Franklin P. and Arthur W. Perdue Foundation Funds Second Grade Programs for Junior Achievement of the Eastern Shore

 

Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot, Junior Achievement of the Eastern Shore President Jayme Hayes; and Franklin P. and Arthur W. Perdue Foundation’s Executive Director Kim Nechay and CEO Randy Day (Photo Credit: Todd Dudek)

Salisbury, MD – (May 29, 2018)The Franklin P. and Arthur W. Perdue Foundation donated $10,000 to fund second-grade Junior Achievement (JA) programs in Wicomico, Worcester, Dorchester, Somerset, Talbot, and Caroline counties. The program, JA Our Community®,introduces students to the intersection of work readiness and teaches how citizens benefit from and contribute to a community’s success.

“The Franklin P. and Arthur W. Perdue Foundation has made a tremendous impact on our area youth,” said Jayme Hayes, president of Junior Achievement of the Eastern Shore. “With the programming funded by this donation, JA has been able to share with 1,749 students the concepts of career choices; why people pay taxes; and how money moves through a community. That is of immeasurable value to their futures.

At the April 24, 2018 Junior Achievement of the Eastern Shore’s Leadership Day at Beaver Run Elementary School, the second-grade classes received JA Our Community®, as well as guidance from local and regional community leaders, including Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot. Randy Day, CEO of Perdue Farms. and Kim Nechay, executive director of the Perdue Foundation, were on hand to mark the occasion and present the staff with a donation check.

“Perdue and its associates have been long-time partners with Junior Achievement,” said Nechay. “We’re happy to be able to continue our support on the Eastern Shore and to ensure the important learning opportunities for students through the JA Our Community program.”

 

About Perdue Farms
We’re a third-generation, family owned, U.S. food and agriculture company. Through our belief in responsible food and agriculture, we are empowering consumers, customers and farmers through trusted choices in products and services. 
We focus on continuously improving everything we do, constantly learning, and sharing those insights across different production methods. That innovative approach is driving change throughout the company and onto farms. This continuous advancement is leading us toward our vision of becoming the most trusted name in food and agricultural products.
The PERDUE^® brand is the number-one brand of fresh chicken in the U.S., and Perdue AgriBusiness is an international agricultural products and services company. As we approach our 100^th anniversary in 2020, our path forward is about getting better, not just bigger. We never use drugs for growth promotion in raising poultry and livestock, and we are actively advancing our animal welfare programs. Our brands are leaders in no-antibiotics-ever chicken, turkey and pork, and in USDA-certified organic chicken. We’ve increased our support for the family farm by creating new markets, including specialty crops. Through agricultural services, we give farmers more options for the acre, including conversion to organic production and products and services that increase the sustainability of conventional agriculture. Learn more at www.perduefarms.com.

About Junior Achievement of the Eastern Shore:

Junior Achievement of the Eastern Shore is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that provides financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship education to K-12 students throughout public and private school classrooms in six counties across Maryland’s Eastern Shore. With the help of respected local volunteers, Junior Achievement delivers to young people in all communities the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for their future, and make smart academic and economic choices. In its 2017 fiscal year, Junior Achievement reached over 7,000 students across the Shore. For more information visit us at www.easternshoreja.org or on Facebook or Twitter.

 

30 Days for JA Raises Funds to Promote Mid-Shore Financial Literacy Programs

A third-grade student holds up the check he has filled out as part of an activity he has completed during the JA Our City® Program

Easton, MD – (May 21, 2018) A recent national survey by Junior Achievement USA and AIG finds that only half of teens cite becoming financially independent of parents as one of their future goals. The survey, conducted by Wakefield Research, also notes only 50% of teens held a desire to start a savings plan. To continue the effort to change these statistics, Junior Achievement of the Eastern Shore (JA) is launching a 30 Days to JA fundraiser for their financial education programs.

 

“While Junior Achievement is making great strides here on the shore by teaching over 2,500 students this year alone, there are still so many more youth to reach.” said Jayme Hayes, president of Junior Achievement of the Eastern Shore. “And reach them we must. Financial illiteracy affects not only individuals; it is a community issue, and one we need to address as a community.”

