J. C. Penney Company Penney OpCo LLC, doing business as JCPenney and often abbreviated JCP, is a midscale American department store chain store, chain operating 667 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. Departments inside JCPenney stores include Mens, Women ...

, Inc. established JCPenney Afterschool, a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

, 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to ensuring that every child in need has access to an

afterschool program After-school activities, also known as after-school programs or after-school care, started in the early 1900s mainly just as supervision of students after the final school bell. Today, after-school programs do much more. There is a focus on helping ...

in their community. As an advocate for the afterschool issue, JCPenney works to increase opportunities offered by afterschool programs. Through its legacy of supporting youth and

charitable organization A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, Religion, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definitio ...

s such as the Boys & Girls Clubs of America,

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

of the USA, National 4-H Conference, United Way and

FIRST First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

, JCPenney formalized its commitment to the afterschool issue by making it the company’s signature cause in 1999. Since its inception, more than $80 million has been distributed to afterschool programs in every JCPenney community.

About the afterschool issue

A study shows that one out of every four children in America are on their own between the hours of 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. Despite growing participation in afterschool programs (8.4 million children), the availability of quality afterschool programs is not keeping pace with the rising needs of 15 million children who have no place to go after school. JCPenney works with afterschool organizations to increase the accessibility and affordability of afterschool programs across the country.

Contributions and fundraising

Round-up for JCPenney Afterschool In 2007, JCPenney began

fundraising Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gathe ...

events throughout the year to allow the community to support an afterschool program. During each event, customers are invited to round-up their JCPenney purchases to the nearest whole dollar and

donate A donation is a gift for charity, humanitarian aid, or to benefit a cause. A donation may take various forms, including money, alms, services, or goods such as clothing, toys, food, or vehicles. A donation may satisfy medical needs such as blo ...

the difference to JCPenney Afterschool. In 2009, customer contributions resulted in an annual total of $4.7 million. All proceeds raised directly benefitted a local afterschool program in over 1,100 communities where JCPenney has a store. Sponsorship of the Rascal Flatts Unstoppable Tour JCPenney was the official sponsor of the

Rascal Flatts Rascal Flatts is an American country music band founded in 1999. The band members were Gary LeVox (lead vocals), Jay DeMarcus (bass guitar, background vocals), and Joe Don Rooney (lead guitar, background vocals). DeMarcus is LeVox's second cousi ...

Unstoppable tour. The band promoted JCPenney's brand "American Living," a concept by Polo Ralph Lauren's Global Concept Group. In conjunction with the tour, Rascal Flatts wrote a bonus track for their new CD to debut April 7, 2009, entitled "American Living." $1 of each CD sold was donated to JCPenney Afterschool.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jcpenney Afterschool Fund Educational charities based in the United States JCPenney Charities based in Texas