PRESQUE ISLE — MMG Insurance is investing in the education of area youngsters with a $1,000 donation to Junior Achievement of Aroostook.
Junior Achievement is the world’s largest organization dedicated to educating students in grades K-12 about financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship through experiential, hands-on programs.
Contributed photo
Andrew McNeally, back left, a rates analyst for Emera Maine, and Phil Bosse, Sen. Susan Collins’ senior field representative in northern Maine, mentor a team of Caribou HS juniors, from left, Chelsea Chapman, Kelsey Kiehn and Axios Gerakaris at the Junior Achievement Titan Challenge last winter.
“We feel it important to support Junior Achievement of Aroostook based upon its mission of providing county students an opportunity to learn new skills in the areas of business management and financial literacy,” said Larry Shaw, president/CEO of MMG Insurance.
Mark Wilcox, of Dead River Company and the head of the Aroostook County area Junior Achievement board, said donations like the one from MMG Insurance are vitally important to allow program facilitators to supply students and teachers in Aroostook County with the classroom materials they use each year.
“JA Aroostook relies on the generosity of its donors and volunteers, and without them it would be impossible to reach the number of students we do each year,” he said. “In the 2013-14 school year, JA Aroostook taught 66 classes to over 800 students in Aroostook County on topics such as personal financial responsibility, insurance basics, family budgeting and managing credit, among others. Donations like this make all of these classes possible and we are very grateful for partners like MMG.”
Shaw added JA is also filling a specific need in Aroostook County.
“The model of Junior Achievement is unique given its focus and it helps to fill a gap that is difficult for our area schools to provide in the regular curriculum,” said Shaw. “The fact that JA’s activities are led by local business people provides yet another activity which creates a connection between our schools and business community. As we all know, we need to foster any opportunity that creates awareness that there are opportunities in The County.”
Helping to grow Junior Achievement in Aroostook County has been one of the pillars of the Aroostook Partnership for Progress (APP) Education to Industry campaign.
Bob Dorsey, APP president and leader of the Education to Industry working group, believes that “JA is a key component to our strategy to increase awareness of emerging jobs in Aroostook, promote job shadow opportunities, and ultimately to retain and focus the training efforts of our younger workforce.”
MMG Insurance is a founding investor in the Partnership and a leader by example in promoting JA, the Young Professionals Institute and in setting up paid internship positions within their growing company.
