Bridge Educational Foundation and its donors, Chubb, M&T Bank, Malady & Wooten, Waste Management and Weis Markets, announced $100,000 in scholarships for Cumberland and Dauphin County families last week. Students attending seven Diocesan schools are from among those schools who will benefit from the tuition scholarships: St. Joan of Arc, Hershey; Harrisburg Catholic Elementary; Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Middletown; St. Catherine Labouré, Harrisburg; St. Margaret Mary, Harrisburg; St. Patrick, Carlisle; and Trinity High School in Camp Hill.
Pennsylvania’s landmark Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) Program will celebrate two decades of success in 2021. The public-private partnership that the EITC creates is more important than ever for families suffering financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic. EITC tuition scholarships can help to keep students in the schools that best fit their needs and allow new families the financial help to choose the best school to fit their family’s changing needs.
“The EITC is providing families in Central Pennsylvania and throughout the state with a choice. The program has paired community-minded businesses like Chubb, Malady & Wooten, M&T Bank, Waste Management and Weis Markets with families for close to two decades. We hope that with the support of State lawmakers the EITC will continue to grow and help families choose their best educational options for many decades to come,” said Natalie Nutt, Bridge Educational Foundation Executive Director.
Dave Rushinski, principal of Harrisburg Catholic Elementary School, also expressed gratitude for the scholarship donations. “Harrisburg Catholic Elementary School wishes to express their gratitude for these businesses who have donated to the Bridge Foundation so that our families have the necessary means to be able to provide the best education that the family feels will meet their children’s needs. For so many of our school families, without the EITC/OSTC program there is no way they would be able to afford the tuition here.”
“Harrisburg Catholic has worked closely with the Bridge Foundation over the past few years to ensure that our families have the ability to provide a high quality education for their children. We look forward to continuing to work with them in the future,” Rushinski added.
The educational tax credits are successful because of the participation of thousands of Pennsylvania businesses. In addition to the participating businesses, hundreds more remain on a waiting list for the educational tax credits. Families in every county of Pennsylvania are benefitting from EITC scholarships and they allow many families to make a choice for their children’s education.
Erika Young of Waste Management, a business participant in the EITC since 2001, said, “Waste Management has a long history of donating to education. These investments to schools and educational programs help ensure the future of our communities by providing students with the opportunity to reach their full potential. As members of the community, we believe it is our job to live up to the highest standards of corporate and individual responsibility. The Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program in Pennsylvania is surely a win because it benefits the students who will become our future community leaders.”
The scholarship donations announced Oct. 1 are part of the K-12 and Pre-K EITC Programs. The K-12 EITC tuition program provides companies with a 75 percent tax credit – 90 percent for a two-year commitment – for funds donated to approved, non-profit scholarship or educational improvement organizations. Businesses may donate up to $750,000 per year though the K-12 program. The Pre-K EITC initiative offers businesses up to $200,000 in tax credits annually at a 90 percent tax credit for funds donated to an approved, non-profit scholarship organization, like the Bridge Educational Foundation.
Bridge Educational Foundation is a scholarship organization recognized as an approved 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization and was established under the Educational Improvement Tax Credit program of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The Foundation’s core mission is to partner families and schools with Pennsylvania businesses to provide scholarship opportunities throughout Pennsylvania.
(From the Bridge Educational Foundation)
