As part of the FedEx Cares initiative, FedEx has provided PeerForward with a $50,000 grant to support its innovative program to assist students from low-income communities across America achieve their college and career goals.
By 2020, 65 percent of jobs in America will require a form of higher education. Today, only 10% of students from low-income backgrounds complete college by age 25. Without a post-secondary degree or certification, a large percentage of our nation’s youth will be shut out of the majority of job opportunities.
“The FedEx Cares initiative is all about using our time and resources to support communities where we live and work around the world. Providing pathways to meaningful employment for millions of America’s youth is a cornerstone of this commitment, and we believe in PeerForward’s peer-driven model to make that important connection between college and career during the high school years,” said Rose Flenorl, manager of Global Citizenship at FedEx.
PeerForward activates the power of peer influence by training and motivating teams of high school juniors and seniors who are capable of guiding their peers to enroll and succeed in college. This team of students, or “Peer Leaders”, are charged with leading campaigns proven to boost college preparation and enrollment across an entire high school.
“At PeerForward, we have always believed in the role America’s leading corporations can play in supporting our nation’s youth as they make the transition to college and career,” said Keith Frome Ed.D, CEO and Co-founder of PeerForward. “This investment from FedEx, in both time and resources, is the kind of support that not only changes the lives of young people, but ultimately entire communities as well.”
About PeerForward
PeerForward is a national nonprofit that transforms the lives of young people from low-income communities by developing teams of high school students who use their influence to lead their peers to and through college. To date, PeerForward has placed over 250,000 students from almost 500 schools across the country on the path to college and career, raising the college enrollment rates of partner schools by up to 20% over baseline. The organization’s new PeerForward program enhancement promises to change the trajectory of the lives of 1.8M students from low-income communities over the next decade.
About FedEx Social Responsibility
With networks that span billions of people across six continents, delivering is our business. It’s also our responsibility to deliver the resources that improve the lives of those we serve. When we help businesses access new markets, they grow and create jobs that boost standards of living in their communities. Investments in safer and more sustainable transportation improve our own footprint and make our communities more livable. A more connected world sparks innovation when shared ideas, goods and technologies interact to transform how we live and work. We believe a connected world is a prosperous and sustainable world. And we aim to deliver that forward.
About FedEx Corp.
FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) provides customers and businesses worldwide with a broad portfolio of transportation, e-commerce and business services. With annual revenues of $58 billion, the company offers integrated business applications through operating companies competing collectively and managed collaboratively, under the respected FedEx brand. Consistently ranked among the world’s most admired and trusted employers, FedEx inspires its more than 400,000 team members to remain “absolutely, positively” focused on safety, the highest ethical and professional standards and the needs of their customers and communities. –October 18, 2016
