PAST EVENTS
CSFP receives gift and recognition from The Pennsylvania Society in honor of H.F. "Gerry" Lenfest
On December 12th, the Pennsylvania Society held its 2009 annual dinner in NYC and awarded its "Gold Medal for Distinguished Achievement" to H.F. "Gerry" Lenfest. A noted philanthropist and media entrepreneur, his accomplishments on behalf of so many organizations are legendary. The award winner has the opportunity to select a charitable organization to which the Society will donate $50,000. This year, Children's Scholarship Fund Philadelphia was one of two charitable organizations selected by Mr. Lenfest. Before an audience of 1,500 statewide business and political leaders, we were presented with a $25,000 check and recognized for our service to the educational needs of Philadelphia’s low-income children. We are grateful to Mr. Lenfest for his continued support and confidence in the work of Children's Scholarship Fund Philadelphia, as well as the Pennsylvania Society for its generous gift made in his honor.
2009 High School Workshop
CSFP, in conjunction with the Churchill Institute for Leadership Development (CHILD) hosted a workshop on the high school admission and selection process for our 7th & 8th graders and their families on October 10th, 2009 at the University of Pennsylvania. Students learned how to conduct a successful interview with an admissions counselor and interacted with a panel of experts on high school admissions. Parents had lots of questions about financial aid, school visits, and the application process at a separate panel. After lunch, everyone attended the High School Fair, where families could meet and ask questions of representatives from various Philadelphia and Philadelphia area magnet schools, charter schools, Catholic Archdiocese schools, and Independent schools. The day was a huge success & we hope to sponsor this workshop next year.
New Board Members
CSFP would like to welcome and thank our newest board members Tracee Hunt, Philadelphia Coca-Cola Bottling Co., and Todd Rose, President & CEO, Telrose Corporation for joining the CSFP family. We look forward to working with Tracee & Todd to expand and improve our scholarship program in the years to come!
7th & 8th Grade Math & Writing Workshops
On July 14th & 16th, and then again on the 21st & 23rd, CSFP’s 7th & 8th grade students attended math and writing tutorials at the Friends Select School to help them prepare for the upcoming school year. Students attended 4 workshop sessions. Both students and parents reported that the workshops were fun, helpful, and engaging. We would like to sincerely thank Philadelphia teachers Kaitlin McCann, Maria Ciancetta, Margaret Barry, and Mimi McKenzie. Greg Lowe, Summer Search Philadelphia employee & founder of Tipping Points Test Prep, was in charge of planning and teacher training for the summer workshop. A special thanks to the Phillies for providing more than 50 baseball tickets to our workshop participants as a “graduation” treat!
2009 Awards Ceremony
Children's Scholarship Fund Philadelphia annual award ceremony was held on Wednesday, June 17, 2009. The award ceremony took place at Drexel University, and celebrated the success and dedication of our students, families, schools and donor community. We were honored to present H.F. "Gerry" Lenfest with this year's CSFP Citizen of the Year. Mayor Michael Nutter helped to introduce Mr. Lenfest, who has been an incredible philanthropic leader on behalf of so many low-income Philadelphia children. His vision, time and commitment in helping secure greater educational opportunities for all children are an inspiration to us all. Congratulations!! URBN was selected as our Corporate Citizen of the Year. Glen Senk, CEO of URBN was present on June 17th to accept this award. URBN has been a friend and supporter since the start. Through the focused and creative leadership of both Richard Hayne and Glen Senk, CSFP has benefited from the URBN family's time and input. We are grateful for the "light" that their talent and energy have brought to CSFP. Past recipients have included: Christy Walton, Walton Family Foundation; James Nevels, CEO, Swarthmore Group and former head of the Philadelphia School Reform Commission; Geoffrey Canada, CEO, Harlem Children's Zone; Governor Tom Ridge; Dave Montgomery and the Phillies; and Winston Churchill, SCP Partners and President of the Board, Gesu School. Also recognized were five CSFP alumni selected to receive $500 college scholarships in honor of H.F. “Gerry” Lenfest. This fall, Samuel Brewington will be attending West Chester University, Christian Baron will be attending Penn State, Jenny Hoac will be attending Temple University, Anthony Samuels, Jr. will be attending Elms College, and Jessica Kolakowski will be attending Holy Family University. Good luck to all of these rising college freshmen – we are so proud of you! Lastly, CSFP recognized the 800, new, four-year scholarship recipients for the 2009-2010 school year by presenting their families with their award letters. "Wally," the Wawa goose and the Phillie Phanatic were in attendance to entertain all. See event pictures here.
