Philadelphia, PA – (December 18, 2007) – Bridge Educational Foundation and its donors today announced $25,000 of EITC scholarship donations today at Archbishop Ryan High School. The donors included Randy Cheetham of CSX Transportation and Henry Sallusti of RBC Capital Markets. State Senator Michael Stack also participated in the presentation.
Families attending the following Philadelphia area schools will receive tuition scholarships. Families and students from the benefiting schools attended the event to support the EITC program and to thank the donors for their tuition assistance and thank State Senator Michael Stack for recognizing the importance of the EITC program.
Archbishop Ryan High School
Saint Jerome Elementary School
Saint Anselm Pre-School
Our Lady of Consolation Pre-School
Lassin Early Learning Center Pre-School
Bridesburg Boys and Girls Club Pre-School
The scholarship donations announced today are part of the Pennsylvania EITC program. 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. Companies may claim up to $200,000 in tax credits through the K-12 program. The Pre-Kindergarten EITC initiative provides companies with a tax credit equal to 100 percent of the first $10,000 contributed to a pre-kindergarten scholarship organization during the taxable year, and companies may receive a tax credit equal to 90 percent of any additional amount contributed during the year, up to a maximum of $100,000 per year.
Joe Gerdes, Bridge Educational Foundation Board Member explained, “A highly educated workforce is critical to the future of our Commonwealth. With support from our generous donors and local interested citizens, we are boosting the educational achievement opportunities for children and families here in Philadelphia and laying a strong foundation for Pennsylvania for years to come.”
Randy Cheetham of CSX Transportation remarked, “CSX Transportation is pleased to support the work of the Bridge Educational Foundation, creating educational opportunities for students across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The Educational Improvement Tax Credit program offers another avenue for CSXT and its employees to make a difference in the communities it serves, funding scholarships in schools in Southeastern Pennsylvania and other schools across Pennsylvania.”
"Realizing the importance of education on our children’s future, RBC Capital Markets continually focuses on promoting educational programs for children in the communities in which we do business across the U.S.," said Henry Sallusti of RBC Capital Markets. "And, over the past three years, we are proud to have donated scholarships to many families throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania toward local PREK and K-12 education through the EITC program."
“Our community schools are providing our children with a solid foundation of knowledge, and as more children enroll for pre-kindergarten, they are getting an earlier start toward academic success,” Stack said. “The EITC program makes it possible for businesses to help families afford a quality education for their children, and that’s why I am so pleased to work with Bridge Education Organization, CSX, and RBC Capital Markets to identify schools for scholarship assistance.”
The event concluded with Joe Gerdes stating, “The EITC program has made a tremendous impact on families in every corner of Pennsylvania - we thank our lawmakers for creating such a wonderful public-private partnership. Bridge Educational Foundation is proud to be part of the EITC program and to serve as the bridge between our generous corporate donors and families in need of scholarship assistance.”
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. Based in Harrisburg, PA, Bridge Educational Foundation is currently one of the largest and most innovative scholarship organizations of its kind, raising more than $5 million to provide educational opportunities for low income families statewide. www.bridgeedu.org
CSX Transportation Inc. is a principal operating company of CSX Corporation. CSX Corporation, based in Jacksonville, Fla., is one of the leading transportation companies, providing rail, intermodal and rail-to-truck transload services. The company's transportation network spans 21,000 miles with service to 23 eastern states and the District of Columbia, and connects to more than 70 ocean, river and lake ports. More information about CSX Corporation and its subsidiaries is available at the company's web site, www.csx.com
RBC Capital Markets is a worldwide investment banking, sales and trading group that includes one of the leading municipal finance organizations in the U.S. RBC Capital Markets has been ranked either the #1 or #2 senior manager of negotiated issues in Pennsylvania in each of the last four years. RBC Capital Markets is ranked 2nd nationally for underwriting K-12 financings on the basis of principal amount underwritten, and is ranked #1 based on the total number of issues underwritten. In 2006, RBC Capital Markets completed 208 transactions for K-12 institutions, with a total par amount of $5.563 billion. RBC Capital Markets was ranked #1 senior manager of K-12 negotiated issues in Pennsylvania in three of the last four years, including 2006. Seeing the importance of education on our children’s future, over the past three years, RBC Capital Markets’ Pennsylvania offices have donated to 23 schools throughout the Commonwealth toward local K-12 education, athletic and other support programs.
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