Signature Initiatives
EQT awards grants to hundreds of worthwhile organizations every year. Here are some
of the signature initiatives in which EQT Foundation plays a leading role:
ASPIRE (Area Students Participating in Rewarding Education)
ASPIRE provides college-bound high school students in the greater Pittsburgh region
with one-on-one mentoring and scholarships. EQT employees volunteer their time to
help students make more informed career decisions, and provide assistance with life
choices and career development.
Since its inception in 1995, ASPIRE has helped prepare
more than 100 Pittsburgh students for college and awarded them $500,000 in scholarships.
The program has been so successful that its students have had a 98 percent success
rate at four-year colleges. Visit
www.aspireprogram.org for more details.
Have A Heart...Save A Life
Created in partnership with the American Heart Association (AHA), the Have a Heart…Save A Life
program provides training to 7th grade students on the life-saving techniques of CPR.
Initially launched in Pike County, Kentucky, and now established in four other Kentucky and
three West Virginia counties, to date more than 1,000 students have received training and
take-home kits containing a personal, inflatable practice mannequin, CPR Skills Practice
DVD and CPR resource booklet.
The Foundation also provides underwriting and resources for an extensive Train the Trainers initiative,
where AHA instructors train the schoolteachers to use the kit so they can train their students.
Each student is encouraged to train at least four others on the life-saving techniques.
The program provides essential community support where it matters most –
in the homes of rural communities where it can take up to 30 minutes for emergency personnel
to respond to a call.
Three Rivers Regatta
The Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio Rivers are more than part of the southwest Pennsylvania landscape. In many ways these waterways are the lifeblood of the region. No event better celebrates the heart of the region’s river culture than the family-friendly, free of charge EQT Three Rivers Regatta. As the title sponsor, EQT Foundation has assured that this exceptional three-day event is a hallmark of the summer calendar in Pittsburgh.
Hill House Generations Ahead
Hill House has changed lives and created pathways out of poverty for more than 500,000 children,
adults and seniors living in the Pittsburgh region’s urban environments through a wide range of
programs and outreach opportunities. The EQT Foundation’s contribution to Generations Ahead,
a campaign to expand and endow its nationally recognized community program, is the largest
corporate gift in the program’s history.
PBS Kids Go! Young Writers Contest
Reading, writing and imagination are all part of the national PBS Kids Go!
Young Writers Contest initiative operated in conjunction with local schools across the country.
The EQT Foundation sponsors the contest with Pittsburgh-based WQED-TV and
West Virginia Public Broadcasting.
The contest encourages children in grades K through 3 to submit their own original stories and
illustrations for local, regional and national recognition.
The Foundation supported a dramatic extension of the program with resource materials,
marketing support and outreach efforts, targeting schools in southwestern Pennsylvania,
north and central West Virginia and eastern Kentucky.