 

The 30 Days to JA campaign will run from June 1 to June 30, with contributions being accepted online at www.easternshoreja.org.

 

About Junior Achievement of the Eastern Shore:

Junior Achievement of the Eastern Shore is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that provides financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship education to K-12 students throughout public and private school classrooms in six counties across Maryland’s Eastern Shore at no cost to the schools. With the help of respected local volunteers, Junior Achievement delivers to young people in all communities the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for their future, and make smart academic and economic choices. In its 2017 fiscal year, Junior Achievement reached over 7,000 students across the Shore. For more information visit us at www.easternshoreja.org or on Facebook or Twitter.

Town of Easton Proclaims April 2018 “Junior Achievement Financial Literacy Month”

Photo: L-R–Councilwoman Megan Cook; JA Talbot Chair Laura Heikes; JA board members George Koste of Maryland Capital Enterprises, and Talli Oxnam of Wye Financial & Trust The Town of Easton, Maryland proclaimed April 2018 “Junior Achievement Financial Literacy Month” in recognition of the financial literacy education efforts of Junior Achievement of the Eastern Shore, (JA)….

Source: Town of Easton Proclaims April 2018 “Junior Achievement Financial Literacy Month”

Beaver Run Students Learn Leadership at Avery Hall Insurance Group Sponsored Junior Achievement Leadership Day

 

Comptroller Peter Franchot collects “Taxes” from Beaver Run Elementary Second Graders, who learned about taxes from volunteers from Avery Hall Insurance Group during Leadership Day.

(April 30, 2018 — Salisbury, MD) On April 24 the second-grade students at Beaver Run elementary got “jobs,” earned a paycheck, and then discovered certain services in their city—thanks to a lesson from Salisbury Mayor Jake Day—are paid for by tax money. The students then handed over a portion of their pay to Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot. The lesson was all part of Junior Achievement of the Eastern Shore’s (JA) Leadership Day at Beaver Run Elementary School. The students were presented with the JA Our Community® program, which was taught by volunteers from Avery Hall Insurance Group. Throughout the daylong program, the students cycled through engaging, age-appropriate lessons on topics such as how money moves through a community; different types of careers; and why people pay taxes.

Assisting the Comptroller in the tax activity and highlighting the importance of community leaders were Salisbury City Mayor Jake Day; Superintendent for Wicomico County Public Schools, Dr. Donna C. Hanlin; Salisbury Police Chief Barbara Duncan; Salisbury Police Detective Tom Hitty; Salisbury Fire Chief Richard Hoppes; Wicomico Public Libraries Executive Director Andrea Berstler; and Beaver Run Elementary School Principal Curt Twilley.

“We were thrilled to not only be able to reach such a large number of students in one day, but also be able to present them with so many influential members of the community,” said JA president Jayme Hayes. “JA wants students to dream big and reach their potential, and what better way to encourage them toward success than to present them with real role models—people who live and work here and can show them the types of jobs they can have in our community?”

Sponsors of the event were Avery Hall Insurance Group, the Franklin P. & Arthur W. Perdue Foundation, with Baxter Enterprises providing lunch for the students.

Junior Achievement of the Eastern Shore is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that provides financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship education to K-12 students throughout public and private school classrooms in six counties across Maryland’s Eastern Shore. With the help of respected local volunteers, Junior Achievement delivers to young people in all communities the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for their future, and make smart academic and economic choices. In its 2017 fiscal year, Junior Achievement reached over 7,000 students across the Shore. http://www.easternshoreja.org.

Junior Achievement Hosts Career Day for High Schoolers and Young Adult

PRESS RELEASE

 

(March 14, 2018 — Salisbury, MD) On March 28, Junior Achievement of the Eastern Shore (JAES) hosted a Career Day at the Wicomico Youth and Civic Center. Beginning at 9 a.m., approximately 100 students from Wicomico County’s four high schools arrived at the Civic Center to receive the Junior Achievement Career Success® program. The JA Career Success program equips students with the means required to earn and keep a job in high-growth career industries, and covers topics such as soft skills, work priorities, job-hunting, and personal branding. Teaching the program were volunteers from community institutions: Kevin Fallon of Salisbury University; Jermaine Starks, Pat Bennett, and Brittany Brunner of NASA Wallops Flight Facility; Stacy Leone of BesTemps; and Kathy Kiernan, Chair of the JAES Board of Directors.

