PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce surprised students at George Washington High School Tuesday, as he announced his support of the newly named education nonprofit Heights Philadelphia.
The new organization is the result of the merger of Philadelphia Futures and Steppingstone Scholars, two nonprofits that help students with college and career guidance. Futures advised students heading to college, and Steppingstone offered underserved students academic and internship opportunities.
“What's really exciting is that with Futures, they have a whole college success component, and we're combining our career work together, so now we have a full pipeline of services,” Heights Co-President and former Steppingstone President Sean Vereen told KYW Newsradio.
“Adding the two together, that breadth and depth we knew was going to get us more than it would individually,” explained Heights Philadelphia Co-President Sara Woods, the former president of Philadelphia Futures.
Heights Philadelphia is expected to serve 3,000 students with counselors in 23 Philadelphia schools.
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Kelce is supporting the new organization with proceeds from his merchandise line.
”He cares deeply about Philadelphia, and he wanted to give back,” Woods said. “But he wanted to give back to an organization that was results focused, that had an impact.”
Kelce posed for selfies with the Washington students and told reporters his philosophy aligns with that of Heights Philadelphia.
“I want to give back to the kids of Philadelphia by providing support resources, wonderful organizations shedding light on what they're doing, and the wonderful work they're doing in the city,” said Kelce.
“Heights is purposely driven towards providing not just educational resources, but providing paths towards success post high school, right? So you have occupational opportunities after that. And then there's also the mentorship aspects.”
“I think holistically everything that they do, kind of goes in line with what we're looking for,” Kelce added, saying that he wants to live in Philadelphia for the rest of his life.