Philadelphia, PA, Sept. 18, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In a virtual event held Friday, September 18, 2020, the Greater Philadelphia business and civic community, in collaboration with the City of Philadelphia, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the CEO Council for Growth, and the four surrounding southeastern Pennsylvania counties announced the official launch of the Recharge and Recovery initiative and its detailed plan to strategically and immediately re-energize the economy as we reopen.
“This initiative is really, truly a private-partnership,” adds Rob Wonderling, President & Chief Executive Officer, The Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia, “These six action items all have associated advocacy work engaged in seeing this progress come to fruition so we’ve been very engaged with our federal, state, and local government and we know this needs to continue not only on the short-term action items but long-term as well.”
This initiative, spearheaded by the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia and its CEO Council for Growth, was initially announced on June 15, is a private-public partnership developing actionable plans for short-term solutions for economic recovery.
“We the public and private sectors need to work together to regain the momentum that was disrupted by the pandemic by positioning employers for growth. Our focus, led by the Department of Commerce, is to capitalize on this unique moment to reimagine and reinvent the industries and jobs of the future in a way to increase access and opportunity for all.” Says Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney.
The Recharge and Recovery Task Force intentionally focus on key initiatives that require a sense of urgency, collaboration, and resources. All six are foundational to set in motion an accelerated recovery plan for the region. They are as follows:
- COVID-19 Testing and Contact Tracing
- Communication Coordination of Public Health Information
- Health and Safety Pledge for Venues
- Reskilling for High Demand Jobs
- Skills-Based Hiring
- Pledge to Buy Local
In addition, the initiative will determine the type and scale of resources necessary to achieve accelerated short and mid-term economic recovery to inform local, state, and federal governments.
“As we continue to navigate the pandemic, we have to address the economic side of the crisis as well. The mitigation efforts to protect public health were successful, but we need to marry that now to an equally successful working together to make sure we rejuvenate and strengthen our economy,” Says Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf. “The Recharge and Recovery initiative is a brilliant, brilliant example of what we can achieve through collaboration like this. And I am confident that the joint expertise and experience of this group is going to generate really bright ideas to help rebuild and strengthen the economy of Philadelphia.”
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses of Greater Philadelphia and the surrounding counties lost an estimated 8.1% of GDP in the last six months and approximately 735,000 people lost employment. The size and severity of our vulnerable and underserved communities increased rapidly as a result. The Recharge and Recovery Task Force brings together key leaders within the community to work collaboratively to accelerate job and economic growth through a series of recommendations and actions.
“In this pandemic, our values tell us that we must not mark time. We can and we must act. How we act will not only aid in Greater Philadelphia’s recovery, it will define us as the leading city and region we can be for years to come,” says Amy Guttman, President, University of Pennsylvania. “The key to our strategy is to create a truly inclusive economic partnership with government. Our work must be inclusive. It must benefit all citizens and advance racial equity across all our organizations and institutions.”
More than 120 diverse business, civic and government leaders are leading the initiative. This group includes Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf, Philadelphia City Council President Darrell Clarke, and the counties of Southeastern Pennsylvania, as well as business and civic leaders representing the following verticals:
- Higher Education
- Small & Mid-Sized Business
- Tourism, Hospitality, and Arts & Culture
- Health Care Delivery
- Financial Services
- Tech, Media, and Telecom
- Life Sciences
- Talent and Workforce
These initiatives are strategically organized to accelerate outcomes. The first three initiatives involve the private-public partnership required to build out the region’s COVID-19 testing and contact tracing infrastructure. The second set of initiatives are structured so that the private sector can start making commitments and taking actions now that will have a material impact on growth through scaling up diverse job opportunities. These initiatives are the first prioritized actions, with another 20+ initiatives that have been identified for future and continued efforts.
“In spite of the pandemic and civic unrest that has defined this year, or more likely because of it, we are finally at the moment in time where we can move away from having to defend diversity, equity, and inclusion and toward the actions needed to make up for lost time,” added Marc Coleman, Founder, President & Chief Executive Officer, The Tactile Group. “Accountability and actionability have to drive this initiative forward and it starts at home. What that looks like for every group is going to be different and will come with its own set of challenges.”
The Recharge and Recovery Task Force designed to produce accelerated and inclusive job growth, expansion of small to medium-sized businesses, health and science advancement, and economic recovery while maintaining the health and safety of our community.
Funding for this initiative comes entirely from private resources from Chamber member companies. No tax dollars fund this initiative.
For more information to and to review the Phase 1 Recommendations & Actions, click here.
To access the full media kit including, agenda, speaker bios, and FAQs, click here.
To review the Zoom recording of today’s Taskforce announcement event, click here.
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