 65 percent complete. Service is currently scheduled to begin in winter 2027, operating from New Carrollton to Bethesda with direct connections to Metrorail, Amtrak, MARC commuter rail, and bus networks.
Riverdale Park-based PLTP, comprised of main partners Meridiam and Tikehau Star Infra, is the Purple Line project’s private-sector partner and sponsors the Beyond the Rails community grant program to give back to the communities where the Purple Line is being constructed and will operate.
PLTP said that its grant program will continue to support Purple Line communities for 30 years after the light rail system begins service.
“As a long-time member of the community itself, PLTP sponsors the Beyond the Rails community grant program as a way of giving back to communities in which PLTP, in partnership with MTA, is building the Purple Line and through which it will operate the system for 30 years after opening,” PLTP said in a press release.
The new round of award grant recipients includes:
- Building a Just and Verdant Montgomery County Together, One Montgomery Green in Silver Spring (serving all of Montgomery County);
- Outdoor Classroom, Sligo Creek Education Foundation in Silver Spring (Silver Spring International Middle School and Sligo Creek Elementary School);
- Travel Training for People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, SEEC in Silver Spring (serving all of Montgomery County);
- IW Food Pantry, Interfaith Works, Inc. in Rockville (serving all of Montgomery County);
- Purple Line Power Hours, Nonprofit Montgomery in Rockville (serving all of Montgomery County); and
- National Night Out, Beacon Heights Citizens Association in Beacon Heights (Prince George’s County).
“We’re excited to provide financial backing to these six organizations, which work tirelessly to make our local communities better places to live, work and play,” PLTP CEO Doran Bosso said. “The number and quality of applications we received was truly inspirational and selecting the awardees was not an easy task.”
Congratulations to @InterfaithWorks on their recently awarded $3000 grant, one of six awardees from the latest round of Beyond the Rails community grants from #PurpleLineTransitPartners. #Connectingcommunities #BeyondTheRails #PurpleLine #MDOTcares pic.twitter.com/EfbYJSsGLW
— Purple Line (@PurpleLineMD) August 24, 2024
Previous award grant recipients include Community Forklift, Purple Line NOW, The Metamorphosis Community Project, WETATi Academy, Carole Highlands Neighborhood Association, and Healing Practice Counseling.
Beyond the Rails grants range from $1,000 to $3,000 and are open to community-oriented groups in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties. PLTP awards twelve Beyond the Rails community grants annually, in groups of six every six months.
The application deadline for the next group of grants is November 30. Selection and award notifications will follow shortly thereafter.
According to PLTP, successful applicants will benefit organizations or neighborhoods (not individuals), provide advantages to a community near the Purple Line corridor, and focus on the categories of Community and Environment. The Community category supports neighboring communities’ overall well-being, including safety, health, recreation, and education, while the Environment category enhances or protects the natural surroundings.
Additional details about the Beyond The Rails community grant program are available on the Maryland Purple Line website.
Photo Courtesy of The Purple Line Project