The WSFS CARES Foundation, the charitable giving arm of WSFS Bank, 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, the WSFS corporate volunteer program, saw associates volunteer more than 17,000 hours in 2022 through 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. “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. 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.”

Among the organizations the WSFS CARES Foundation supported in 2022 was the Brighter Horizon Foundation, a nonprofit based in Philadelphia 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.

“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!”

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 of the 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.”

The WSFS CARES Foundation also provided a multi-year grant to support the Bryan Allen Stevenson School of Excellence in Delaware.

“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, the school’s Director of Development. “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.”

Learn more about WSFS Bank.