The Philadelphia Eagles announced that the Eagles Social Justice Fund of the Philadelphia Foundation has awarded grants totaling $373,000 to the following Philadelphia-area non-profit organizations:

Established in 2018, the Eagles Social Justice Fund was formed to provide grants to organizations that work to reduce barriers to equal opportunity, with a specific focus on education, community and police relations, improving the criminal justice system, and other initiatives targeting poverty, racial equality, and workforce development in the Greater Philadelphia area. In just two years, the program has provided area-based organizations with more than $858,000 in funding.

"I am incredibly proud of our players for their transformative work as members of the Eagles Social Justice Leadership Council," said Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Lurie. "Their collaborative efforts with policy leaders, advocates, grant recipients, and local organizations have led to meaningful change in our region and around the country.

"By reducing barriers to equal opportunity, bridging gaps, and supporting a prism of social justice programs and causes, our players are creating a brighter, more inclusive future for our communities. We are all deeply inspired by their passion and commitment, and are proud to stand with them as they continue to enrich the lives of individuals everywhere," added Lurie.

The Eagles Social Justice Leadership Council, which is comprised of a small collection of players and club executives, works to identify potential grant recipients and secure contributions to the Eagles Social Justice Fund. The Fund is built through one-to-one matching donations from players and the club. Players on the council include Rasul Douglas, Malcolm Jenkins, Avonte Maddox, Jalen Mills and Rodney McLeod.

"Reading through each grant application was incredibly motivating and we are proud to support so many non-profits in the Greater Philadelphia area that work year-round to create impact," said Malcolm Jenkins, safety and member of the Eagles Social Justice Leadership Council. "These non-profits are providing a spectrum of services to make our community better. On behalf of the players council and the Eagles, I would like to congratulate the grant recipients and thank them for their commitment to the City of Philadelphia."

Once again, the Eagles Social Justice Leadership Council chose to support a continuum of services across the spectrum of social justice issues. This spectrum begins with prevention of youth entering the criminal justice system through education and mentorship, continues with reform to the criminal justice system itself, and concludes with re-entry services aimed at helping formerly incarcerated individuals stay out of the system and re-establish themselves as productive members of the community.

Big Brothers Big Sisters

Big Brothers Big Sisters Independence Region is a donor-supported organization that enriches, encourages, and empowers children to reach their highest potential through safe, one-to-one mentoring relationships. For more than 100 years, Big Brothers Big Sisters Independence Region has been positively impacting children and communities in Philadelphia, Montgomery, Chester, Delaware, Burlington, Camden, and Gloucester counties in PA and NJ. Nearly 3,700 children annually are more successful socially and academically because of the work of Big Brothers Big Sisters Independence Region.

Center for Returning Citizens

The Center for Returning Citizens (TCRC) assists returning citizens in the transition from incarceration to society. TCRC helps individuals, families, and communities deal with the adverse impacts of incarceration via direct services, advocacy, lobbying for change, and organizing in the community.

Community Legal Services

The mission of Community Legal Services is to fight poverty, challenge systems that perpetuate injustice, and change lives through cutting-edge advocacy and exceptional legal representation.

Free Library of Philadelphia (supporting Read By 4th)

The mission of the Free Library of Philadelphia is to advance literacy, guide learning, and inspire curiosity. Its vision is to build an enlightened community devoted to lifelong learning. Read by 4th is a citywide coalition of parents and partners protecting every child's right to read. As the Philadelphia chapter of the National Campaign for Grade Level Reading, Read by 4th is a Collective Impact initiative managed by, and partnered with, the Free Library of Philadelphia. Through cross-sector collaboration with 137 (and counting) additional partner organizations, thought leaders, and the larger community, this citywide initiative holistically addresses the city's literacy crisis. It is effectively moving the needle towards the ultimate shared vision: every child in Philadelphia reading at or above grade-level by the time they enter 4th grade.

Frontline Dads

The mission of Frontline Dads is to facilitate the intellectual, emotional, spiritual, and cultural development of African-American men and "at-risk" youth by providing transformative programming that will empower them to assume leadership positions in their families and communities.

Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program

The mission of Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program is to create transformative, educational opportunities for incarcerated people and undergraduate students. The curriculum centers on the concepts of collaboration and dialogue regarding issues of social concern, such as crime and justice. The program facilitates partnerships between these two institutions to create spaces that foster civic engagement. Inside-Out is a form of education that enables incarcerated and non-incarcerated people to encounter one another as human beings.

MenzFit

MenzFit is a non-profit 501(c)(3) designated organization serving Philadelphia. They combat unemployment and underemployment by providing disadvantaged men with job interview preparation, career development, apparel such as suits, shirts and shoes, and mentorship as they seek and achieve employment to support themselves and their families.

Mothers In Charge

Mothers In Charge is a violence prevention, education, and intervention-based organization, which advocates and supports youth, young adults, families, and community organizations affected by violence.

