Each Friday, we’ll bring you a round-up of positive news about how Chamber members are making a difference in our community.
For global companies, it’s important to make the communities in which you do business a priority for support, engagement, and lasting impact. Last month, the AmerisourceBergen Foundation, a charitable giving organization dedicated to supporting health-related causes, brought together more than 60 nonprofit partners and peers during a virtual conference to discuss issues including pandemic resilience, social justice and racial equality, and health and community improvement. This conference comes on the heels of a more than $1 million commitment made in March to regional, national and global nonprofit organizations focused on combating the physical and mental, as well as the economic challenges resulting from the global pandemic followed by an initial philanthropic commitment made last month to support organizations working on anti-racism issues, the empowerment of diverse communities, and the of rebuilding cities.
Businesses have had to get crafty over the past few months as they seek out safe ways to engage customers during the pandemic. AR Workshop Chestnut Hill, a DIY studio that offers hands-on classes for creating custom home decor, was quick to pivot their offerings to include DIY Home kits to let their customers continue to enjoy the workshop experience during the stay-at-home order. As restrictions ease, AR Workshop Chestnut Hill is seeing crafters slowly return to small, socially-distanced classes, especially for their popular youth Summer ARt Camp. The shop’s owner, Rikki Renz, was one the first African American AR Workshop franchise owners to join the network of over 150 stores when she purchased the studio last spring. An active-member of the Chestnut Hill commercial corridor, the studio is doing their part to keep neighborhoods vital during these difficult times.
As companies and individuals look to better educate themselves on historic and current social justice issues, Cabrini University has been developing a deep understanding of these issues in their students since 2002. The university’s core curriculum, Justice Matters, develops a common core of knowledge and connects the theory and practice of social justice to each student’s major. Justice Matters goes beyond community service to give students the insights and skills to bring about meaningful change. Cabrini has also committed to being actively anti-racist, including mandatory unconscious bias and microaggression training for faculty and staff before the start of the fall semester, a new anonymous ethics reporting tool, and revisions to communications practices, policies, and procedures to ensure the inclusion and protection of diverse and marginalized voices.
As businesses in our community continue to confront the economic hardships brought on by the pandemic, members of the financial services sector are becoming key relief and recovery partners in our region. Since March, WSFS Bank, a financial services company headquartered in Wilmington, has invested $500,000 to support businesses and nonprofits in Delaware and the Greater Philadelphia region. This includes grants to local food banks and other organizations providing critical COVID-19 relief in our area. WSFS is also providing small business grants through community partners to help accelerate the region’s small business recovery efforts and the bank has facilitated nearly $1 billion in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans to help businesses that employ about 100,000 people in our communities retain jobs and forge a path beyond the crisis.
Interested in sharing your story? Contact your member engagement representative to let us know what your organization is doing to make a difference in our community.
