WSFS CARES Foundation Provided More Than $2.4 Million in Charitable Contributions in 2022

By Kyle Babcock | Published: February 2023

Supporting its Communities has been at the core of WSFS since its founding in 1832, and continues to this day through charitable grants and contributions from the WSFS CARES Foundation, the charitable giving arm of WSFS Bank, and service through Team WSFS, the Company’s corporate volunteer program.

The WSFS CARES Foundation recently announced that it provided grants and donations totaling more than $2.4 million to community organizations located across Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania in 2022.

In addition to the grants, Team WSFS saw Associates volunteer more than 17,000 hours in 2022, including community service and providing financial literacy lessons.

“Our strategy of ‘engaged Associates, living our culture, enriching the Communities we serve’ is rooted in our history as a leader in our Communities for nearly 200 years,” said Patrick J. Ward, Executive Vice President, Pennsylvania Market President at WSFS Bank and Chairman of the WSFS CARES Foundation.

Among just a few of the organizations the WSFS CARES Foundation supported in 2022:

Brighter Horizon Foundation
The Brighter Horizon Foundation is a nonprofit based in Pennsylvania with a mission to support high school students in becoming the first in their family to pursue a four-year college education or an associate’s degree and a career in the trades.

“The grant that Brighter Horizon Foundation received from the WSFS CARES Foundation allowed us to expand critical services our Scholars need to complete the College Readiness & Persistence Program; thereby, being the first in their families to attain a college degree,” said Yvette Bright, President & CEO, Brighter Horizon Foundation.

“Our wrap-around services include academic support, tuition so each Scholar graduates debt-free, housing, meals, transportation, books; strategic and consistent mentorship, life-skills and professional development, financial literacy and now vital mental health services. The WSFS CARES Foundation is truly making an impact on breaking the cycle of generational poverty by providing funds for a post-secondary educational opportunity otherwise inaccessible to this Philadelphia student population. A true gift!”

Food Bank of South Jersey
In New Jersey, the Food Bank of South Jersey received a grant to support its efforts to provide food to people in need, teach them to eat nutritiously and help them to find sustainable ways to improve their lives.

“We are grateful for the WSFS CARES Foundation's support of our work to end hunger in our region. In 2022, the Food Bank of South Jersey distributed more than 18 million pounds of much-needed food resources to our neighbors,” said Lavinia Awosanya, Chief Development Officer, Food Bank of South Jersey.

“During a particularly tough year – with the highest inflation in 40 years and prices for everyday items like we've rarely seen before – partners like the WSFS CARES Foundation helped us deliver hope to more than 100,000 individuals each month.”

Bryan Allen Stevenson School of Excellence
The WSFS CARES Foundation also provided a multi-year grant to support the Bryan Allen Stevenson School of Excellence in Delaware. The school, named in honor of Bryan Stevenson, a prolific social justice activist and lawyer from Milton, Delaware, has a mission to create pathways, through proximity, for its students, their families and community.

“As a founding funder, WSFS understands the growing population needs in our community and sees our school as a capacity builder for Sussex County,” said Crystal Timmons-Bryant, Director of Development at the Bryan Allen Stevenson School of Excellence. “They also understand that the funding provided through the WSFS CARES Foundation grant to the Bryan Allen Stevenson School of Excellence over the next five years will help increase the capacity of collective impact through community partnerships, accelerate the education ecosystem through innovation, provide opportunities for students to apply knowledge and skills beyond the classroom, and activate young community leaders. We cannot thank WSFS enough, and their team that continues to support our children, families and community of Sussex County.”

“Community investments, affordable housing, revitalization and business economic empowerment, education and leadership development, and strengthening those in need are the key pillars of the WSFS CARES Foundation,” said Ward. “Supporting organizations with a shared focus on these areas through grants and contributions combined with our Associate volunteerism helps bring our strategy to life and lead toward a day when everyone will thrive.”

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About the Author – Kyle Babcock
Kyle Babcock is Integrated Communications Strategist at WSFS Bank. He has more than nine years of experience in product and professional services marketing, communications and advertising.