North Central PA LaunchBox receives support from $50,000 Jennifer L. Reynolds-Hamilton Endowment

DuBOIS – Local financial advisor Jennifer L. Reynolds-Hamilton has pledged $25,000 to establish The Jennifer L. Reynolds-Hamilton Endowment in Support of the North Central PA LaunchBox. Penn State, as part of the Greater Penn State for 21st Century Excellence Campaign and the LaunchBox Matching Program, will make a one-time matching contribution to this endowment in the amount of $25,000, resulting in a $50,000 endowment. This gift will assist the LaunchBox in its mission of accelerating growth in local business and industry.

The North Central PA LaunchBox and Innovation Collaborative is a partnership focused on supporting manufacturing competitiveness and workforce needs, growing and attracting talented entrepreneurs and innovators, and creating the new high-knowledge, high-technology businesses for the region. Penn State DuBois serves as the convener to facilitate partnerships with and between businesses, education, and industry, as well as economic and community development stakeholders, thus creating a functional ecosystem for providing facilities and programming for industrial research and development; P-20 STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) educational and professional programming; business and community development; and workforce training and development for regional industries.

Reynolds-Hamilton has been professionally involved in the financial services field for almost 15 years through her family-run business, Reynolds Financial Advisors, of DuBois. Her father, Charley Reynolds, has been her inspiration and her mentor since childhood. She helps individuals to develop financial strategies to meet client goals, and offers long range investment guidance for retirement.

“As a business owner and member of this community, I feel supporting the LaunchBox is important.  I believe the programs and partnerships formed will help to grow and attract entrepreneurs as well as allowing for the growth of local business by supporting workforce needs,” said Reynolds-Hamilton. “I believe the LaunchBox and the businesses that are created and improved upon due to the programs offered will lead to more opportunities for employment as well as retaining and attracting more people to our area.”

This gift will directly impact the enhancement of facilities in the NCPA LaunchBox located in downtown DuBois. Services and activities hosted there include business plan development, low-interest financial lending, website design, marketing, technology and site selection, and more. Additionally, the LaunchBox provides a venue where professional seminars, conferences, and events can take place to address a wide array of topics including both economic and community-based issues affecting children, their families and the overall workforce.  The topics range from business plan development, social media marketing, and financial health and wellness, to addressing the opioid crisis, social media awareness, and helping local industry to recover from the COVID-19 crisis.

LaunchBox Director Brad Lashinsky explained, “This endowment is a great sign of support from a young business professional wanting to see her region innovate and thrive. Furthermore, Jennifer also serves on the Launchbox advisory committee, which only exemplifies her commitment to the program being successful”

Lashinsky added, “The endowment program has been developed as a mechanism to assure the Launchbox’s sustainability for businesses and entrepreneurs.”

This gift also helps to advance “A Greater Penn State for 21st Century Excellence,” a focused campaign that seeks to elevate Penn State’s position as a leading public university in a world defined by rapid change and global connections. With the support of alumni and friends, “A Greater Penn State” seeks to fulfill the three key imperatives of a 21st-century public university: keeping the doors to higher education open to hardworking students regardless of financial well-being; creating transformative experiences that go beyond the classroom; and impacting the world by fueling discovery, innovation and entrepreneurship. To learn more about “A Greater Penn State for 21st Century Excellence,” visit https://greaterpennstate.psu.edu/