Lincoln Financial Foundation Strengthens Philadelphia Education

Philadelphia, July 8, 2014 – The Lincoln Financial Foundation is helping to strengthen educational programming in Philadelphia through $630,100 in recent grants to 19 local nonprofit agencies that sustain learning. These grants are a portion of $2.1 million in charitable funds the Foundation has allocated for Philadelphia in 2014.

Philadelphia Futures received $125,000 for its Collegian Services. All of Philadelphia Futures’ high school seniors graduate high school, and 98 percent of those high school graduates go on to college. Core college retention services are offered to those college students, including individualized academic and personal support and counseling, graduate school and career preparation, and paid summer internships with local businesses and organizations. During the 2014-2015 program year, Philadelphia Futures will serve approximately 285 collegians and another 35 former college students who are working to return. By increasing the number of college graduates in the city, Philadelphia Futures is making a meaningful contribution to the economic stability and social vibrancy of the community. 

Additional education grants awarded include:

• $100,000 to the Eagles Charitable Foundation to support its Eye Mobile, providing free vision care including eye exams, prescription eyeglasses and follow-up care to elementary and middle school children, and its Book Mobile, serving underprivileged children at schools, libraries, recreation centers and summer programs and allowing the children to select their very own new book.

• $90,000 to Teach For America to continue expanding the number of its corps members teaching in Philadelphia classrooms, as well as support for four TFA Philadelphia corps members.
• $70,000 to City Year Greater Philadelphia to support its Whole School Whole Child Initiative in Overbrook High School for the second consecutive year. 
• $30,100 to Philadelphia Youth Network for its 2014 WorkReady summer internship program, providing high school juniors and seniors with workforce development opportunities.
• $30,000 to the Police Athletic League of Philadelphia for three Adopt-a-Center sites that provide summer and after-school homework clubs, literacy programs and computer education in youth centers.
• $25,000 to the Children’s Literacy Initiative to support its Philadelphia Model Classrooms Project during the 2014-2015 school year. Model Classrooms provide literacy-focused professional development and classroom resources for kindergarten through third grade teachers and principals.  

• $25,000 to People’s Emergency Center for the Digital Inclusion youth education programs, including Sixth Grade Stars, Digital Connectors and Teen Technology Network, available to low-income students.
• $25,000 to Philadelphia Education Fund for its College Access program, providing one-on-one college prep guidance to low-income and at-risk students.
• $15,000 to Philadelphia Academies to provide high school students with career-connected education, industry and college tours.
• $15,000 to Philadelphia READS to help strengthen the literacy skills of elementary students in Philadelphia through mentoring, book drives, summer reading and parent literacy workshops.
• $12,500 to Children’s Village to support early childhood education and after-school programs for youth in Chinatown.
• $12,500 to Need in Deed for Service Learning programs targeting students ages 8-14 and cultivating academic connections to challenging social problems facing urban populations.
• $10,000 to Big Brothers Big Sisters Southeastern Pennsylvania to extend its successful school-based mentoring program in two Philadelphia public schools. 
• $10,000 to Boys and Girls Clubs of Philadelphia for after-school programming for elementary and middle school students at its West Kensington branch.
• $10,000 to Springboard Collaborative to support its intensive summer reading instruction program for teachers, parents and students in low-performing schools.
• $10,000 to Wagner Free Institute of Science for GeoKids, a natural sciences education program for students in four North Philadelphia elementary schools.
• $7,500 to Achieve Now to improve literacy rates for students who are reading below grade level by pairing each student with a coach.
• $7,500 to Mighty Writers for its after-school literacy programs and writing workshops, helping students improve their writing skills at the South Philadelphia and West Philadelphia sites.

Multi-year education payments include:

• $32,500 to Franklin Institute to support the Partnerships for Achieving Careers in Technology and Science (PACTS) program of intensive school-year and summer study of earth science, robotics, forensics and architecture for 125 middle and high school students, as well as the ACCESS program, providing free field trips to the museum for children from underserved schools. This payment fulfills the Foundation’s two-year commitment awarded in 2013.
• $30,000 to Steppingstone Foundation for its academic and scholar enrichment and summer support programs. This payment fulfills the Foundation’s two-year commitment awarded in 2013.
• $20,000 to Project Forward Leap Foundation for its summer education and year-round enrichment program for public school students. This payment fulfills the Foundation’s two-year commitment awarded in 2013.
• $15,000 to Please Touch Museum to support its year-round ACES (Achievement through Community Service, Education and Skill Building) program, a work-based learning, enrichment and mentoring program serving 13 low-income, at-risk high school students. This payment fulfills the Foundation’s two-year commitment awarded in 2013.
• $15,000 to the Zoological Society of Philadelphia for Zoo CREW (Champions for Restoring Endangered Wildlife), which teaches freshmen and sophomore students about the threats facing at-risk species and gives them the opportunity to create a community conservation education plan that they can then carry out in their community. This payment fulfills the Foundation’s two-year commitment awarded in 2013.

• $12,500 to After-School Activities Partnerships to support city-wide after-school programs and enrichment activities, including chess, debate, drama and Scrabble clubs.  This payment fulfills the Foundation’s two-year commitment awarded in 2013.
• $12,500 to Breakthrough of Greater Philadelphia for its School Success program in 25 schools in the School District of Philadelphia aimed at low-income students who aspire to attend college. This payment fulfills the Foundation’s two-year commitment awarded in 2013.

About Lincoln Financial Group

Lincoln Financial Group has set aside almost $10 million of its pre-tax earnings for charitable causes that support philanthropic endeavors in the communities where its employees work. Lincoln Financial Group provides advice and solutions that help empower Americans to take charge of their financial lives with confidence and optimism. Today, more than 12 million customers trust our retirement, insurance and wealth protection expertise to help address their lifestyle, savings and income goals, as well as to guard against long-term care expenses. Headquartered in Radnor, Pennsylvania, Lincoln Financial Group is the marketing name for Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) and its affiliates. The company has $209 billion in assets under management as of March 31, 2014. Learn more at www.LincolnFinancial.com.