PwC US’s Chicago office donated $285,000 to three Chicago-based nonprofit organizations and charter schools, funded through grants from the PwC Charitable Foundation, which is committed to youth education and grants and skills-based volunteer programs.
The Brighton Park Neighborhood Council received a grant for $150,000 to aid its “Paso a Paso” initiative, supporting and guiding students transitioning into middle and high school with enrichment programs. A community-based nonprofit organization serving a low-income working class neighborhood in Chicago, BPNC has a mission of creating safer communities and improving the learning environment at public schools while providing a voice for youth. As part of the grant, BPMC will integrate PwC’s Earn Your Future financial literacy curricula into its existing programs, with PwC partners and staff volunteering.
The second grant was bestowed to Chicago International Charter School for $75,000 to support after school and enrichment programs on campus. As part of the grant, CICS, which is a network of K-12 public charter schools providing college-preparatory education, also plans to implement a program based on Earn Your Future for students in grades three through 12 at CICS Longwood.
The third grant of $60,000 was given to buildOn to help create a Youth Engagement Zone at Gage Park High School in Chicago. The program will work with the community to create after school and community service events for students. A nonprofit organization, buildOn works to break the cycle of poverty, illiteracy and low expectations through service and education.
"We are very excited to provide these grants from the PwC Charitable Foundation to help our youth,” stated Jim Kolar, managing partner of PwC's greater Chicago market. “These organizations' missions of promoting youth education align with our commitment to developing future leaders, and we look forward to working with them to make a difference in our city. As we celebrate Financial Literacy Month in April, we're thrilled to announce these grants that will empower youth through our financial literacy curriculum and further improve education."
Earn Your Future, which aims to close the education gap by collaborating with schools and community organizations to drive improvement around financial literacy, impacted 500,000 youth and 18,000 educators in its first year, while partners and staff contributed 150,000 volunteer service hours. PwC also donated $12 million to support youth-related causes. More on the first year is available at the PwC's Earn Your Future Year 1 in Review.
