Investment in Minority-Owned Business Fuels Company Expansion and Living Wage Job Creation in Pittsburgh Opportunity Zones
Arctaris Impact Investors, LLC (“Arctaris”) announces an investment in S&K Holdings, Inc. (“S&K”), the owner of Family Choice Healthcare, a home healthcare company formed in 1996 that provides personal care services for the elderly and disabled with operations in Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington, DC.
Working in coordination with its Opportunity Zone program partners, Erie Insurance (“ERIE”) and the Richard King Mellon Foundation (“the Foundation”), the Arctaris investment will allow S&K to expand its footprint in Pittsburgh’s Allegheny County and Altoona’s Blair County, providing access to healthcare for local residents and medical career paths for S&K employees.
“S&K is the type of minority-owned and operated business we invest in,” said Anita Graham, principal at Arctaris. “The company is stable and quickly growing with excellent leadership at its helm. In addition, Arctaris shares S&K’s vision to uplift the most vulnerable residents in these underserved communities – the aged, disabled, and underemployed – to restore dignity and improve the quality of life for all.”
The investment in S&K is part of Arctaris Impact’s Southwestern Pennsylvania Opportunity Zone Program in partnership with the Foundation. Arctaris plans to invest $20M into operating businesses, real estate, public infrastructure, renewable energy and broadband projects that support economic development, healthcare access, affordable housing, workforce training and sustainable job creation in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties. Leveraging the Opportunity Zone tax incentive and other federal programs, Arctaris has created seven similar place-based programs with more than $200M of capital in partnership with foundations and government agencies throughout the U.S. to stimulate growth in under-resourced communities and for historically under-represented entrepreneurs.
S&K prides itself on providing home healthcare services, long-term services, and living-wage jobs. The company consistently recruits credentialed caregivers in urban centers to care for the elderly and physically disabled residents in these communities. S&K’s public and private partnerships with organizations such as Maryland’s Workforce Development, Pennsylvania’s CareerLink and The Earn Center, New Jersey’s Department of Labor Workforce Development and now, Arctaris helps them to fulfill their mission.
“S&K is pleased to be selected for this type of community building investment by Arctaris,” said Kym and Steve Taylor, co-owners of S&K Holdings, Inc. “In economically uncertain times, it’s important to invest, and create jobs, in vulnerable communities. We are committed to doing that. Our expansion in Pittsburgh and Altoona creates approximately 600 jobs overall and 325 in Pittsburgh. We are tremendously excited for the work ahead and look forward to getting started.”
S&K is constantly striving to recruit employees who desire to care for and serve the physically challenged in their communities, whether the caregiver has years of experience in an institutional setting, or cares for a family member at home. The company offers its full-time employees competitive wages, continuing education, health insurance, a matching 401(k), dental and vision plans, and other benefits which support the company’s efforts to recruit and retain the best caregivers. As part of Arctaris’s investment terms, S&K pledges to create an additional 50 to 100 full-time positions in Pittsburgh.
ERIE’s investment in S&K Holdings through Arctaris is part of an $8 million commitment the company made to fund businesses and community development projects in underserved communities within the company’s footprint.
“Erie Insurance is pleased to partner with Arctaris to make an Opportunity Zone investment in S&K Holdings, Inc.,” said ERIE’s Christina Marsh, chief diversity and community development officer. “We were impressed by Kym and Steve Taylor’s story and their strong commitment to serve the community’s most vulnerable population and to see caregivers and their loved ones thriving.”
“The Foundation invested $4 million in Arctaris to help bring the lifeblood of private capital to the 72 Opportunity Zones in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties,” said Sam Reiman, director of the Richard King Mellon Foundation. “This inaugural project with S&K is a promising example of the power and potential of Arctaris’ work: Supporting a minority-owned business to help bring new jobs to the Hill District, and much-needed health and well-being services.”
About Arctaris Impact Investors
Arctaris Impact Investors, LLC is a Boston-based impact investment firm with experience spanning more than 12 years and six funds, with both debt and equity investments. The firm manages funds which invest in growth-oriented operating businesses and community infrastructure projects located in underserved communities. Founded in 2009, Arctaris has partnered with the Kresge Foundation, Harvard Business School Professor Michael Porter’s Initiative for a Competitive Inner City, and multiple other foundation, federal and state government agencies to invest in Opportunity Zones, inner cities and targeted rural communities throughout the U.S., with the aim of delivering above-market investment returns alongside positive social impact. For more information visit https://arctaris.com or for press inquiries contact jane@arctaris.com.
About S&K Holdings, Inc. (Family Choice Healthcare)
Family Choice Healthcare’s goals and services are based on two fundamental philosophical principles. The belief in the innate worth of the aged and disabled individual. The belief that each individual, regardless of age, race color, creed, sex, national origin or handicap(s), is entitled to maximize his potential as a human being and as a member of society. Family Choice Healthcare believes that the aging process is a normal state in the development of any individual and that chronic disease and disability are a part of that process. For more information visit https://familychoicehealthcare.com/.
About Erie Insurance
According to A.M. Best Company, Erie Insurance, based in Erie, Pennsylvania, is the 12th largest home insurer, 13th largest automobile insurer and 13th largest commercial lines insurer in the United States based on direct premiums written. Founded in 1925, ERIE is a Fortune 500 company and the 16th largest property/casualty insurer in the United States based on total lines net premium written. Rated A+ (Superior) by A.M. Best, ERIE has more than 6 million policies in force and operates in 12 states and the District of Columbia. News releases and more information are available on ERIE’s website at www.erieinsurance.com.
About the Richard King Mellon Foundation
Founded in 1947, the Richard King Mellon Foundation is the largest foundation in southwestern Pennsylvania, and one of the 50 largest in the world. The Foundation’s projected 2020 year-end endowment was $3.1 billion, and its Trustees in 2020 awarded grants and Program Related Investments totaling $130 million. The Foundation focuses its funding on six primary program areas, delineated in its 2021-2030 Strategic Plan.
Legal Disclaimer
Certain information contained in this press release constitutes forward-looking statements. These statements reflect prevailing conditions and our best business judgment as of the date of issuance. As a result, actual results may vary from the projections and it should not be relied upon as investment advice.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211012005740/en/
Arctaris shares S&K’s vision to uplift the most vulnerable residents in these underserved communities – the aged, disabled, and underemployed...
Contacts
Jane Moncrief
jane@arctaris.com
202-868-9005
