HARRISONBURG, VA. — Perdue, through the Arthur W. Perdue Foundation, has presented a $10,000 grant to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Harrisonburg-Rockingham County to help fund its mentoring program.
"The Big Brothers Big Sister mission of making a positive difference in the lives of children through meaningful one-to-one mentoring relationships is an admirable cause, one that we're proud to support through this grant," said Kevin Saxton, director of operations at Perdue's plant in Bridgewater, Va. Saxton presented the grant during a Thursday, Aug. 18 ceremony in Harrisonburg.
In 2010, the Harrisonburg-Rockingham County chapter connected mentors with more than 750 children facing adversity, the largest such outreach by any Virginia-based Big Brothers Big Sisters agency.
As Susan Totty, executive director of the Big Brothers Big Sisters chapter in Harrisonburg explains, mentors provide encouragement and support for children and youth to make positive choices and changes, impacting their individual futures and the future of the community.
"We express our most sincere gratitude to the Arthur W. Perdue Foundation for this generous support of our program," said Totty. "These funds will be employed toward our community-based and school-based mentoring programs. The grant will enable us to create and sustain professionally supported, one-to-one "matches" between caring adults and children from our waiting list during the next 12 months."
The Arthur W. Perdue Foundation is a tax-exempt charitable foundation established in 1957 by the founder of Perdue Incorporated. Grants are distributed for the improvement of life in the community through support of the arts, community development, education, health, human services and youth activities.
Source: Perdue