 

Speaking with Wicomico Board of Education Director of Communications and Community Outreach Paul Butler, one student said, “This has been a good experience for me. I learned a lot today to take with me into the future to hopefully get a good job and make a good career.”

 

Following the educational portion of the day, the students took part in the career fair portion of the day. Thirty area employers were on hand to conduct interviews with the students, who interacted with the businesses’ representatives. The students filled out job applications—assisted when necessary by their teachers and volunteers from event sponsor, First Shore Federal.

 

Once the high schoolers departed for the afternoon, the career fair was opened to public youth aged 16-24. Volunteers from First Shore Federal remained on hand to assist applicants with any issues in filling out their paperwork, as job hopefuls greeted a wide variety of potential employers including Delmarva Beauty Academy, Walmart, Arby’s, Maryland Department of Safety and Correctional Services, and Atlantic General Hospital.

 

“The students had the opportunity to take what they learned in their morning JA Career Success sessions and apply it to their job application process,” said Jayme Hayes, president of Junior Achievement. “It was a chance to really take their time and immerse themselves in a job-search experience—many for the first time.”

 

Sponsors of the event were First Shore Federal, Pepsi, Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore, and Wicomico Partnership for Families and Children.

 

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Junior Achievement of the Eastern Shore is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that provides financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship education to K-12 students throughout public and private school classrooms in six counties across Maryland’s Eastern Shore. With the help of respected local volunteers, Junior Achievement delivers to young people in all communities the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for their future, and make smart academic and economic choices. Through its hands-on, age-appropriate programs Junior Achievement inspires our youth to live within their means, prepare for the world of work, and understand the free enterprise system. In its 2017 fiscal year, Junior Achievement reached over 7,000 students across the Shore. To volunteer, donate, or learn more about Junior Achievement of the Eastern Shore, email information@easternshoreja.org, or log on to http://www.easternshoreja.org.

 

Avery Hall Donates $2500 to Sponsor Junior Achievement’s Leadership Day at Beaver Run Elementary School

(L-R) JA President, Jayme Hayes; Avery Hall Employees & JA volunteers–Pearl Lasley; Angie Strouth; Susan Brown; Michelle Howard; Walter Richardson

(February 28 — Salisbury, MD) All second-grade students at Beaver Run Elementary School will participate in a special version of Junior Achievement’s (JA) Our Community® program on April 24, sponsored by a $2,500 donation from Avery Hall Insurance Group. This “Leadership Day,” will include honored guests such as Comptroller Peter Franchot and Mayor Jake Day, who will enrich the lessons with their own insights into community roles and leadership.

In addition to the funding to sponsor Leadership Day, Avery Hall Insurance Group will be providing several volunteers to teach the JA Our Community Lessons to the students. “We have several employees that volunteer their time to teach in the classroom and lend hands to special events to help ensure that Junior Achievement is around for many, many years to come,” said Joseph Gast, President, Avery W. Hall Insurance Agency, Inc.

Avery Hall Insurance Group provides individuals, families, organizations and businesses of all sizes throughout Delmarva with insurance solutions for today’s world. Avery Hall is headquartered in Salisbury, with offices in Easton, Seaford, Bridgeville, and Milton.

 

Junior Achievement of the Eastern Shore is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that provides financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship education to K-12 students throughout public and private school classrooms in six counties across Maryland’s Eastern Shore. To volunteer, donate, or learn more about Junior Achievement of the Eastern Shore, email information@easternshoreja.org, or log on to http://www.easternshoreja.org.

 

Students and teachers from Pocomoke High School

(February 26, 2018 — Salisbury, MD) On February 22, Junior Achievement of the Eastern Shore (JA) hosted its annual Worcester Adopt-a-School Dinner, an evening to celebrate the donors throughout the year who have sponsored grade levels and classrooms in schools throughout the county, as well as raise money to provide JA programming to students not yet funded. The event was held at Sunset Grille in West Ocean City, a sponsor of the event. While attendees dined and bid on auction items, guest speakers discussed the impact of Junior Achievement’s three pillars of financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship on the community.

