Ascensus Supports Junior Achievement with 100+ Associates Volunteering in 16 Schools

June 9, 2011 - PRLog -- Ascensus, a leading retirement plan solutions provider, today announced that more than 100 of its associates have volunteered their time to Junior Achievement (JA) at 16 schools near their office locations during the 2010-2011 school year.  As part of the company’s Community Engagement Program, Ascensus has selected Junior Achievement as one of the organizations to support with the goal to help build future business leaders.  

“We chose Junior Achievement as one of our community initiatives because of its alignment with our company’s core values of People Matter. Quality First. Integrity Always,” said Amy Pellegrino, VP, Human Resources at Ascensus. “The Junior Achievement program provides us with the opportunity to give back to the communities where we have office locations and work closely with young people in a variety of ways to share our real-world experiences and our core values while helping them realize their potential.  We were thrilled to have so many of our associates participate in the program and make a positive impact on the students involved in this great organization.”  

Junior Achievement is the world’s largest organization dedicated to educating students about workforce readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy through experiential hands-on programs.  Ascensus associates in Dresher, Pa.; Brainerd, Minn.; Fort Wayne and Indianapolis, Ind.; Fargo, N.D. and Middleton, Wis. volunteered at local elementary and middle schools during the 2010-2011 school year in a number of different ways, including:

•  “JA in a Day” – Ascensus associates taught students about the free enterprise system in this intensive one-day effort.

•  Classroom Volunteer Programs – Ascensus volunteers taught lessons similar to the JA in a Day program, but in multiple sessions throughout the school year.  

•  “Finance Park” – This program introduces students to personal finance and career explorations through classroom instruction, which Ascensus associates provided, and a day-long, hands-on experience where students apply learned concepts in a life-like community.  

“This experience was gratifying,” said Rebecca Thayer, an Ascensus associate who participated in the Junior Achievement program.  “I encourage others to get involved and make a difference in the community we live in.  I’m already looking forward to my next JA opportunity.”

Thomas Ackmann, another Ascensus volunteer commented “I had such a good time.  It truly was a lot of fun and very rewarding to have the students interact and respond in ways that showed they were picking up most of the concepts.”

About Ascensus
With more than 30 years of industry experience, Ascensus delivers high-quality solutions for every segment of the retirement plan marketplace. A division of Crump Group, Inc., a leading provider of retirement services and the largest, most diversified wholesale insurance distributor in the U.S., Ascensus services nearly 27,000 defined contribution plans in the micro to large markets and administers over 1.5 million IRAs. Core capabilities include ERISA consulting, compliance support, sales, trust services, multilingual participant education, training and documentation. Solutions are offered with open architecture investment capabilities tailored to the needs of institutional partners, third party administrators, financial advisors, plan sponsors and participants. Learn more at www.ascensus.com.