Bridging the gap: The Bridge Educational Foundation presented more than $210,000 in scholarship money to Philadelphia schools during a ceremony at St. Cecilia last week. TOM WARING / TIMES PHOTO
The Bridge Educational Foundation last week presented more than $210,000 in scholarship money to Philadelphia schools at a ceremony at St. Cecilia.
The money was donated by CSX Transportation, Enterprise Holdings, Penn Jersey Paper, PJP Marketplace, RBC Capital Markets, UnitedHealthcare Community Plan and Waste Management.
The schools benefiting were St. Cecilia, Christ the King, Holy Innocents, Maternity BVM, Nazareth Academy, Our Lady of Port Richmond, Our Mother of Sorrows/St. Ignatius, Resurrection of Our Lord, St. Christopher, St. Frances Cabrini, St. Martin of Tours, St. Matthew and St. Raymond of Penafort elementary schools; Archbishop Ryan, Father Judge, Little Flower, Mercy Vocational and Nazareth Academy high schools; Girard College; Greene Street Friends; Quba Institute; Timothy Academy; and Penn Charter.
Elected officials in attendance were state Sens. Tina Tartaglione and John Sabatina Jr. and state Reps. Mike Driscoll, Kevin Boyle and Martina White.
Guest speakers included Anne Kelly, a St. Martin of Tours and Little Flower graduate whose children will benefit by the scholarship money. She has a son, Conor, a freshman at Roman Catholic; a son, Kevin, an eighth-grader at St. Cecilia who will be going to Father Judge; and a daughter, Maura, a sixth-grader at St. Cecilia.
Bridge Educational Foundation is a Harrisburg-based nonprofit scholarship organization whose mission is to partner families and schools with Pennsylvania businesses to provide scholarship opportunities.
Businesses receive tax credits with their donations to Bridge, using the state Educational Improvement Tax Credit and Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit programs. Bridge has raised more than $25 million to provide educational opportunities for 14,000 families statewide. The money has gone to 700 schools in 60 counties. ••
