Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Young People Leading the Way Towards a Healthier Community

Mar 23, 2015 2:30 PM ET
Campaign: Building Healthy Communities

We’re still feeling HYPE-ed from last week's event at the Free Library of Philadelphia announcing our $5 million, 3-year GSK IMPACT Grant for Philadelphia, awarded to a group of 10 amazing nonprofits led by The Food Trust. Our funding for Get HYPE Philly! will significantly expand a wide range of healthy activities for middle and high school students in North Philadelphia – everything from urban gardening to cooking and fitness classes to selling fresh produce in their neighborhood. 

Last week's event started off with a HYPE cheer from the Randolph High cheer squad, followed by a performance from singer Joie Kathos that really got the crowd warmed up.  Donna Altenpohl, GSK VP, Public Policy, opened up the program to announce the grant winners. Afterwards, guests were able to meet with the nonprofit partners and sample breakfast burritos prepared by students next door in the Library’s Culinary Center!

Abdur Peay and Josiah Johnson, 7th graders from Thomas Mifflin School in East Falls, were the clear crowd favorites. Josiah was excited that this funding will help him and his friends participate in more of the activities they love, and Abdur told us that eating healthy was “not a fad or a trend” but a way of life. 

We were so honored to have Mayor Nutter join us at the Get HYPE Philly! launch. Not only did he do a little dancing and rapping with Joie and the kids, he also spoke about the incredible progress Philadelphia has made in reducing childhood obesity, and his hope that this GSK IMPACT Grant will help Philadelphia continue to be a model for other cities looking to improve the health of their communities. 

This grant is the second we’ve awarded through our GSK IMPACT Grant program, part of our strategy to contribute to making communities healthier across the US.

Our hearts are still pumping from the excitement of yesterday’s announcement, but now we need to get down to work. We will work closely with our 10 Get HYPE Philly! nonprofits and can’t wait to see how we can contribute “beyond the check” to help these great organizations reach 50,000 Philadelphia kids and support them as they lead the way to an even healthier Philadelphia. Let’s get to work!

You can find more information about Get HYPE Philly! and our nonprofit partners by following their great work on Flickr, Instagram and Twitter.