Burns: $90,000 awarded to Flood City Youth Fitness Academy for new indoor gymnasium
‘If Frank had not interceded for us, we never would have got that grant money’
Rep. Frank Burns July 28, 2025 | 10:34 AM
EBENSBURG, July 28 – Materials and supplies to construct an indoor gymnasium at Flood City Youth Fitness Academy – whose afterschool program provides safe haven for 150 to 200 Johnstown area kids daily – have been purchased through a $90,000 state grant state Rep. Frank Burns engineered.
Oscar Cashaw Sr., Flood City executive director, said the 50x100-foot steel pole building will double as a multipurpose facility for the nonprofit, which launched in 2007 and employs 52 people including bus drivers, tutors, monitors, mentors, classroom instructors, cooks and janitorial staff.
“Our summer program averages 129 kids per day, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. We offer tutoring, a STEM program and playground activities. That was the main reason Frank helped us with the $90,000. We needed an indoor gymnasium,” Cashaw said.
“If Frank had not interceded for us, we never would have got that grant money. He put me in touch with some of the people in Harrisburg … He’s making an impact. And a lot of it’s behind the scenes.”
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“If Frank had not interceded for us, we never would have got that grant money. He put me in touch with some of the people in Harrisburg … He’s making an impact. And a lot of it’s behind the scenes.” – Oscar Cashaw Sr., executive director, Flood City Youth Fitness Academy
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Cashaw said that Burns also helped Flood City get a partnership with the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, including introducing Cashaw to the university provost; and also served as a catalyst in the nonprofit developing a relationship with Penn Highlands Community College.
“Frank’s always been involved in working with the community and the kids. He also knows the value of what we are doing,” Cashaw said of a full menu of youth-geared offerings that include a playground area, musical arts studio, recreation room, exercise equipment/fitness area and virtual learning center.
Burns thanked Cashaw for acknowledging his role, adding, “Not everything that goes into funding successes like this generates a news release or a headline. A lot of it is good, old-fashioned, John Murtha-like heavy lifting away from the spotlight.”