A Montgomery County resident — who wants to remain anonymous — donated nearly $10,000 in Metro cards that will go to low-income families, County Council President Evan Glass announced Thursday.
Glass, who is facilitating the donation, said the resident reached out to him a few weeks ago wanting to make the donation.
County Council President @EvanMGlass announces an anonymous donation of Metro cards, which he is facilitating. He says a county resident reached out to him to donate nearly $10,000 in cards. 33 cards with $300 each will go to low-income families. @mymcmedia pic.twitter.com/SD8vXj6bLN
— Maryam Shahzad (@maryam_mcm) December 15, 2022
33 families will get Metro cards, with $300 per card. Recipients are Head Start and Early Head Start families.
Glass said Head Start and Early Head Start are childhood education programs in Montgomery County Public Schools that provide wraparound services, like healthcare, dental care, nutrition and family supports, to children and families in need. The families in the program are at or below the federal poverty line, which Glass said was less than $28,000 for a family of four this year.
“We know that free transit does unlock opportunities for education, for social mobility, economic mobility, access to jobs, because otherwise if we don’t have good reliable transportation that people can access, they are literally stuck where they are,” he said.
“It may seem like a small aspect, but this is really huge for them,” said Verna Washington, an MCPS Head Start supervisor.
“This will definitely impact their ability to meet the needs within their family,” said Nichelle Owens, also a Head Start supervisor with MCPS.
“This is the holiday season, and it’s a time to give back,” Glass said.
