| Invest Involve Inspire - The JA Bakersfield Newsletter |
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New Date for Ice Cream
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Citibank Standout Joins Junior Achievement of Bakersfield Board
Gabriela Mello is first of many new faces to join local board of worldwide economics education nonprofit.
Bakersfield, September 19, 2007: Gabriela Mello, Bakersfield resident and Citibank Community Relations Officer, was elected to the Junior Achievement of Bakersfield Board of Directors by unanimous vote on September 12. Gabriela is a veteran banker, starting her career in Banking in 1991 with another financial institution, where she worked her way up to the position of Branch Manager. She joined Citibank in 2003 and currently holds the position of Community Relations Officer for the Silicon, Central and South San Joaquin Valley. Gabriela is heavily involved in the communities she serves with Citibank, holding board positions with Arte Americas and the Fresno Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, in addition to her new role with Junior Achievement of Bakersfield. Mello expressed her enthusiasm for joining JA’s board, saying “I'm very excited to join such a great organization that is truly making a difference in our communities.”
Gabriela was born in Salinas, California and raised in Tepatitlan Jalisco, Mexico. She came to the U.S. in1986 and attended Hartnell College in Salinas, California and then moved on to Fresno State University, where she obtained a Bachelors of Arts in Liberal Studies. She is the second of five children in a Hispanic, migrant household and was the fist to obtain a college degree.
The addition of Mello to JA’s board is a sign of things to come, as under new local leadership the agency seeks “to extend support among the business community and reposition the agency as the premier workforce development, financial literacy, and business education solution provider in the region,” says Tim Hackett, President of JA of Bakersfield. “We have a great core of individuals on our board, but at our first meeting, as we examined our objectives for the agency, it became clear to all of us that as our first order of business we needed to expand the board”, says Hackett. With the addition of Mello, Junior Achievement of Bakersfield’s current board roster consists of 10 members, many of whom have served on the board for several years.
Hackett notes, “Gabriela brings so much to the table that we are looking for in our new board members. She is an incredibly enthusiastic and dynamic individual, who clearly has a big heart for giving back to the community. She works for Citibank, one of JA’s best community partners on a worldwide scale. But one of the things I value most about Gabriela’s addition to our board is her life experience – her story. Gabriela comes from a background that so many of the students in our service area share. We need that experience and viewpoint on our board.”
Gabriela has been married to Jose Mello, Jr. for twelve years. They reside in Bakersfield and have two daughters, Megan and Mariah, who are their pride and joy.
Citi, the leading global financial services company, has some 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 100 countries, providing consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services. Citi’s major brand names include Citibank, CitiFinancial, Primerica, Citi Smith Barney and Banamex. The Citi Foundation focuses its grants primarily in three areas: financial education, educating the next generation, and building communities and entrepreneurs. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com or www.citi.com
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State Farm Insurance Enters Classroom Set to Inspire
Through financial and volunteer support, State Farm is helping prepare local students to succeed.
Bakersfield, September 21, 2007: State Farm Insurance employees will enter dozens of classrooms at Virginia Avenue and Shirley Lane Elementary Schools on October 4 and 10, to help Bakersfield students connect the dots between what they learn in school and what they’ll need to succeed in life after school.
State Farm Insurance has long supported Junior Achievement programs in Bakersfield and many other communities across the country. During the 2005-2006 school year, State Farm Insurance donated over $800,000 to Junior Achievement programs across the United States. During the same period of time over 1,000 State Farm Insurance Employees volunteered to teach JA curricula in classrooms throughout the nation. State Farm’s regional operations center in Bakersfield employs over 1,000 individuals. State Farm Insurance recently made a grant through the “Good Neighbor Citizenship” giving program to support Junior Achievement programs in the Greater Bakersfield area. “State Farm’s presence here in Bakersfield is huge and they are just one of those outstanding companies that really set the example for being a great corporate citizen”, notes Tim Hackett, President of JA of Bakersfield.
"State Farm, its agents and employees support Junior Achievement both financially as well as by volunteering time because we know what a tremendous impact the program has on our kids right here in Bakersfield. One of the great things about the Junior Achievement program is that both the students and volunteers get so much from the program. Junior Achievement and its volunteers are mentors for our students and these students are our future community leaders," said Jeremy Scheidle, a local State Farm agent and JA of Bakersfield Board Member.
Dozens of State Farm Insurance employees will enter classrooms on October 4 and 10, teaching Junior Achievement’s Elementary Grades program to students at Shirley Lane and Virginia Avenue Elementary Schools. The Junior Achievement Elementary School Program includes seven grade-specific themes for kindergarten through sixth-grade students. Junior Achievement's program teaches elementary school students the basic concepts of business and economics and shows children how education is relevant to the workplace. The sequential activities build on studies from each preceding grade and prepare students for secondary school and lifelong learning. The seven program themes also teach students that people assume roles as individuals, consumers, and workers in an expanding cultural environment that extends from the self and family to global relations. All Junior Achievement programs correlate with state standards.
Junior Achievement of Bakersfield to Benefit from First Annual Bakersfield Marketing Symposium
New business development event could give Bakersfield businesses and students a boost.
