Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott makes $600K donation to Junior Achievement

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott made a major donation that will benefit the young people in Philadelphia.

She donated $600,000 to Junior Achievement of Southeastern Pennsylvania, a massive gift to help kids succeed.

Junior Achievement said it typically serves about 20,000 local young people in the area. But with this donation, it can now double that and give roughly 40,000 students a head start to a bright future.

"We work with young people in grades K through 12 across eight counties in the Philadelphia region and surrounding counties," says Stephanie Gambone, the president and CEO of Junior Achievement of Southeastern PA. "We provide financial literacy programs, entrepreneurship programs, career readiness, there are just so many endless opportunities to ensure that young people have the tools and resources they need upon graduation from high school."

MacKenzie Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, donated $39 million to Junior Achievement USA. The southeastern Pennsylvania office is one of 26 local operations to benefit from the unexpected gift.

"I was still definitely star struck," Gambone said. "In many ways, MacKenzie Scott is an amazing philanthropist. We are so grateful and thankful for this gift. It really comes at a critical time for us as an organization, as a community, and quite frankly, as a country, as we think about what's next for young people."

This is the largest single gift to the organization to date.