SALISBURY, Md. — As part of a commitment to education, The Franklin P. and Arthur W. Perdue Foundation, the charitable giving arm of Perdue Farms, joined The Richard A. Henson Foundation today in awarding matching $1.25 million grants to Junior Achievement of the Eastern Shore. The funds will help create the Perdue Henson Junior Achievement Center, a 25,000-square foot, state-of-the-art experiential learning center, ensuring the financial literacy of students for future generations.
“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,” said Junior Achievement of the Eastern Shore President and CEO Jayme Hayes. “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.”
The Perdue Henson Junior Achievement Center is scheduled to open in Perdue’s hometown in Fall 2023. Junior Achievement (JA) of the Eastern Shore has launched a $5.5 million capital campaign to fund the facility. JA also received an anonymous $1 million donation, bringing the total of the campaign to $3.5 million.
“At Perdue Farms, we are committed to improving the quality of life in our communities. 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 the opportunities available through the Perdue Henson Junior Achievement Center,” said Jim Perdue, Chairman of Perdue Farms. “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.”
The Perdue Henson Junior Achievement Center will house Junior Achievement’s capstone programs, Biztown and Finance Park, as well as a Career Center. These programs include an in-classroom curriculum that culminates in an engaging real-life simulation to help students learn crucial life skills. A mock city will provide students the opportunity to build a foundation upon which they can make intelligent financial decisions that last a lifetime.
There are 58 similar Junior Achievement facilities in the U.S., including three in Maryland and one in northern Delaware. It is the first facility on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.
“This new Perdue Henson Junior Achievement Center will help to continue to provide hands-on learning experiences to middle and high school students across the Eastern Shore. We are incredibly proud of the work of Junior Achievement and the hundreds of volunteers annually, helping to elevate and prepare our youth for exciting futures,” said Greg Olinde, Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Richard A. Henson Foundation.
This facility will serve students from eight of the nine counties on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Accomack County in Virginia. Upon completion, JA estimates that more than 10,000 students will visit the facility each year. It is planned that during the K-12 experience, students will visit the center three different times above and beyond their two to three in-classroom interactions as well.
About Junior Achievement of the Eastern Shore
Junior Achievement of the Eastern Shore has been serving Delmarva since 1985 teaching students about financial literacy, workforce readiness, and entrepreneurship. To learn more about Junior Achievement and this project, visit www.easternshoreja.org
About The Richard A. Henson Foundation
The Richard A. Henson Foundation was established to provide for and to assure the continuation of the philanthropic spirit, objectives, and ideals of Richard A. Henson to enrich the quality of life primarily in the Greater Salisbury, Md., area and to provide challenging opportunities and act as a catalyst for the better of the community. Richard A. Henson was an aviation pioneer, entrepreneur, civic leader and philanthropist. He founded Henson Aviation in the Depression-era 1930s in Hagerstown, Md. He later moved the company to Salisbury, Md., and sold it to Piedmont Airlines in 1983. To learn more about the Foundation, visit www.richardhensonfoundation.org.
About the Franklin P. and Arthur W. Perdue Foundation
The Franklin P. and Arthur W. Perdue Foundation, the charitable giving arm of Perdue Farms, was established in 1957 by company founder Arthur W. Perdue and is funded through the estates of Arthur W. Perdue and Frank Perdue. As part of our belief in supporting the communities where and with whom we do business, the Foundation provides grants on behalf of Perdue Farms in communities where large numbers of our associates live and work. At Perdue Farms, we believe in responsible food and agriculture®.
About Perdue Farms
We’re a fourth-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.
The premium protein portfolio within our Perdue Foods business, including our flagship PERDUE® brand, Niman Ranch®, Panorama Organic Grass-Fed Meats®, Coleman Natural®, and Yummy®, as well as our pet brands, Spot Farms® and Full Moon®, is available through various channels including retail, foodservice, club stores, and our direct-to-consumer website, PerdueFarms.com.
Perdue AgriBusiness is an international agricultural products and services company.
Now in our company’s second century, 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, pork, beef and lamb, and in USDA-certified organic chicken and beef. Learn more at Corporate.PerdueFarms.com.
