San Jose, Calif. – The Unity Care Group, Inc., a youth and family development agency providing services and support for San Francisco Bay Area underserved and foster youth, announced today that it has been awarded a $10,000 grant from the eBay Foundation Corporate Advised Fund at Silicon Valley Community Foundation.
The grant was recommended by the eBay Foundation’s employee volunteer-led San Jose Bay Area Global Impact Team. Funds were used to support Unity Care’s Summer of Learning Program, created to help disadvantaged and foster youth stay physically active through outdoor recreational activities, remain intellectually engaged through educational experiences, and have fun during their summer break from school.
Over 6 weeks each year, the Summer of Learning activities and excursions include visits to museums and national parks, white water rafting and horseback riding and overnight trips to college campuses. The program culminates in a day‐long Summer Olympics filled with carnival games, races, sports competitions, a photo booth, arts and crafts and face painting, a barbecue and pinatas. Approximately 450 youth and 85 volunteers participate in the festivities.
“The Summer of Learning offers youth carefree fun, enriching experiences, and opportunities they would not have otherwise,” said André V. Chapman, CEO of Unity Care. “For many, it is their first chance to visit a university, enjoy the great outdoors and travel outside San Jose. It is a very informative and exciting, and often inspiring time for them.”
The Summer of Learning 2016 was made possible in part through eBay Foundation’s Global Impact Team program, which empowers employees of eBay to support their communities through volunteerism and employee‐sponsored grants. In 2014 alone, Global Impact Teams worldwide recommended over 250 nonprofits to receive grants totaling more than $1,200,000.
“eBay Foundation was established to reach beyond the boundaries of eBay’s virtual village to develop strong communities that bring people together,” said Amy Millington, President of eBay Foundation. “Through our Global Impact Teams, we’ve been able to identify and support a
wide variety of outstanding programs, that feed families in the San Francisco Bay Area, educate children in India, assist seniors in Germany, and serve the homeless in Austin—to name only a few. We couldn’t be happier to add to our list of beneficiaries by supporting Unity Care Group and its efforts to provide much‐needed services to disadvantaged and foster youth.”
About Unity Care Group
Unity Care is a youth and family development agency that provides a wide range of services benefiting disadvantaged and foster youth and their families throughout Northern California. Its signature program, founded in 1992, focuses on serving the housing needs of youth in foster care and beyond. The organization’s mission has grown and expanded over the past two decades and, today, includes more than two dozen community‐based, education and behavioral health programs, aiding approximately 6,000 underserved youth and families annually. Detailed information about Unity Care programs is available at www.unitycare.org.
About eBay Foundation eBay Foundation was established by eBay in 1998 and, reflecting eBay innovation, was the first corporate foundation to be endowed with pre‐IPO stock. Since inception, the Foundation has contributed more than $38 million to nonprofit organizations worldwide. The Foundation engages eBay employees and supports their pursuit of charitable giving and volunteerism through its Global Impact Team program. In addition, using a unique combination of foundation funding, employee volunteerism, and other resources, eBay Foundation has created The Opportunity Project to extend the company‘s global citizenship. By scaling social innovations that create economic opportunity, the Opportunity Project gives people in need the chance to participate in the global economy, provide for their families, and build stronger communities. For more information: www.theopportunityproject.org. eBay Foundation Global Impact Team grants are awarded by the eBay Foundation Corporate Advised Fund at Silicon Valley Community Foundation.
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