Philadelphia, PA — The Eastern Pennsylvania Affiliate chapter of the national ACE Mentor Program has been named the CREW Philadelphia 2016 Philanthropic Partner. Through the partnership, ACE will be the beneficiary of $20,000 in CREW monetary donations and will have the opportunity to build relationships and partnerships through CREW’s signature philanthropic event – the 18th Annual Fall Charitable Lunch. As part of the philanthropic partnership, the two organizations will collaborate with Girls, Inc. of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey for a collaborative pipeline project, Building Futures | Women in Design and Construction. Building Futures will follow the ACE Mentor Program model and engage, excite, and enlighten female high school students to pursue careers in the ACE (architecture, construction, and engineering) fields through an innovative all-women mentoring team approach. According to the 2011 American Community Survey, women remain significantly underrepresented in ACE-related occupations. By targeting girls aged 14-18 years old in under-resourced Philadelphia communities, Building Futures hopes to expose more African-American, Asian, and Latina young women to ACE career opportunities. Twenty girls will work with 8-10 female mentors in a team environment over 26 weeks. The mentor meetings will occur after school for two hours each session. Teams will conceive and execute a hands-on, real-world design project, visit actual construction sites, and conduct job shadowing at mentor firm offices. Building Futures will run from November 2016 through May 2017. Female architects from KSS Architects and JKRP Architects will lead the weekly team meetings.
“CREW Philadelphia is committed to supporting local philanthropic initiatives in an effort to lead and influence positive change in our communities,” said CREW Philadelphia Outreach Chair and JLL Senior Associate, Olivia Freeland. “We are delighted to highlight ACE as our beneficiary during our 18th Annual Fall Charitable Lunch on November 18.”
“We are honored to be named CREW’s Philanthropic Partner this year,” said ACE Mentor Program Eastern Pennsylvania Affiliate Director Tiffany Millner, AIA, NOMA. “The opportunity to collaborate on a program that reaches young women and engages them with successful women in real estate and related professions supports and enhances the ACE program mission. We look forward to Building Futures together.”