University City District is pleased to share that on Friday, April 6th, JPMorgan Chase & Co. announced a $225,000 grant at a presentation and symposium. The funds from this global investor will help fuel the West Philadelphia Skills Initiative (WPSI) job training program and support our efforts to leverage University City institutions’ purchasing power to connect local residents to economic opportunity.
JPMorgan Chase has invested $350 million to support skill building around the globe through New Skills at Work, its initiative to create more opportunities for workers to obtain well-paying, middle-skill jobs. The firm is supporting efforts like UCD’s that focus on developing talent and best-in-class training that create pathways to increased economic opportunity.
The grant announcement and discussion, held at University City Science Center’s Quorum, featured remarks from UCD President Matt Bergheiser; JPMorgan Chase’s Gerry Murphy, Industry Manager of Healthcare, Higher Education & Not-for-Profits and Commercial Banking; and Jennie Sparandara, Executive Director of Global Philanthropy, followed by two panel discussions.
The first discussion, moderated by UCD Board Chair and Executive Vice President of the University of Pennsylvania Craig Carnaroli, featured PIDC’s President John Grady, Allied Universal’s District Portfolio Manager Yaya Diakite, and CHOP’s Senior Recruiting Manager Joyce Yeager discussing Philadelphia as a city of growth, and how employers interact with the Skills Initiative to recruit and retain local talent. Joyce Bacon – a WPSI graduate and current Program Manager – then moderated a discussion between three WPSI graduates, Xia Frazier, Eric Still and Christina Garland-McCall, about their experience in the program, their current careers and future aspirations.“At JPMorgan Chase, we understand that connecting people with local economic opportunities can make a tremendous impact on a community,” said John Emery, Managing Director, Philadelphia Market Leadership Chair, JPMorgan Chase. “We’re proud to support the work of UCD and look forward to seeing the impact of this grant on the West Philadelphia community.”
“University City is at a unique moment of economic possibility, and we are grateful to work with partners like JPMorgan Chase to ensure that we are connecting talented West Philadelphians to the opportunities afforded by growth,” said Matt Bergheiser, President of University City District. “With this investment, we will continue to leverage institutional hiring and purchasing power to create life-changing job opportunities for local residents.”We are so grateful to JPMorgan for helping to fuel the incredible talent in West Philadelphia. Partners like JPMorgan make our crucial work possible.
