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GlaxoSmithKline establishes $1 million scholarship fund at The Philadelphia Foundation

Opportunity scholarships will benefit Philadelphia county residents who have overcome adversity

November 30 , 2009 Philadelphia, PA -- GlaxoSmithKline has established a $1 million college scholarship fund through The Philadelphia Foundation that will provide Philadelphia County residents who have overcome significant adversity with the opportunity to improve their lives through higher education.

The Philadelphia GlaxoSmithKline Opportunity Scholarships, part of a national educational outreach program by the pharmaceutical and healthcare company, are intended to remove at least one of the obstacles to education for recipients who have endured such difficult circumstances as serious illness, sexual abuse, domestic violence and personal loss.

"Opportunity Scholarships honor those who will flourish in their chosen fields through a powerful combination of inner strength, commitment and having a dream,” noted Deirdre Connelly, president of North America Pharmaceuticals for GlaxoSmithKline. “The recipients will embody dignity and grace in the face of adversity and will all have learned that while misfortune may affect your circumstances, it does not have to claim your spirit.”

Under the program, scholarships will be awarded to U.S. citizens who are residents of Philadelphia County for at least one year and who are enrolled in a two-year or four-year undergraduate program at state universities and community colleges in Pennsylvania. There is no limitation on age. Scholarships may be used to begin a new program of study or to continue a program in which the applicant is already enrolled. Each scholarship will be for an amount up to $5,000 and will be renewable for up to four years.  The scholarships can be applied toward tuition, fees, books and materials.

“We selected The Philadelphia Foundation as our partner in this project because the Foundation has decades of experience in managing all aspects of scholarship administration,” said Mary Linda Andrews, director of community partnerships with GlaxoSmithKline. “From our work nationally, we know that community foundations – of which The Philadelphia Foundation is one of the oldest – have the expertise needed to manage community philanthropic resources such as scholarships on a permanent basis for the good of the entire region.”

“Education is the gateway to opportunity,” she added. “We are helping students who will compete in a knowledge-based, innovative global economy.”  

“We’re delighted that the GlaxoSmithKline Opportunity Scholarships will join the broad array of scholarships we manage, and look forward to meeting the first accomplished group of awardees,” said R. Andrew Swinney, president of The Philadelphia Foundation.

In 2008, the Foundation administered 135 separate scholarship funds, processing applications for programs that provided about 275 individual scholarships totaling close to $1 million. These range from scholarships that are designated for students in specific majors at named institutions to scholarships for those who fit criteria determined by the individuals, families, organizations or businesses who established the funds.   

Applications for the GlaxoSmithKline Opportunity Scholarship will be available on The Philadelphia Foundation website, www.philafound.org, beginning in January and will be due March 15 for the fall. Announcement of the inaugural winners will be made in the spring.

The Foundation will process the applications, notify all applicants of their status and manage the coordination of payment to the colleges and universities the winners will attend. An Advisory Committee of community leaders knowledgeable about education will make the final selection of the scholarship awardees.

Questions regarding the GlaxoSmithKline Opportunity Scholarship should be directed to Sylvia T. Spivey at The Philadelphia Foundation, who can be reached by calling 215-863-8121 or emailing sspivey@philafound.org.

 

ABOUT GLAXOSMITHKLINE

GlaxoSmithKline is one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical and healthcare companies. It is committed to improving the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer. For company information, please visit us.gsk.com.

ABOUT THE PHILADELPHIA FOUNDATION

For more than 90 years, the Philadelphia Foundation has been committed to improving the quality of life in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties. As a public charity community foundation, it manages more than 775 charitable funds, maximizing the strategic impact of charitable contributions. It invests and administers these funds and awards the distributions – about $20 million a year to nearly 1,000 area organizations – as grants and scholarships. For more information, please visit www.philafound.org.

Contacts:

Kevin Colgan  GlaxoSmithKline       

919-483-2933 or Kevin.G.Colgan@gsk.com

Betsy Anderson  The Philadelphia Foundation

215-863-8109 or  banderson@philafound.org