Weekend at the Academy of Natural Sciences
Children's Scholarship Fund Philadelphia hosted its fourth annual "Weekend at the Academy of Natural Sciences" for its families and students March 7th and 8th, 2009. Families enjoyed the museum at greatly reduced prices and participated in a variety of specially designed science workshops. This special winter break has proved very popular with our CSFP families. More than 600 students and family members have joined us each year. We want to give a special thanks to The Academy of Natural Sciences for making this possible each year.
2009 Scholarship Applications
Children's Scholarship Fund Philadelphia distributed new 2009 scholarship applications through March 1, 2009. A special event marked the beginning of the distribution process. Wawa helped us celebrate the availability of 850, new, city-wide four-year scholarship awards by hosting the event at its Northeast Philadelphia store located at 12301 Academy Road. On hand was Wally, the Wawa goose and the Phillies Phanatic, together with interested families, corporate and civic leaders. CSFP applications were available through March 1, 2009 at all Philadelphia area public library branches, Police Athletic League Centers, Philadelphia Park and Recreation Centers, as well as area day care facilities, churches, and schools.
Children's Scholarship Fund Philadelphia 2008 Benefit
Children's Scholarship Fund Philadelphia benefit was held at Urban Outfitters at the Philadelphia Naval Yard Headquarters on Saturday, OCTOBER 25, 2008. We are thrilled that Dick and Meg Hayne served as our co-chairpersons of the event. The evening will long be remembered in the Philadelphia area for its unusual venue, decor, great activities and food. The credit for the night's success goes to Dick and Meg Hayne as well as the entire Urban, Free People, Anthropologie and Terrain team for their dedication and time in so creatively transforming the venue into a giant indoor carnival and so generously opening their corporate doors. A special thanks goes to Meredith Boice and Lauren Addis of Urban for their lead role in implementing and producing this event. The benefit raised more than $750,000 new scholarship dollars. We want to thank our lead corporate event sponsors for helping us reach our goals: Wawa PNC VerizonWireless AmerisourceBergen Mass Marketing Insurance Group Cigna Maverick Capital And Urban Outfitters We also want to acknowledge the tremendous efforts of Ryan and Jack Longstreth, Co-Chairs of our Young Leadership Carnival Committee. As a result of their efforts, many more young Philadelphia leaders participated in the event and were involved in helping secure greater opportunities for low-income children. Finally, we want to thank the more than 600 event participants for joining us on October 25th so that many more children will have new found hope, opportunity and success. See event pictures here.
2008 Award Ceremony
We were thrilled to honor this year's CSFP Citizen of the Year, Christy Walton. Governor Ed Rendell was present and helped mark this incredible 10th year celebration. His remarks were well received by the more than 2,400 families, students and civic leaders present that morning. Christy R. Walton has carried forward the legacy that she helped create with her late husband John, more than 10 years ago, to provide educational opportunities for all children, regardless of geography or wealth. This journey began in 1998, when Christy and John established Children's Scholarship Fund and secured $100 million in initial funding to allow low-income families across America access to private schools. At that time, more than 40,000 Philadelphia families applied for the 1,200 four-year scholarship awards provided from the initial grant. We are honored to be able to recognize Christy at this event. Additionally, we presented Wawa with this year's "Corporate Citizen of the Year Award". As an early, consistent supporter and friend of CSFP, Wawa has helped to secure more than 100 new scholarships for needy students and assure their future and the future of this scholarship program. Thank you for your trust and efforts on behalf of so many! Hope, opportunity and success - it was experienced on June 7, 2008. From the 4,350 students that Christy and John have helped to fund in Philadelphia, to our newest 1,500 scholarship students - to the current CSFP children who are maximizing their "opportunity" through their school accomplishments - to the success of our high school seniors that are graduating at rates greater than 95% - thank you. Philadelphia is a better city for the vision and efforts of our donors, and friends. Watch for more 10th year celebratory activities! A special thanks to our event sponsors: Stradley Ronon Stevens and Young, LLP and Beneficial Savings Bank for underwriting the costs of the day's celebration!
March 15, 2008 Lottery Selection
Children's Scholarship Fund Philadelphia held its 7th annual scholarship random lottery this March and selected 1,500 winning students from more than 5,000 applications. Award packages will be mailed in mid-March to families. To help welcome these newest members of the CSFP family, an orientation workshop will be held Saturday, April 5, 2008 at the Academy of Natural Sciences, from 9:30 - 10:30 AM. We encourage all new award parents and/or guardians to attend. A panel of experts will be on hand to answer questions about school transition issues, including social, academic and financial.
Follow us on:
