PITTSBURGH, April 4, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Thousands of
tiny, wide-eyed faces will light up this year as a result of the
$5 million alliance between the PNC
Foundation and DonorsChoose.org, which is entering its second year
of providing new resources to Head Start and public pre-K
classrooms across the PNC footprint. The effort provides
much-needed educational supplies and experiences to help prepare
young children for success in school and life.
"PNC recognizes that providing high-quality early education for
all children helps prepare the workforce and community leaders of
tomorrow. And yet, too many teachers struggle to access
classroom resources to help them provide high quality educational
experiences for their students," said PNC Chairman, President and
Chief Executive Officer William S.
Demchak. "This year we'll build on the relationship we
established with DonorsChoose.org last year by honoring successful
teachers and continuing to support local efforts that give pre-K
teachers engaging materials to enrich young minds."
Supplies on the Way
The PNC Foundation will start the 2018 funding cycle with four
initiatives.
- Match Funding: From now through May 31, 2018 PNC will match, dollar-for-dollar,
donations that support public pre-K and Head Start teachers'
project requests in the PNC service area listed on
DonorsChoose.org, subject to restrictions and a maximum dollar
amount. The duration of the match campaign depends on the number of
project requests and donations. For specific guidelines on the
match offer, visit DonorsChoose.org.
- Teacher Gift Cards: Today, every teacher who submitted a
pre-K project request in the PNC footprint on DonorsChoose.org
since April 4, 2017 received a
$100 electronic gift card,
distributed through DonorsChoose.org. More than 3,700 public pre-K
and Head Start teachers received the funds to support new projects
on DonorsChoose.org.
- Spotlight: One outstanding early education teacher in
each of PNC's markets will be honored as a Teacher Hero for their
efforts and involvement in the PNC/DonorsChoose.org alliance. Each
Teacher Hero will receive a $2,000
gift card to fund a project in her or his classroom and a second
$2,000 gift card to help seed other
pre-K projects listed on DonorsChoose.org.
- PNC Volunteer Gift Cards: All PNC employees who
volunteered for Grow Up Great in 2017 (approximately 17,000) will
receive a $50 electronic gift card to
support pre-K project requests on DonorsChoose.org.
"Though teachers often spend their own money on classroom
supplies, they still need many more resources to provide a
well-rounded, high-quality learning experience," said Yasmina S. Vinci, executive director, National
Head Start Association. "NHSA is grateful to our partners at PNC
and DonorsChoose.org for supporting Head Start's efforts to provide
a window of opportunity for America's most vulnerable children and
families."
With the additional resources obtained through the successful
alliance, Chicago pre-K teacher
Denise Lopez-Gill has assisted
children with a variety of academic, emotional and social
needs.
"Because of these efforts, we can introduce our children to more
activities and opportunities to learn more skills," Lopez-Gill
said. "The supplies that I have received have transformed our
classroom environment."
The alliance builds on its 2017 momentum, in which
PNC contributed $2.2 million to
support pre-K projects listed on DonorsChoose.org.
The campaign enabled 244,000 children across the 21 states and
District of Columbia where PNC
operates to receive new classroom materials and educational
opportunities. More than 7,500 pre-K classroom projects benefited
from the PNC grant, which was made in support of PNC Grow Up
Great®, an early childhood education initiative.
Not only is providing high-quality pre-K education the right
thing to do, it makes good economic sense. Studies have shown that
high-quality preschool education better prepares children to
achieve in school and strive for higher vocational aspirations, and
that it has a positive impact on society. For every dollar spent on
high-quality early education for at-risk children, society gains as
much as $13 in long-term savings.
"PNC and DonorsChoose.org understand how hard preschool and Head
Start teachers work to bring learning to life every day," said
Charles Best, DonorsChoose.org
founder and CEO. "We're so excited to work with PNC again to
support even more public school pre-K and Head Start teachers and
students, and enhance their classroom experiences.
The PNC Foundation's alliance with DonorsChoose.org makes it
easy for the public to support preschool classrooms. Donors who
give to qualifying projects will have their gifts matched by PNC
and see exactly how their dollars are being put to use by teachers
and students.
Teachers and donors should visit
www.PNCGrowUpGreat.com/donorschoose for more information.
Founded in 2000 by a Bronx
history teacher, DonorsChoose.org has raised more than
$645 million for America's classrooms. Teachers come to
DonorsChoose.org to request the materials and experiences they need
most for their classrooms, and donors give to the projects that
inspire them. More than 3 million people and partners have
funded over 1 million projects on the site, reaching 27
million students and making DonorsChoose.org the leading platform
for supporting U.S. public schools.
DonorsChoose.org is the only crowd funding platform that vets
each request, delivers materials directly to schools, and captures
the impact of every funded project with photos, thank yous, and a
cost report showing how each dollar was spent. In 2014,
DonorsChoose.org made the top 10 of Fast Company's list of
the World's Most Innovative Companies, the first time a
charity has received such recognition.
The National Head Start Association is a not-for-profit
organization committed to the belief that every child, regardless
of circumstances at birth, has the ability to succeed in school and
in life. The opportunities offered by Head Start lead to healthier,
empowered children and families, and stronger, more vibrant
communities. NHSA is the voice for more than 1 million children,
200,000 staff and 1,600 Head Start grantees in the United States. Visit www.nhsa.org and
follow @NatlHeadStart for more information.
The PNC Foundation, which receives its principal funding from
The PNC Financial Services Group (www.pnc.com), actively supports
organizations that provide services for the benefit of communities
in which it has a significant presence. The foundation focuses its
philanthropic mission on early childhood education and community
and economic development, which includes the arts and culture.
Through PNC Grow Up Great®, its signature cause that
began in 2004, PNC has created a bilingual $350 million, multi-year initiative to help
prepare children from birth to age 5 for success in school and
life. For more information, please visit
www.pncgrowupgreat.com.
CONTACT:
Shannon Mortland
(216) 222-9517
shannon.mortland@pnc.com
@ShannonM_PNC
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SOURCE PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.