Colonial Penn Honored as Corporate Citizen of the Year

PHILADELPHIA, June 19, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Children's Scholarship Fund Philadelphia (CSFP) recently recognized Colonial Penn Life Insurance Company as its Corporate Citizen of the Year. The honor highlighted Colonial Penn's commitment to helping children from low-income Philadelphia families succeed by providing financial support for over 300 K-8^th grade scholarships to great schools, and through their investment of time through employee engagement and volunteerism.

Colonial Penn's partnership allows CSFP to maintain the scale built by its successful $62 million Campaign for 10,000 Children, during which time the organization doubled the number of scholarships issued yearly and distributed 2,000 scholarships per year for five consecutive years. This investment in Philadelphia children yields compelling results: Over 96% of CSFP alumni graduate high school on time and on grade level.

"CSFP is grateful for Colonial Penn's tremendous commitment to helping Philadelphia children succeed," said CSFP Executive Director, Ina B. Lipman. "Their focus on community is evident in their proven dedication and work on behalf of our city's children and families."

"We're proud to invest in the future of Philadelphia and are honored to receive the Corporate Citizen of the Year Award from CSFP," said Joel Schwartz, President of Colonial Penn. "As a company headquartered in Philadelphia for over 60 years, Colonial Penn is committed to supporting causes that drive positive change and contribute to the well-being of our community, and CSFP is a great example."

Two thousand children received CSFP scholarship award letters at last week's Student Awards Ceremony. These children were selected by random lottery from a pool of 10,000 applicants to CSFP's program. Since founding in 2001, CSFP has awarded over 22,500 scholarships selected from more than 160,000 applications. This year, CSFP celebrates its 15^th year of providing Philadelphia children with access to quality K-8^th grade schools.

Also honored at the Award Ceremony were: Sharmain Matlock-Turner, President and CEO of the Urban Affairs Coalition; Evie McNiff, founder of CSFP and former Chair of the Board of Directors; ten graduating high school senior alumni of CSFP's program; CSFP parents Nicole Newman and Marcia Lewis; teachers and a principal from CSFP partner schools, and current CSFP scholarship recipients who have made academic strides while enrolled in the program.  

About Children's Scholarship Fund Philadelphia
Four-star rated charity and one of just three educational charities to receive a perfect score in  2016 from rigorous charity watchdog Charity Navigator, Children's Scholarship Fund Philadelphia (CSFP) is a privately funded program, established in 1998, whose mission is to provide financial access for students from low-income Philadelphia families to safe, high-quality, tuition-based schools. It is the largest provider of scholarship support for grades K-8 in Pennsylvania. CSFP currently serves about 5,300 children in grades K-8 in more than 170 area private schools, who are receiving an average of $1,950 per child, per year. The average tuition for these schools is about $4,900 per year. The scholarships are all need-based and awarded by lottery.

About Colonial Penn
Colonial Penn Life Insurance Company specializes in offering insurance directly to consumers at affordable prices. The nationwide company, a subsidiary of CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: CNO), was a pioneer in designing insurance products to meet the needs of the mature market.  With nearly 775,000 life insurance policies and $3.5 billion of life insurance inforce, we're proud to be serving insurance needs all across America.  To learn more, visit Colonial Penn online at www.ColonialPenn.com.

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SOURCE Children’s Scholarship Fund Philadelphia