Perdue Farms, through its Franklin P. and Arthur W. Perdue Foundation, recently announced a $1.25 million donation to create a financial literacy learning center on Maryland’s eastern shore and a separate $18,000 grant to Bertie County Hive House in eastern North Carolina to hire summer tutors for a K-8 reading and math study program.
Perdue Farms joined the Richard A. Henson Foundation in awarding matching $1.25 million grants to Junior Achievement of the Eastern Shore to create the Perdue Henson Junior Achievement Center, a 25,000-square foot, state-of-the-art experiential learning center focused on financial literacy, Perdue Farms’ press release said.
The center is scheduled to open in Salisbury, Maryland in Fall 2023. There are 58 similar Junior Achievement facilities in the U.S., including three in Maryland and one in northern Delaware. This is the first facility on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.
“This will be a true game-changer for the students on the Eastern Shore, our community, and for thousands of students in our region who deserve real-world experiences that prepare them for the future,” Junior Achievement on the Eastern Shore President and CEO Jayme Hayes said. “It will enhance our ability to impact more youth with experiential programming that fuels the workforce pipeline and ensures that area youth grow into career-ready, financially responsible, and entrepreneurially minded citizens.”
“At Perdue Farms, we are committed to improving the quality of life in our communities,” Perdue Farms Chairman Jim Perdue said. “Junior Achievement of the Eastern Shore is such an asset to our hometown community, and the future of financial education for students in the region is about to get a lot more fun thanks to opportunities available through the Perdue Henson Junior Achievement Center. It is because of the foresight of Frank Perdue and Mr. Henson that, together through our Foundations, we can carry on their philanthropic legacies with this joint gift to a program they both helped bring to the Eastern Shore decades ago.”
Separately, Perdue announced an $18,000 grant to Bertie County Hive House to hire summer tutors. Bertie County Hive House provides after school programs for elementary and middle school students, nutrition and wellness programs for seniors, a food pantry, hot meals, and internet access for job seekers, according to Perdue’s press release. The summer tutoring program is intended to help K-8 students that have struggled during the pandemic to improve reading and math skills.
“We are helping address the serious loss of academic achievement of students who were already below grade proficiency before the COVID-19 pandemic and school closures,” Bertie County Hive House executive director Vivian Saunders said. “The Hive House will employ certified teachers to work one-on-one with K-8 students in reading and math during a summer learning program. With social distancing enforced, these tutors will use evidence-based tools to jump-start learning and engagement in anticipation of schools reopening full time.”
“Perdue Farms is very happy to provide assistance to Bertie County Hive House’s goal to provide students who are struggling in reading and math, and give them the skills and confidence needed to be successful in the classroom,” Perdue Foundation executive director Kim Nechay said.
