Winter 2008 Forward to a Friend


White Williams Scholars

Hispanic Girl at Chalkboard

WITH A 207-YEAR HISTORY OF HELPING AT-RISK YOUNG PEOPLE, WHITE-WILLIAMS SCHOLARS SERVES MORE THAN 1,400 STUDENTS IN THE PHILADELPHIA PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM.

The White-Williams Scholars organization was founded as the Magdalen Society, and it’s named after former presidents Episcopal Bishop William White and George Williams. The organization rewards students in Philadelphia high schools for their good grades. If they meet certain criteria, students from low-income families earn monthly stipends of $50 to $75 for maintaining A and B grades on their report cards. This money can be applied to any number of school-related needs. White-Williams Scholars also provides educational enrichment and college preparation for these students – all aimed at helping them find greater success in the future.

“We want to make sure those A’s and B’s … can translate into high achievement in other environments.”

According to Executive Director Amy Holdsman: “We want to make sure those A’s and B’s are substantiated and can translate into high achievement in other environments. These students go on to college, and we have transitioned our goal from the goal of getting these students into college – we’ll call that college access – into one of succeeding in college, to a goal of college success.”

Support from the Subaru of America Foundation goes to the White-Williams Scholars College Connection program. In the ninth grade, Scholars can apply to College Connection, which is an academic enrichment program. The program is held after school once a week and has a mandatory summer component.

College Connection uses a three-tiered approach:

  • Academic enrichment, which focuses on core subject areas like English and math
  • Leadership development, which cultivates and develops participants for taking on leadership roles in their schools
  • Civic engagement, which ensures that participants are actively involved in giving back to the community

For more about White-Williams Scholars, go to www.wwscholars.org.

Subaru in the Community
Subaru of America, Inc. believes in supporting the communities in which its employees live and work. To that end, Subaru builds community partnerships with organizations that share its drive and passion. These organizations are primarily ones that enhance the academic learning experience for young people.