Speakers during the event included Michael Franklin, CEO of Atlantic General Hospital; Laura Bren of Atlantic/Smith, Cropper & Deeley; Brad Hoffman of Live Wire Media & Events; and Stephanie Hearn of Pocomoke High School and the lessons taught in Junior Achievement Finance Park® helped her students, who shared their JA experiences.

Lanie, a freshman at Pocomoke High School, acknowledged that her aspirations of military service would likely not garner her a high paycheck starting out in life. She noted her initial dread at being forced to take a financial literacy class, and her quick realization that she had a lot to learn about budgeting and investing. “As (with) every young person it is easy to pay attention to the short-term luxuries, but now I understand the full potential of my knowledge.”

Fellow student Jeremiah, spoke about applying for his first job for the summer, and how JA Finance Park helped him. “I think this will really help me with the process of saving to a goal instead of spending it on something.”

The live video recording failed after that and classmate Tamari’s remarks were lost, but he later summed up the reason for the evening’s event via email with a perfect, succinct sentence, “So many adults have missed the opportunity to have this class, and so many adults are financially unstable because of that.”

Adopt-a-School sponsors are: Atlantic/Smith, Cropper & Deeley; Sysco; Faw Casson; Esham Family Ltd. Partnership; Snowden Lane Partners; Castle in the Sand; Bank of America; Bank of Delmarva; Richard Holland; Humphreys Foundation, Inc.; Taylor Bank; Bank of Ocean City; Ocean City/Berlin Optimist Club; Hershey Family Fund; Delmarva Power; Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore; PNC Bank; Vernon Powell Shoes; Courtesy of Salisbury; Whiting Turner Contracting Co.; Pohanka of Salisbury

Junior Achievement of the Eastern Shore is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that provides financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship education to K-12 students throughout public and private school classrooms in six counties across Maryland’s Eastern Shore. With the help of respected local volunteers, Junior Achievement delivers to young people in all communities the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for their future, and make smart academic and economic choices. Through its hands-on, age-appropriate programs Junior Achievement inspires our youth to live within their means, prepare for the world of work, and understand the free enterprise system. In its 2017 fiscal year, Junior Achievement reached over 7,000 students across the Shore. To volunteer, donate, or learn more about Junior Achievement of the Eastern Shore, email information@easternshoreja.org, or log on to http://www.easternshoreja.org.

 

NEWS RELEASE

Angie Jarvis of Avery Hall Insurance teaches students in Ms. Hutchinsons 2nd Grade Class at Pinehurst Elementary a Junior Achievement lesson on jobs in JA Our Community®

 

 

 

Pinehurst 2^nd & 3^rd Grade Students Receive Junior Achievement thanks to Rinnier Development

 

January 31, 2018 – Salisbury, Maryland – All 187 Pinehurst Elementary School second and third-grade students were given “paychecks” of five dollars the week of January 22, and each handed back two in taxes. The money was Junior Achievement® (JA) money, and the taxes part of a lesson in a week-long course called JA Our Community® sponsored by Rinnier Development Company. This year marks the seventh that Rinnier has brought JA programming to this school. “I am strong supporter of Junior Achievement and its mission to bring financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship education to our students,” says Lisa Rinnier of Rinnier Development. “I want to bring these critical life lessons here to Pinehurst because I went to this school in my youth, and it feels like giving a small portion back to the place that gave so much to me.”

During the week of immersive, age-appropriate lessons, dedicated community member volunteers taught the students key topics such as how businesses and government jobs help a community; and why individuals pay income tax. One such volunteer was Avery Hall Insurance vice president and Junior Achievement executive board member Angie Strouth.

“I enjoy going into the classroom to teach JA because I know I am making a good and positive impact on every child in the room,” said Strouth. “In the second-grade class I love the excitement when the kids receive their job cards and learn what skills and education they will need for those jobs. You can see a light bulb go off when they read what those skill are.”

Junior Achievement provides all materials to the schools free of charge. JA programming will continue throughout the county—and across the Eastern Shore of Maryland—in various grade levels through the end of the school year.

