Month: April 2024

April 19, 2024 /3BL/ – The Coro New York Leadership Center announced a transformative $500,000 grant from the Wells Fargo Foundation in support of Coro’s Neighborhood Leadership program, a peer-driven mentorship program that develops the skills and networks of diverse, up-and-coming New York City-based community leaders who are focusing on careers in neighborhood development, commercial revitalization, and small business development. The grant represents the largest donation in Coro New York’s history for this program.

With the new funding, Coro New York will expand the Neighborhood Leadership program’s reach to increase capacity and collaboration among diverse economic development and commercial revitalization nonprofit leaders in underserved areas across all five boroughs. The funding will also allow Coro to expand the program from one to three cohorts a year by 2025. In total, Coro has committed to serve 120 graduates within this period.

“Diverse leadership is at the forefront of innovation and community change,” said Darlene Goins, Head of Philanthropy and Community Impact at Wells Fargo and President of the Wells Fargo Foundation. “Given the proven track record behind the Neighborhood Leadership program, Wells Fargo wanted to help expand Coro’s ability to push for more pathways to economic advancement in New York City through diverse, highly-trained leaders.”

Garrett Lucien, Executive Director of Coro, said: “We are so thankful to the Wells Fargo Foundation for this generous grant, which will help us expand the already successful Neighborhood Leadership program. Coro and our leaders care deeply about New York City, and this grant will go a long way towards helping us build a New York with an economy that works for everyone – no matter who they are or where they come from.”

Each year, the Neighborhood Leadership Program participants realize a Neighborhood Change Project to apply their learning in real-time to a current revitalization project. Fueled by this new grant, Coro’s program participants will be able to build on alumni initiatives to keep leaders engaged and continue sharpening the skills and knowledge to lead change.

About Coro’s Neighborhood Leadership Program

For those leading commercial revitalization efforts in their communities— whether working in a Business Improvement District, Merchant Association, local development corporation, Chamber of Commerce, or other nonprofit organization—Coro’s Neighborhood Leadership program provides our city’s top talent with the resources they need to understand how to influence meaningful change and address complex challenges within their neighborhoods. Using New York as a classroom, Neighborhood Leadership participants are deeply immersed in commercial revitalization strategies and are allowed to build leadership skills through intensive training and peer-to-peer learning. Participants leave the program equipped with the knowledge and skills to drive change in their own neighborhoods and an unparalleled network of engaged civic leaders from which to continue to build and grow.

Knowledge: Neighborhood Leadership deeply immerses participants in building individual and collaborative capacity for practicing leadership and bringing about change in their communities.Skills: Neighborhood Leadership uses the City of New York as a lab to explore, test and build effective commercial revitalization strategies to adapt and thrive in challenging environments.Network: Neighborhood Leadership connects participants to an accomplished community of Coro Neighborhood Leadership alumni, City leaders, and the broader Coro community from all industries and sectors, who are dedicated to supporting one another and to improving the City in which we live and work.

About Coro

Coro New York is the city’s premier leadership training organization. Since 1984, no other group has put this insight into practice more successfully than Coro. Coro is a community of over 3,600 graduates who, through our single and collaborative efforts, make the city great.

Graduates come away from Coro with a deeper understanding of how the city works, the leadership skills to change it, and a network of engaged and influential alumni to help them reach their goals. They are part of a collaborative community with a shared belief that a single person, with the right knowledge, skills, and network, is what will make New York a better place for all who live and work here. Coro New York Alumni include Members of Congress, United States Senators, New York City Council Members, and senior-level executives.

For the team at Chemours, the communities where we operate are also where we live work and play, and our mutual success is one and the same. We invest time and resources in our communities to make a meaningful difference. That’s the driving force behind our goal of building vibrant communities by investing $50 million in expanding access to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education, sustainable environment programs, and safety initiatives. One way we do this is through the Chemours Future of Engineering, Science, Trades, and Technology School Partnership Program (ChemFEST).

Last year, Chemours Belgium joined hands with Technische Scholen Mechelen (TSM) to establish the company’s first ChemFEST partnership outside of the US. This 3-year agreement was intended to promote the significance of STEM education and inspire students to explore their love for science and technology. Isabel Welters, a Nafion™ Technical Service Specialist at Chemours, led the multi-faceted plan to transform the school’s STEM facilities, with plans to inaugurate the refurbished technical lab and classrooms by the second half of 2024.

Beyond the ChemFEST partnership, Welters, in collaboration with the Belgium Chapter of the Chemours Women’s Network (CWN), has been integral to other STEM-related activities. An event titled “Str@ffe Madammen” co-organized by Welters and the CWN saw participation from over 150 female students from TSM, who were provided with insights into career opportunities in STEM. Additionally, the team recently hosted a unique STEM day at the Mechelen plant for 40 students, showcasing their Coatings Production facilities and Technical Services.

Back in our headquarters state of Delaware, the Chemours team recently celebrated an important milestone towards the opening of the Chemours STEM Hub at EastSide Charter School in Wilmington. After breaking ground on the facility in February 2023, Chemours team members joined with community partners and school officials to commemorate the placing of the final beam in the 24,000-square-foot facility.

The Hub—expected to open by early 2025—will serve as a premier access point for STEM education and other development opportunities in the Wilmington community. Made possible in part by a $4 million grant from Chemours in 2021 through the ChemFEST program, the Chemours STEM Hub will offer public spaces for learning and improve access for more students from more backgrounds to be exposed to, excited by, and interested in STEM. 

“We know that shaping the world’s future requires great innovators and problem solvers from all backgrounds; it’s why we are committed to taking action and championing change toward a more diverse STEM workforce. Through partnerships – like our ChemFEST school partnership program – we’re helping to support future STEM talent by nurturing students and members of communities who have been underserved, under-resourced, and often overlooked,” said Chemours Chief Brand Officer, Alvenia Scarborough.

And earlier this year, the team at our Chambers Works manufacturing site in New Jersey continued a more than three-decades-long tradition of sponsoring the Salem County Science Fair. This science fair allows students to apply what they have learned in STEM education in hopes of advancing to the Delaware Valley Science Fair and beyond.

Students concentrate on an area of special interest, collecting and analyzing data while following the scientific method and presenting their findings to volunteer judges.

The various winners received a total of $2,500 from Chemours. This event sponsorship is part of a broader $275,000 Vibrant Community grant where the Chambers Works team partners with Salem Community College (SCC) and the local middle schools to support hands-on learning opportunities to instill a lifelong love of STEM.

Brian Boettler, Chemours Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) Senior Consultant, leads the partnership on the site’s behalf. 

“Partnering with the local schools and community college is rewarding. We all contribute in our own way to help support the next generation, and that is on full display at the Science Fair,” Brian explained.

These are a few examples of Chemours’ commitment to fostering greater interest and diversity in STEM careers by supporting students in our communities. We are proud to play a key role in shaping the future of our industry and making a positive impact on communities by inspiring the next generation of STEM leaders.