Phillips Foundation Commits $1 Million to Salvation Army/Boys & Girls Club Capital Campaign
Foundation has Pledged More Than $4 Million to Greensboro/Guilford County Children’s Educational Initiatives Over the Past Year
GREENSBORO, N.C. (June 16, 2014) — Phillips Foundation announced today a lead gift of $1 million to the Salvation Army’s Boys and Girls Club capital campaign to build a new facility. With this pledge, the Phillips Foundation has committed more than $4 million in investments over the past year in Greensboro/Guilford County educational initiatives for children.
Other Phillips Foundation commitments specifically focused on education and learning enrichment for children include:
- Over $2 million to launch Teach for America in Guilford County Schools in Fall, 2014
- $500,000 to Guilford County Schools for Allen Jay Middle School
- $750,000 to the new Hayes-Taylor YMCA for a Children’s Learning Center
“These initiatives fit the Phillips Foundation’s mission of making large, strategic investments in transformational, game-changer opportunities for Greensboro and Guilford County,” said Elizabeth Phillips, executive director of the Foundation. “We believe that each one holds high potential to provide our children with educational opportunities that matter to both their future and our community’s long-term future.”
The Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club has been serving youth from Warnersville and surrounding communities since 1957. The Phillips Foundation investment will help to double the capacity for Boys & Girls Club programs and expand the space for the Salvation Army’s Corps Community Center. The new facility, to be built on the site of the old J.C. Price Elementary School building on Freeman Mill Road, will also enhance the landscape of Greensboro’s downtown entrance.
“We consider the Phillips family and the Phillips Foundation to be a ‘God-send’ for The Salvation Army,” said Major Don Vick. “We have needed a new facility for the Boys & Girls Club program for several years and it is coming to be a reality due much to the generosity of the Phillips Foundation and the work that the Phillips have put into the capital campaign.”
In late 2013, Teach For America and Guilford County Schools announced a partnership to help address disparities among some of the district’s highest-need schools and students. Teach For America is consistently ranked nationally as one of the most effective new-‐teacher programs in states like North Carolina that assess the relative effectiveness of teacher training programs in terms of student achievement results. In New Orleans, for example, the number of students scoring basic or above on statewide tests has almost doubled since the program was launched in that district. The Phillips Foundation investment will help launch the program in the Piedmont Triad region this fall and also provide for an initial 31 recruited teachers, many of whom who grew up or went to school in the Triad.
Allen Jay Middle, is a magnet school and preparatory academy with a KIPP-‐model approach to education, focusing on college readiness and character development. As its first year draws to a close, the school is observing notable improvement, particularly in reading, math and social skills, and all of the students have committed to return for the 2014-2015 school year. The Phillips Foundation investment will support additional staff and teacher pay for more instructional hours above the standard that is funded by Guilford County Schools, and further student experiences.
The Hayes-Taylor YMCA has served the southeast Greensboro community for 75 years. The new Y at Barber Park will more than double the number of people it can serve, and Phillips Foundation’s investment will fund the building of its Children’s Learning Center.
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About Phillips Foundation
Founded in 2002 and fully funded in 2014, the Phillips Foundation represents the philanthropic legacy of its founder, Kermit G. Phillips II, a successful real estate entrepreneur from Greensboro, N.C. The current Board of Trustees leverages the Phillips Foundation as a catalytic capital platform for positive change through impact investing, strategic grants, and original programs. For more information, visit PhillipsFoundationNC.org.
Phillips Foundation currently does not accept unsolicited grant applications.
Phillips Foundation is a private family foundation and catalytic capital platform that leverages its assets to maximize social, environmental and financial value.