Bakersfield, September 21, 2007: The Bakersfield Marketing Symposium 2007takes place Thursday, November 15, 2007 at the Bakersfield Doubletree Hotel. This will be the maiden voyage of what promises to be one of Bakersfield’s premier annual business events, bringing together top professionals from the field of Marketing to share their knowledge and experience with Bakersfield’s business community. Proceeds from the Bakersfield Marketing Symposium will benefit Junior Achievement of Bakersfield, which reaches nearly 20,000 students in Kern, Kings, and Tulare Counties with real world K-12 educational programs in the critical areas of financial literacy, workforce preparation, and entrepreneurship.
The Marketing Symposium will not only help support the provision of Junior Achievement programs for the students of Bakersfield, Bakersfield area students participating in Junior Achievement will also be able to attend the event, thanks to the sponsorship of local businesses. Junior Achievement student volunteers will also assist at the event as ushers and greeters.
“We are excited to be a part of this event. It’s such a win/win for our local business community and our students. We are always willing to partner with organizations seeking to benefit the local educational and economic development of our community”, said Tim Hackett, President of Junior Achievement of Bakersfield. |
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Visalia Leadership Group Embraces JA
Concerned Community Business People and Educators Champion JA in Visalia
Graduates of the Sequoia Regional Leadership (SRL) program, a leadership development program sponsored by the Visalia Chamber of Commerce, have partnered with Junior Achievement of Bakersfield and H.E.A.R.T., an after school program serving Visalia area students, to bring JA programs to the students of Visalia.
It all started with the SRL class of 2006-2007, who chose as their community project to teach JA curriculum to student participants of the H.E.A.R.T. after school program. Brenda Miernik, a graduate of the SRL class of 2006-2007, says of her experience, “I loved being a member of the Sequoia Regional Leadership Class of 2006-07. It was a life-changing experience in that it increased my awareness of our community and how our government works. It also made me realize more fully that each of us has a voice and we have a responsibility to raise it to achieve a better environment for everyone. Our class project – Junior Achievement - is an inspiration to me because I truly do believe that our children are our future and without giving them the best that is in us, we cannot expect to get the best out of them. Inspiring and encouraging them to succeed is both fun and exhilarating because their joy for life is infectious. I am looking forward to cementing Junior Achievement in the Central Valley for a better tomorrow for us all.”
“We are just thrilled to be working with the Sequoia Regional Leadership graduates and H.E.A.R.T. to bring JA’s vital programs to the young people of this fantastic community. Brenda is an inspiration to us. She really gets it. The energy and passion that she brings to her community…if we all had that kind of fire for other people; this would be a different country,” comments Tim Hackett, President of JA of Bakersfield.
Sequoia Regional Leadership (SRL), a program sponsored by the Visalia Chamber of Commerce, began in 1986 to develop effective leaders willing to promote a successful community throughout Tulare County. Today, the program has produced a number of leaders throughout our community.
The SRL graduates of 2006-2007 have formed a committee to champion Junior Achievement in the area. They have developed a mission statement which reads: “Visionary leaders equipped and prepared to inspire the youth of Visalia to succeed personally and professionally, and in turn, encourage their peers.”
The H.E.A.R.T. After-School Program is sponsored and administrated by Pro-Youth. Founded in 1993, Pro-Youth is a not-for-profit organization serving the youth of Tulare County. The Pro-Youth mission is “Building Opportunities for Youth Success.” Pro-Youth began in 1991 as “Visalians for a Gang-Free Community,” a local citizen’s group formed in response to community concerns regarding youth gangs and violence. Prior to the establishment of HEART, Pro-Youth collaborated with local community agencies to launch programs addressing youth violence, including “Parents Helping Parents” and “Pro-Youth Neighborhoods”. HEART was established in 1998 in response to children’s requests for “a safe place to be after school.” |
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All New Staff at Junior Achievement of Bakersfield
Junior Achievement of Bakersfield has a new staff. Kathleen McNeil and Tim Hackett have hit the ground running to ensure that tens of thousands of students in Kern, Kings, and Tulare Counties receive the advantages of a JA education.
Tim Hackett, a veteran nonprofit professional who is leading the new Junior Achievement of Bakersfield team notes, "my predecessors have done a great job in working with Bakersfield's education and business communities to establish a great reputation for JA, locally. My desire and my charge, however, are to bring JA operations to a new level of sophistication and significance in the region, to take our rightful place at the table as a solution provider and economic engine. So far, the response has been outstanding, from our Board of Directors to the education community to the business community. Central Valley residents understand and appreciate the importance of our mission to the quality of life in their cities and towns."
Kathleen McNeil, a self-proclaimed, "Bakersfield Booster," has taken the position of Education and Events Manager for JA of Bakersfield. Kathleen, a Bakersfield native, has spent her career in the community and is well known in the business, education, and nonprofit communities. “I am thrilled to be a part of Junior Achievement of Bakersfield, working to bring JA's dynamic programs to all the children in our community. ”Inspiring Kids to Achieve", what a wonderful reason to go to work each day”!
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