Netter Center for Community Partnerships – UPENN (supporting Bridges to Wealth)

The mission of Bridges to Wealth (B2W) is to close the wealth gap between white and minority households in Philadelphia. To realize this mission, B2W empowers low-wealth high school students, parents, seniors, and other community members with vital business literacy knowledge and financial life skills. Financial education and opportunity is a social justice issue. B2W has successfully increased wealth generation in underserved Philadelphia communities for the past seven years.

Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network

The Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network is a statewide consortium of independent legal aid programs that provides civil legal assistance to low-income individuals and families. The Network is comprised of nine regional legal aid programs, providing legal assistance to eligible clients in every county in Pennsylvania, and six specialized legal aid programs, providing legal services in specialized areas of the law or to special groups of eligible clients.

Philadelphia Auto and Parole

The mission of Philadelphia Auto and Parole is to provide formerly incarcerated individuals and youth transitioning back into society an opportunity to earn a living wage in courses of automotive repair. Participants will be provided with interactive activities, supervised instruction, and education on automotive repair. This helps program participants develop the necessary skills to make a successful transition back into society.

Philadelphia Bar Foundation (supporting Equal Justice Center)

Through programs, grants, and partnerships, the Philadelphia Bar Foundation removes barriers to justice, engages the community in support of civil legal aid, and builds system-wide capacity in order to strengthen the provision of quality legal services and to ensure that all individuals understand their rights to equal justice under law. The Equal Justice Center will co-locate in a shared purpose-built center over a dozen non-profits in Philadelphia that provide free or low-cost legal and social services to our most underserved populations and will be the first of its kind in the United States.

Philadelphia Community Bail Fund

The Philadelphia Community Bail Fund (PCBF) posts bail for Philadelphia residents who cannot afford to post bail and organizes for the abolition of bail and pretrial detention. PCBF has posted more than $350,000 in bail and helped free 100 people of various genders and ethnicities from pretrial detention. The mission of PCBF is to end cash bail in Philadelphia, as PCBF believes nobody should have to pay for their freedom. PCBF has worked to create a process to responsibly bail out individuals who are held on unaffordable cash bails in the Philadelphia county jails. The process involves accepting bailout requests from community members and partner organizations, visiting individuals in jail, assessing support needs, speaking with loved ones who support them, and making decisions on how to prioritize bailouts.

Philadelphia Futures

Philadelphia Futures is a non-profit organization that provides Philadelphia's low-income, first-generation-to-college students with the tools, resources, and opportunities necessary for admission to and success in college.

Philadelphia Mural Arts Advocates

Through participatory public art, Mural Arts Philadelphia inspires change in people, place, and practice, creating opportunity for a more just and equitable Philadelphia.

Philadelphia Opportunities Industrialization Center

Philadelphia Opportunities Industrialization Center (OIC) is dedicated to the elimination of poverty, unemployment, and illiteracy to ensure a meaningful quality of life for families and individuals within Philadelphia. Founded in 1964 on the principles of "helping people to help themselves," OIC serves as a catalyst, enabling its clients to establish and maintain critical job and life skills through professional development.

Philadelphia Youth Network

The mission of Philadelphia Youth Network is to create coordinated systems which promote the attainment of academic achievement, economic opportunity, and personal success.

Project HOME

The mission of Project HOME is to empower adults, children, and families to break the cycle of homelessness and poverty, to alleviate the underlying causes of poverty, and to enable all of us to attain our fullest potential as individuals and as members of the broader society. Project HOME is committed to social and political advocacy. An integral part of their work is education about the realities of homelessness and poverty and vigorous advocacy on behalf of and with homeless and low-income persons for more just and humane public policies.

Why Not Prosper

Why Not Prosper is a grassroots 501(c)(3) organization founded by a formerly incarcerated woman for formerly incarcerated women. They are strong advocates for women and are committed to providing programs and services that support women in their re-entry efforts from prison to community. They provide a continuum of programs that include pre-release mentoring to incarcerated women, residential services at Why Not Prosper House, and community services at their resource center located in Philadelphia, PA.

Women Against Abuse

The mission of Women Against Abuse is to provide quality, compassionate, and nonjudgmental services in a manner that fosters self-respect and independence in persons experiencing intimate partner violence, and to lead the struggle to end domestic violence through advocacy and community education.

Youth Art & Self-Empowerment Project

The Youth Art & Self-Empowerment Project (YASP) empowers young people who are or have been incarcerated in adult jails and prisons through a combination of artistic expression, political education, and community organizing. YASP carries out this mission by providing space for incarcerated young people to express themselves creatively, building platforms to share their messages with their wider communities, and helping young people develop as leaders and organizers both within and beyond the prison walls. YASP is building youth leadership in the movement to break the school-to-prison pipeline and end mass incarceration in Pennsylvania.

Youth Sentencing & Reentry Project

The Youth Sentencing & Reentry Project uses direct service and policy advocacy to transform the experience of children prosecuted in the adult criminal justice system and to ensure fair and thoughtful resentencing and reentry for individuals who were sentenced to life without parole as children ("juvenile lifers").