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Community Corner

Bank of America Awards $457,500 To Philadelphia Nonprofits Addressing Local Workforce Development and Education Needs

The Bank of America Charitable Foundation today announced $457,500 in grants to 21 nonprofits in Philadelphia to help connect the unemployed, underemployed, veterans, youth and those with disabilities to training and employment opportunities.

“Supporting nonprofit organizations that connect people to jobs and skills is part of our efforts to help improve the financial lives of individuals and customers in the communities we serve,” said Thomas C. Woodward, Pennsylvania market president, Bank of America. “A trained workforce ensures we remain competitive in an increasingly complex and competitive global economy and strengthens the economic health of the Philadelphia community.”

Some of the organizations receiving funding are:

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·         Free Library of Philadelphia will use the grant for its Teen Leadership Assistant Program. Through the program, the library trains and employs 150 teens to work with the 70,000 children who attend the library’s Literacy Enrichment Afterschool Program (LEAP). The teens learn valuable job skills while working eight hours a week designing and promoting literacy programs to youth.  

·         Junior Achievement will use the grant to add two more schools and to reach more high school students through its “Be Entrepreneurial” program. Junior Achievement provides hands-on, experiential learning that prepares children to move forward with their education and to find success after graduation. More than 14,000 students participated in Junior Achievement last year.

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·         Tech Impact will use the grant for ITWorks, which provides Philadelphia students career guidance, interview training and connections to employers. Over 16 weeks, students earn a professional information technology (IT) certification and are placed into technology-related internships at area businesses. 

  Grants are also being awarded to the Center for Literacy, City Year, Community College of Philadelphia, Congreso de Latinas Unidos, Energy Coordinating Agency of Philadelphia,  Entrepreneur Works Fund, Franklin Institute, Girl Scouts, Greater Philadelphia Hispanic Chamber, JEVS Human Services, Junior Achievement, Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship, Philadelphia Education Fund, Teach for America, University City District, Urban League of Philadelphia, Welcoming Center for New Pennsylvanians and Philadelphia Freedom Valley YMCA.

 The Bank of America Charitable Foundation is awarding more than $22 million in grants to more than 1,050 nonprofits that support workforce development and education initiatives. According to estimates provided by grant recipients, the funding will enable community organizations to reach nearly 9 million people, match over 115,000 youth with mentors, and help around 27,000 students graduate with a degree or certification. The grants focus on low- and moderate-income communities that have been hardest hit in the economic downturn.  The funding is part of the company’s intensified philanthropic focus on three core issues vital to the economic health of communities: housing, jobs and hunger and represents an important component of Bank of America’s commitment to making communities better places in which to live and do business.

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