Announcing the Recipients of the $5 Million GSK IMPACT Grant for a Healthier Philadelphia

March 19, 2015 /3BL Media/ - GSK [LSE/NYSE: GSK] and The Philadelphia Foundation announced today that a three-year, $5 million charitable grant is awarded to Get HYPE Philly!, a collective of 10 nonprofits headed by The Food Trust. Working together, the nonprofits will focus on enabling Philadelphia teens to eat healthy, exercise and build healthier communities. The grant is from a fund established by GSK in 2011 to benefit young people in the City of Philadelphia, and is administered by The Philadelphia Foundation.

“Healthy communities are the backbone of strong sustainable societies. That is why GSK has a long history of giving to the cities where we work and where we live,” said Donna Altenpohl, Vice President US Public Policy, GSK.  “The $5 million IMPACT Grant will amplify the great work already underway by these exemplary local nonprofits to help middle and high school students embrace healthy lifestyles and lead the way for a healthier Philadelphia.”

Expanding The Food Trust’s well-established HYPE (Healthy You. Positive Energy.) youth leadership program, the Collective will conduct out-of-school activities citywide, with more intensive programming in under-served areas of North Philadelphia. Get HYPE Philly!  is projected to reach over 50,000 Philadelphia young people by 2017 with programming ranging from community gardens to cooking and exercise classes to mentoring and leadership development.

“We are so thankful to GSK for giving the Get HYPE Philly! Collective the opportunity to reach young people throughout the city in such a meaningful way,” said Yael Lehmann, Executive Director of The Food Trust. “Together we can empower Philly kids to make healthy change possible not only for themselves, but also for their classmates, their families and their communities.”

To guide its work, the Collective will convene an advisory committee with officials from the City of Philadelphia Departments of Public Health and Parks and Recreation, as well as representatives of the School District of Philadelphia. The Honorable Mayor Michael A. Nutter said: “I want to commend GSK for its tremendous GSK IMPACT Grant, which brings together key nonprofits and community leaders to support healthier communities. With this generous funding, the Get HYPE Philly! partners will be able to reach more young people through the creation of more positive and healthy opportunities for them. I want to congratulate the Get HYPE Philly! Collective and thank GSK, once again, for being a good corporate citizen.”

Larry Beaser, Chair of the Board of Managers of The Philadelphia Foundation, said the grant supports the type of collaboration that is needed in the nonprofit sector in order to effectively address pressing community concerns.

“We are proud to be the administrator of this important work, part of our ongoing partnership with GSK on grant and scholarship initiatives,” Beaser said.

The Get HYPE Philly! Collective Impact Initiative is made up of the following 10 member organizations:

• The Food Trust, @TheFoodTrust, convening Collective partners and coordinating Get HYPE Philly! activities, and empowering young people to be role models for healthy change in their schools and communities through the HYPE (Healthy You. Positive Energy.) youth leadership program
• Greener Partners, @GreenerPartners, engaging kids in gardening and nutrition education, including at its Guild House West urban farm
• Common Market, @CommonMkt, facilitating access to locally and sustainably grown food, and increasing participation in youth leadership programs at the East Park Revitalization Alliance
• The Village of Arts and Humanities, @VillagePhilly, providing hands-on educational experiences in urban farming and nutrition-based activities
• Norris Square Neighborhood Project, @iLoveNSNP, helping students become leaders for a healthier and more sustainable community through its Garden Education Program
• The Philadelphia Freedom Valley YMCA, @pfvYMCA, preparing kids as leaders for fitness and health through physical activity programming
• The Free Library of Philadelphia, @FreeLibrary, engaging students through its Culinary Literacy Center and branch-based teen mentoring program
• Philadelphia Youth Network, @PYNinc, connecting kids with work opportunities where they can model and lead healthy activities while learning work-readiness skills
• The Enterprise Center Community Development Corporation, @PhilaTEC, supporting students in entrepreneurship and creating youth-led businesses, such as healthy snacks for farmers’ markets and corner stores
• Equal Measure, @EqMeasure, evaluating and enhancing Get HYPE! Philly’s social impact throughout the three-year grant

About GSK Healthy Communities

The GSK IMPACT Grant for Philadelphia is one of several charitable programs GSK offers as part of a commitment to building healthier communities across the nation. In 2012 the company launched a national initiative designed to better understand the barriers and identify opportunities for building healthier communities in the United States. This led to the creation of a range of community-health focused programs including the GSK IMPACT Grants, available in Denver, St. Louis, and Philadelphia.

View our US fact sheet and Pennsylvania fact sheet for a snapshot of our work building healthy communities in the US.

About GSK

GSK -- one of the world’s leading research-based pharmaceutical and healthcare companies – is committed to improving the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer. For further information go to us.gsk.com, follow GSK on twitter.com/GSKUS or visit GSK’s blog.

About The Philadelphia Foundation

Since 1918, The Philadelphia Foundation has been committed to improving the quality of life in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties. It links those with financial resources to those who serve societal needs. Through investment, it grows the more than 900 charitable funds established by its donors. In 2014, its assets totaled $369 million, and it distributed about $25 million in grants and scholarships to about 1,200 effective nonprofit organizations. Through this support, the Foundation enhances culture and recreation, strengthens children and families, advances economic opportunities and builds healthy communities. To learn more, visit www.philafound.org.

View and download photos of the GSK IMPACT grant recipients.

Follow the conversation at #GSKimpact and #getHYPEphilly.

Contact – For interview opportunities, please contact:

GSK
Marti Skold-Jordan        Marti.x.Skold-Jordan@GSK.com           919-328-0507

The Philadelphia Foundation
Betsy Anderson            banderson@philafound.org                   215-863-8109

Cautionary statement regarding forward-looking statements
GSK cautions investors that any forward-looking statements or projections made by GSK, including those made in this announcement, are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Such factors include, but are not limited to, those described under Item 3.D 'Risk factors' in the company's Annual Report on Form 20-F for 2014.