Extra Mile Education Foundation Explained

Extra Mile Education Foundation
Formation:	1989
Type:	501(3)(c)
Purpose:	Inner city education
Headquarters:	Pittsburgh, PA
Parent Organization:	Catholic Church
Website:	http://www.extramilefdn.org

The Extra Mile Education Foundation is a privately funded, non-profit charity 501(3)(c) based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, founded in 1989.^{[1] [2] [3]} The money raised by the charity is used to subsidize the tuition of low income students who attend several K-8 Catholic schools in the Pittsburgh area. Most of the students are African American. As of January 2011, five Pittsburgh schools are currently enrolled in the program.^[4]

Statistics

A January 28, 2007 article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette cites the following information about The Extra Mile Education Foundation^[5]

• Of the 830 students whose education is funded by the program, most are non-Catholic.
• 70% of the students come from families whose income is low enough to qualify for free or reduced priced lunches.
• Of the students who graduate from the program (i.e., from 8th grade), not a single student has ever failed 9th grade, and 96% of the students graduate from high school within 4 years.
• The foundation spends $1.9 million per year for scholarships. The money comes from donations, and from interest on the foundation's $17 million endowment.

Mission statement

The following is an excerpt from their official mission statement: "Extra Mile Education Foundation supports the education of urban children in select Pittsburgh parochial elementary schools ... The schools – identified by the Diocese of Pittsburgh – are in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods, and students are primarily African American and non-Catholic. Extra Mile is dedicated to sustaining these schools for their communities on an ongoing basis..." The entire mission statement can be read on the Foundation website.^[6]

Donors

Donors include:^[5]

• Heinz Endowments
• Westinghouse Electric

Board of directors

Notable members of the foundation's board include:^[7]

• Art Rooney II, President of the Pittsburgh Steelers
• Michael P. Tomlin, Head coach Pittsburgh Steelers
• David Shapira, Chairman and CEO of Giant Eagle
• Thomas Usher, former Chairman of Marathon Oil
• David Zubik, Bishop of Pittsburgh

Notes and References

1. Web site: Charity Navigator-Extra Mile Education Foundation . 2011-01-25.
2. Catholic Education: A Journal of Inquiry and Practice . 4 . 1 . 2000 . Boston College Roche Center for Catholic Education . Chesnut Hill, MA . Listening to Student: Voices from the Inner City . Gregory A. Morris . etal . 2011-01-24 . 7.
3. The White House Domestic Policy Council . September 2008 . Preserving a Critical National Asset America's Disadvantaged Students and the Crisis in Faith-based Urban Schools . 31 . 2011-01-24.
4. Web site: Extra Mile Education Foundation-The Schools . 2010-01-25 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090609021710/http://www.extramilefdn.org/schools.html . 2009-06-09 . dead .
5. News: Program goes extra mile for Catholic education-Extra Mile Education Foundation reaches out to mostly black families in low-income areas . Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . 2011-01-25 . 2007-01-28.
6. Web site: Extra Mile Education Foundation . 2007-06-30 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070908074338/http://www.extramilefdn.org/mission.html . 2007-09-08 . dead .
7. Web site: Extra Mile Education Foundation Board of Directors/Staff . 2011-01-25 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110726011137/http://www.extramilefdn.org/board_staff.html . 2011-07-26 . dead .