Pencils of Promise Receives $1 Million Donation to Support School Builds and Innovation Pipeline

NEW YORK, Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Pencils of Promise (PoP), a global education organization, today announces a $1 million dollar grant from American entrepreneur, Timothy Sykes through The Timothy Sykes Foundation. The donation, which is the single largest donation PoP has received to date, will help PoP implement change on a transformative level and change the fact that 250 million children around the world lack basic reading and writing skills.

"I believe knowledge truly is power and education is key to the future of our children. That's why it is my personal mission to support education in communities that are in desperate need of some of the everyday resources that many of us take for granted," said Sykes. "I have seen first-hand some of the amazing work Pencils of Promise does around the world and I'm proud to help them further their mission."

This contribution will be utilized in two of PoP's key areas of focus: school builds and literacy programming. A majority of the grant will help build 20 new primary schools across Ghana, Guatemala and Laos, to be completed between 2017 and 2018. The building of these schools will give thousands of students for years to come access to a safe, clean and engaging learning environment they otherwise wouldn't have. 

The remaining portion of the grant will aid the funding of PoP's Innovation Pipeline, which was established in January 2016 to enhance the tools utilized by PoP teachers to improve literacy in the classroom. More specifically, PoP will continue expanding their e-reader program, which provides 3rd-6th grade students in Ghana e-readers with over 150 pre-loaded books in both English and the local language. This is one of PoP's most successful advancements to date.

"Over the past year, Timothy has been such a fantastic supporter of PoP and we are so appreciative of his generous donation," said PoP CEO Michael Dougherty. "This is just the beginning of helping change the lives of kids across the globe as we continue to expand our efforts of increasing quality education." 

It is generous donations like this that allow PoP to further their mission of increasing access to quality education in rural communities. It is estimated that this donation will impact roughly 26,040 students in a 20-year time-span.

About Pencils of Promise:
Pencils of Promise is a for-purpose organization founded in 2008 with the goal of increasing access to quality education for children in the developing world. PoP works with communities across the globe to build schools and create programs that provide educational opportunities for children.  To date, PoP has built over 380 schools and provided access to education to more than 35,000 students throughout Ghana, Guatemala, Laos and Nicaragua, establishing itself as a leader amongst the innovative global nonprofits working toward sustainable social change.

About Timothy Sykes:
Timothy Sykes is a self-made millionaire whose success story is well known for turning his $12,415 Bar Mitzvah money into $1.65 million by the age of 22. A former hedge fund manager, Sykes left the industry to work as a financial activist and educator, sharing his trading strategies with more than 6,000 students in 70 countries. He is the author of the best-selling book "An American Hedge Fund" and CEO of Millionaire Media. Sykes is also a devoted philanthropist and started his own charity The Timothy Sykes Foundation in 2014. His philanthropic work is dedicated to providing and improving education opportunities to people living in third-world countries.

Press inquiries: 
Pencils of Promise 
Kirby Allison 
JONESWORKS 
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SOURCE Pencils of Promise