 

Junior Achievement of the Eastern Shore is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that provides financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship education to K-12 students throughout public and private school classrooms in six counties across Maryland’s Eastern Shore. With the help of respected local volunteers, Junior Achievement delivers to young people in all communities the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for their future, and make smart academic and economic choices. Through its hands-on, age-appropriate programs Junior Achievement inspires our youth to live within their means, prepare for the world of work, and understand the free enterprise system. In its 2017 fiscal year, Junior Achievement reached over 7,000 students across the Shore. To volunteer, donate, or learn more about Junior Achievement of the Eastern Shore, email information@easternshoreja.org, or log on to www.easternshoreja.org.

President Jayme Hayes on DelmarvaLife

A Hero With Class — creating the next generation of heroes on a daily basis

L to R: Justin Cunha, Michelle Ott, Adrian Reyes, and September Morris

Michelle Ott and her Pocomoke High Students

“More than 70% of our students come from families of poverty. If we do not want that percentage to grow, we need to educate our students. Our students need to be taught what oftentimes people assume to be common knowledge.”

 

Tell us about yourself:

My name is Michelle Ott and I am proud, first-year teacher at Pocomoke High School. In addition to teaching Consumer and Personal Finance, I teach Algebra 1, Data Analysis and Statistics, AP Statistics, and AP Calculus BC. In May 2016, I graduated from Salisbury University with a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics, following the secondary education track. I was born and raised in Worcester County and am a proud graduate of the Worcester County Public Schools system.

As our JA Hero, you have made efforts to promote financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and/or workforce readiness in the community, specifically through your work at Pocomoke High School. Can you tell us a little more about how this came about?

Dr. Annette Wallace, the principal of Pocomoke High School, recognized that incoming freshmen were lacking in a few areas–one of them being financial literacy. She designed a freshmen seminar that every freshman takes during his/her first semester at Pocomoke High School. The students rotate between four teachers where they take a five-week course in each of the following areas: financial literacy, public speaking, writing skills, and life skills. As the newest addition to the mathematics department, Dr. Wallace thought my energy was just what she and Junior Achievement were looking for to teach the financial literacy portion of this course.

What specifically do you see occurring in our community at large that proves there is a need for this type of education?

More than 70% of our students come from families of poverty. If we do not want that percentage to grow, we need to educate our students. Our students need to be taught what oftentimes people assume to be common knowledge. They need to learn how they can earn an income by selecting the job that is best going to meet their abilities, aptitudes, interests, and values. Then, they must be specifically taught how to manage that income, including paying taxes, budgeting their money, and saving for the future. If we want our community to prosper, we need to teach our community’s future, our students, how they can prosper.

During the Junior Achievement Adopt a School Dinner you spoke of having to have “hard conversations” with your students about some financial realities, and the students that spoke at the dinner in turn mentioned having some illuminating moments about their financial and career futures. How do you think these “ah-ha!” moments are affecting your students’ ability to take control of their future success?

 Although we have had to have some “hard conversations,” I believe these are the conversations the students are going to remember. These are the conversations these students will remember well beyond their years at Pocomoke High School. These conversations will resonate with them when they are faced with financial decisions that will affect their futures. I have shared my life experiences, including hardships, to show my students that we are all faced with hard times. But, it is certainly possible to overcome those hardships and have a successful future.

How does your involvement with youth financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship efforts affect our area as a whole? How does it affect our future citizens and the future of the Eastern Shore?

As cliché as it may sound, these students are our future. In my course, we discuss how spending and saving habits are generally a learned behavior. The way in which our grandparents spent and saved was likely passed onto our parents. The way in which our parents spend and save is likely to be passed onto us. The way in which we spend and save will likely be passed onto our children and generations to come. If we teach our students how to be financially responsible, not only will it set them up for a prosperous future, but it will also create a new trend that will be passed onto future generations.

I know you have already shared three amazing stories from three great students. Do you have any other stories you would like to share with us, or any other information you would like to pass along?

In all honesty, it has been my pleasure to have been given the opportunity to teach this course. Junior Achievement is such a phenomenal organization that does so much for our students and our community. I feel privileged to say I have taken part in shaping the financial future of our students and our community at large.