JPMorgan Chase invests in a community renaissance with $1 million gift to Ohio State
A gift of $1 million by JPMorgan Chase to The Ohio State University College of Education and Human Ecology will champion children and families in an economically distressed Columbus neighborhood, and in similar neighborhoods nationwide.
The gift supports construction and programming at the college's innovative Early Childhood Development Center in the Weinland Park neighborhood located east of campus. The center is the cornerstone of the college's partnership with the community to enhance early childhood education and family well-being as a stimulant to community economic development and success. It partners with the new Columbus Public Schools elementary school next door to create a model program for infants - fifth graders.
With its gift, Chase supports three critical aspects of the new center:
•Programming at the Family Advocacy Office will increase family stability and self-reliance. Families of the more than 400 children attending the center and the adjacent Columbus Public Schools elementary will receive support services in such areas as family financial management, housing, nutrition and health, parenting, and more.
•The JPMorgan Chase Library in the Early Childhood Development Center will promote literacy through child and family programming and parent training workshops in partnership with the Columbus Metropolitan Library's Northside Branch.
•A two-year Weinland Park Success Plan will convene neighborhood partners to identify gaps in community services and resources needed to nurture young children and their families in economically distressed neighborhoods. The Early Childhood Development Center will serve as the focal point for meetings and communications.
“We intend to be a leader, along with great partners like Ohio State, the City of
Columbus, Columbus Public Schools, nonprofit organizations, neighborhood groups, and other funders, to truly create a renaissance in Weinland Park,” said Melissa Ingwersen, president of JPMorgan Chase in Columbus.
“We thank JPMorgan Chase for taking a lead role in supporting the center, which is creating a new model for transforming neighborhoods in need,” said David Andrews, dean of the College of Education and Human Ecology. “We extend particular appreciation to Jamie Dimon, chairman and CEO of Chase, for the company's visionary understanding that dynamic public/private partnerships, with commitments at the highest levels, can spark solutions to complex problems that previously seemed unsolvable.”
The Early Childhood Development Center, located at the corner of East 7th Ave. and North 4th Ave in Columbus, will be completed in June 2007 and open to families in autumn 2007. It is adjacent to Columbus Public Schools' Weinland Park Elementary School, which opened in January. Together, they form the infancy through fifth grade phase of a model laboratory school covering cradle to career and created by public/private partnerships.
JPMorgan Chase is central Ohio's largest corporate employer and one of the community's most active and generous corporate citizens.
The College of Education and Human Ecology was formed by The Ohio State University Board of Trustees in July 2007. With education and human ecology now united as one, the college is leading a new wave of thinking that is visionary in its approach to learning and living and reflective of its talent for solving some of the world's most complex problems. The college focuses on extending and improving lifelong learning and lifespan development to improve quality of life across our diverse society. It focuses on challenging issues affecting individuals, families, learners of all ages, and consumers in global communities.
