Boeing’s $50K Grant to Union Foundation to Aid in Getting Opportunities to Chester Youth

Mar. 1—RIDLEY TWP. — The Philadelphia Union Foundation and Boeing on Wednesday announced a new partnership, with the aerospace giant giving $50,000 to the soccer club's iAM Project.

The money will support high school students from low-income backgrounds in Chester as they pursue educational opportunities. Boeing hosted a group of 30 students from Chester Charter Scholars Academy at its Ridley Park campus for a panel discussion on careers and a tour of the facility's production line.

Boeing joins a long list of corporate partners for the Union Foundation's philanthropic efforts, particularly aimed at youth in Chester.

In recent years, the club has formed or expanded partnerships with multinational companies in the greater Philadelphia area, including Bimbo Bakeries USA, Lincoln Financial Group, WSFS and Subaru, to expand its offerings to students.

"All those are great companies that are ready, willing and able to help move the needle, in a very real way, for these kids in Chester," said Paul Howard, the executive director of the Philadelphia Union Foundation.

The iAM Project seeks to bring educational and career opportunities to young people in Chester, through motivational speakers, professional mentors and links to industries and universities, led by its connection to Neumann University.

The program includes an Inspirational Speaker Series for students in grades 7 through 12, the Aspire Program of workshops leading to internship opportunities for 10th and 11th graders, mentorship through the undergraduate years of college and a professional network upon graduation.

Partnerships like the one with Boeing can help students connect the dots on how to turn interests in the classroom into careers.

Akeem Iman-Jones, the human resources executive of the Vertical Lift-Boeing Defense Division, saw that challenge in his own career: how to find role models and career pathways to emulate.

"Here's the difference that we make, connecting to the community not at the college level but at high school and below so they can actually have an understanding of other opportunities they've never thought about," Iman-Jones said.

Boeing hopes to benefit from the talent it has access to in finding its next generation of innovators. They can then send those people back into the community to help sustain the cycle.

" Boeing believes the future is in tomorrow's innovators," said Boeing community investor Michele Hengey. "We develop innovators through investments in STEM education and in the 21st century skills required in today's modern workplace. This partnership with the Philadelphia Union Foundation will help create opportunities and career paths for many of those young innovators here in Chester."

___

(c)2023 Daily Times, Primos, Pa.

Visit Daily Times, Primos, Pa. at https://www.delcotimes.com/

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.