WSFS CARES Foundation donated $2M+ in 2021

The WSFS CARES Foundation announced it provided grants and donations totaling more than $2 million to 349 organizations. | DBT PHOTO BY JACOB OWENS

WILMINGTON – The WSFS CARES Foundation, the charitable giving arm of WSFS Bank, announced it provided grants and donations totaling $2,062,466.67 to 349 organizations located across Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania in 2021.

“For nearly 200 years, WSFS has worked tirelessly to enrich our communities through our philanthropic efforts, personal commitment to service, and intentional desire to assist those in need and lead to a better life,” said Vernita Dorsey, senior vice president and director of community strategy at WSFS. “The focus of the WSFS CARES Foundation is to help create a world in which all of our community members are given an equal opportunity to succeed, and we’re proud to have partnered with more than 300 worthy nonprofits to work toward that goal.”

The WSFS CARES Foundation was formed in 2021 through the combination of the WSFS Foundation, the philanthropic arm of WSFS Financial Corporation, and the WSFS Community Foundation, which was previously the Beneficial Bank Foundation. The combination of these two foundations enabled WSFS to provide even greater support to the community, with the WSFS CARES Foundation’s key pillars of support focused on:

• Community investments
• Affordable housing
• Revitalization and business economic empowerment
• Education and leadership development
• Strengthening those in need

Among the organizations the WSFS CARES Foundation supports is Good Neighbors Home Repair, which focuses on restoring hope and dignity to qualified low-income homeowners in Chester County, Pa., and New Castle County by repairing their homes free of charge.

“WSFS has been a regular and strong supporter for nearly 10 years,” said Harold Naylor, executive director at Good Neighbors Home Repair. “We get advice and counsel from Vernita, the bank has been a major financial donor, and Paul Greenplate, WSFS’ executive vice president of enterprise risk management, serves as our treasurer. We have been fortunate to host Team WSFS for volunteer events, and WSFS has been a leader in our corporate workdays called Hands of Hope.”

Through its education and leadership development and community investment pillars, the WSFS CARES Foundation supports organizations like the Ertz Family Foundation in its mission to empower others by sharing faith, learning through sports, and advancing education to build supportive communities.

“We are so thankful for the incredible support of the WSFS CARES Foundation,” said Lisa Ertz, executive director of the Ertz Family Foundation. “Without their generosity and partnership, we wouldn’t have been able to close out our Grace and Peace Community Fellowship House of Hope Capital Campaign in 2021 and turn to focusing on future programming. We would not be able to make such a transformational and generational change for north Philadelphia’s kids and families without companies like WSFS who believe in our mission.”

WSFS has also been a strong supporter of organizations like The WRK Group in Wilmington, which brings together a collection of three nonprofits – The Warehouse, REACH Riverside, and Kingswood Community Center – working in unison to make a major impact and empower the most impoverished neighborhood in Wilmington.

“We were fortunate to receive a large contribution from WSFS in 2018, which provided us with the enterprise capital needed to plan and scale The Warehouse to what it has turned into three years later,” said Logan S. Herring Sr., CEO of The WRK Group. “WSFS’ support also established credibility amongst other investors, and since then, we have raised almost $35 million toward our goal of $55 million in our capital campaign, allowing us to bring much needed resources to a community that has seen nothing but disinvestment for decades.”