IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 15, 2016

CONTACT: Roshin Mathew – 202-790-1916; rmathew@vppartners.org
Tony Wyllie −703-726-7135; wylliet@redskins.com
@vppartners #ChampsforGrads

REDSKINS CHARITABLE FOUNDATION INVESTS IN READY FOR WORK

Helping Prince George’s County High School Students Graduate Career and College Ready

Oxon Hill, MD – Today at Oxon Hill High School, the Washington Redskins Charitable Foundation announced a significant $300,000 investment in Ready for Work: Champions for Career and College Ready Graduates in Prince George’s County.

Redskins owner Dan Snyder, Prince George’s County Chief Administrative Nicholas Majett, Prince George’s County Public Schools CEO Dr. Kevin Maxwell, and Venture Philanthropy Partners President and CEO Carol Thompson Cole all spoke to the hope that Ready for Work will bring to Prince George’s County.

“We are building relationships and forging trusting cross-sector partnerships of passionate leaders,” said Carol Thompson Cole, president and CEO of Venture Philanthropy Partners. “The addition of the Washington Redskins Charitable Foundation’s support takes Ready for Work to the next level in terms of major business partnerships and preparing more young people for work and college.”

The Washington Redskins Charitable Foundation believes in making a positive and measurable change in the lives of young people in our community.

“The Redskins and Venture Philanthropy Partners both believe that every child deserves the opportunity to succeed. We are proud to partner with VPP to invest in the dreams of young people,” said Dan Snyder, owner of the Washington Redskins.

Ready for Work plans to raise $15 million dollars over a six-year period. It will support programs and services that expand the number of Prince George’s County students graduating from high school who are on a solid path to be career- and college-ready.

“The Washington Redskins Foundation’s investment in the graduates of Prince George’s County will help build a pipeline of career- and college-ready young people who will go on to contribute to and benefit from our growing and thriving community,” said Nicholas A. Majett, chief administrative Officer of Prince George’s County.

By 2021, we anticipate that 2,775 students at Suitland, Oxon Hill, and High Point high schools will be career- and college-ready, with another 400 graduates in the pipeline every year thereafter.

These three high schools are part of the County’s Transforming Neighborhoods Initiative (TNI). It aims to improve the quality of life in six neighborhoods that face significant economic, health, public safety, and educational challenges.

“Ready for Work would not be possible without impactful investments like the one from the Washington Redskins Charitable Foundation,” said Prince George’s County Public Schools CEO Dr. Kevin Maxwell. “Their investment will directly support our work to prepare students for success after high school.”

Ready for Work will create the long-term systematic change required to ensure Prince George’s County graduates become successful, healthy adults who benefit from and give back to our community.

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ABOUT THE WASHINGTON REDSKINS CHARITABLE FOUNDATION: The Redskins Charitable Foundation is ever-present in the community, constantly working to achieve its mission to make a positive and measurable impact in the lives of children that need it most. Since Redskins owners Dan and Tanya Snyder launched the Foundation in 2000, they have given back nearly $20 million to the community. In 2015 the Foundation’s programs, events and support impacted more than 190,000 individuals (mostly children) focusing on supporting education, children’s health and wellness and preparing them for their future.

ABOUT VENTURE PHILANTHROPY PARTNERS: Venture Philanthropy Partners (VPP) makes the future brighter for youth living in the National Capital Region by tackling the largest barriers to their success and forging partnerships that bring the expertise, passion and reach necessary to achieve life-changing results. Over the past 16 years, VPP has raised over $100 million to help children and youth of low-income families in the National Capital Region access quality education, health care and career training—setting them on the right path to learn, graduate, and become successful, healthy adults. This funding, coupled with our management expertise and support in strengthening staff leadership, has increased the capacity of local nonprofits to help them expand to 80 new sites and serve 50,000 young people each year.