United Way of Erie County and Erie’s Public Schools officials announced the corporate partners for Diehl Elementary School at a press conference on Friday, November 9, 2018 at 10:00 AM. Companies making up the coalition include: Accudyn, American Tinning and Galvanizing, Custom Engineering, Lincoln Recycling, McInnes Rolled Rings, Reddog Industries, Smith Provision and Team Hardinger.
At United Way, we know education is the key to breaking the cycle of poverty in our community. That is why in 2016, United Way shifted its focus to education and launched the community school model in Erie County. Community schools bring a wide-range of resources into schools to support students and their families.
The community schools model is a strategy (not a program) for organizing school and community resources around student success. A community school is both a place and set of partnerships that help address health, wellness and the social needs of its students, families and the surrounding neighborhood. Schools become centers of the community, open to everyone, all day, every day, evenings and weekends.
After the success of the first five community schools in the City of Erie, Erie’s Public Schools made a commitment to expand the model throughout the school district.
In collaboration with United Way, Diehl Elementary School was the next Erie’s Public School identified to become a community school.
Diehl Elementary School’s Principal, Tim Sabol, has long been a supporter of the community schools, having helped launch the model at one of the first schools in 2016.
Once the Diehl administrators and teachers committed to the model, United Way worked to identify corporate partners to support the school. Corporate partners are vital to the work of community schools because they provide financial support. Many corporate partners also support their school's’ specific needs through volunteer engagement efforts, professional development and in-kind resources.
The dream of Diehl Elementary being a United Way community school is now a reality thanks to an unprecedented corporate partner coalition, many from the manufacturing sector. The eight companies making up the coalition will be announced at the press conference.