The Spruce Foundation, an all-volunteer grantmaking organization led by millennials, is preparing to overhaul its programming and events. Formed in 2007 by a group of high school friends interested in giving back, Spruce has formalized over the years. It now awards $5,000 each to four nonprofits serving youth in core issue areas — health & wellness, […]

Crammed into a basement auditorium, dense with late-August heat, 350 high school students waited to be drafted — NFL-draft style — by dozens of local businesses. Employees and a few CEOs circled the students, shaking hands and passing out hats, shirts and other company-branded gear. It was “signing day” at Cristo Rey Philadelphia, a college-prep […]

Camp Director, Andrew Wakelee, a NFTE certified entrepreneurship teacher with campers Dextina Nebo, Jennifer White and Jeannette Jones The Network For Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE), a nationwide nonprofit established in 1987, works to inspire young people to pursue educational opportunities, start their own businesses, and succeed in life. Philadelphia’s NFTE branch was established in 2007, and […]

The GREEN program is a new kind of study abroad program that helps students from around the world visit other cities and countries to study innovative practices in sustainability. “We run short-term career accelerating programs abroad, focused on specific topics revolving around sustainability, sustainable development and renewable energy,” said Brady Halligan, director of strategic partnerships and enrollment. […]

After a stint as a first-grade teacher in North Philadelphia, Alejandro Gac-Artigas, the founder of Springboard Collaborative, wondered why his students needed until mid-November to regain the learning losses that were happening over the summer. On average, low-income elementary students experience a three-month learning regression when school is out and they often struggle to catch […]

The nonprofit Neighborhood Bike Works has been around in Philadelphia for more than 18 years, helping youth learn about bicycles as well as other life skills through its Youth Bike Education & Empowerment Program. “[We] started out in West Philly and we’ve expanded to other parts of the city, and what we do is we […]

Robert J. McNeill, Economy League Chair, speaks at the World Class Summit On Wednesday, July 9, the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia hosted the 2014 World Class Summit and leaders from every sector of social impact were in attendance. Each year this gathering is the forum for sharing research in topic areas that they call World […]