NEWS RELEASE                                                                                                   

April 16, 2008

 

HSBC Partners with Junior Achievement of the Michigan Great Lakes

to Bring the “Economics of Life” to Local Students

 

gRAND Rapids mi — Junior Achievement of the Michigan Great Lakes is pleased to announce it has joined with HSBC – North America’s consumer lending organization to teach local students the “economics of life.” Junior Achievement has placed 3 HSBC volunteers, impacting 80 students in the Grand Rapids area.  Nathan Wehner is teaching fifth grade at Kenowa Hills Intermediate School; Lily Force is teaching in a seventh grade class at Alger Middle School and Jason Shidler is teaching fourth grade at Central Elementary School in Grandville.

 

HSBC, whose consumer lending businesses include HFC and Beneficial, has supported Junior Achievement since 1942. Since that time, nearly 8,000 HSBC volunteers have delivered programs to over 200,000 students in 44 states.  In 2006, more than 2,260 HSBC volunteers taught Junior Achievement classes about business, entrepreneurship, economics, financial literacy, and workforce readiness to some 45,000 K-12 students nationwide.

 

 “We are thrilled to receive volunteer support from HSBC, a longtime champion of Junior Achievement.  These HSBC volunteers will impart their experience and financial knowledge to students who are starting to learn the value of personal financial literacy and the economics of life,” said Bill Coderre, president of Junior Achievement of Junior Achievement of the Michigan Great Lakes.

 

 

As an organization committed to financial literacy, HSBC employees are keenly aware of the critical role early education plays in creating a generation of knowledgeable consumers,” said Nathan Wehner, branch manager in Walker “JA is one of the best ways to reach not only young people, but their families, as we know that the students go home and share what they have learned in class.”   These employee volunteers add their personal experience and knowledge about working in the financial services industry to the classroom.

 

 

 

Junior Achievement reaches 7 million students around the world. Its franchises across the country have honored HSBC with numerous awards for its tremendous partnership with Junior Achievement. In 2006, Junior Achievement Worldwide awarded HSBC with the “Extreme Partnership Award” for its strong commitment of financial and volunteer support to the organization.

 

About Junior Achievement

In 2006, Junior Achievement of the Michigan Great Lakes celebrated 50 years of inspiring children.  JAMGL is the 19th largest Junior Achievement organization in the United States. The purpose of JA is to inspire and prepare young people to succeed in a global economy.  Junior Achievement of the Michigan Great Lakes plans to reach over 60,000 students in western and northern Michigan during the 2007-2008 school year which is more than double the number of students served in 1999.  For more information visit http://westmichigan.ja.org

 

About HSBC – North America

HSBC - North America comprises all of HSBC's U.S. and Canadian businesses.  The company’s businesses serve nearly 60 million customers in five key areas: personal financial services, consumer finance, commercial banking, private banking and corporate investment banking and markets.  Financial products and services are offered under the HSBC, HFC and Beneficial brands.  For more information, visit www.hsbcusa.com.

 

JA OF THE MICHIGAN GREAT LAKES AWARDED
$10,000 GRANT

It was announced on October 29, 2007 that JA of the Michigan Great Lakes was awarded the Pitney Bowes Literacy & Education Fund for JA America Works.  JA America Works is Junior Achievement's newest economic education program.  A professionally developed, age-appropriate learning experience, it offers students in middle grades the opportunity to examine how business and entrepreneurship affected the economic development of the United States during the19th century.

2006-2007 PLATINUM SUMMIT AWARD WINNERS

 

JA Staff receiving Platinum Summit Award:  Jay Ediger, Bill Coderre, Charlie Burgenmeyer, Lisa Heganbart, Lee Michaels, Tammy Muraski, Caroline Abrams, Kyle Johnson, Christine Friedt and JA USA President Jack Kosakowski

For Immediate Release
October 29, 2007

For More Information Contact:
Bill Coderre
(616) 575-9080 ext. 22
bill.coderre@ja.org

JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF THE MICHIGAN GREAT LAKES
RECEIVES NATIONAL HONOR

           [Grand Rapids, MI – Junior Achievement of the Michigan Great Lakes has been awarded the non-profit organization’s Platinum Summit Award. The Summit Award is one of Junior Achievement’s highest honors. It is given by JA Worldwide® Headquarters to local JA offices that have reached outstanding success in financial health, program quality, management effectiveness, and program growth.

            JA of the Michigan Great Lakes was recognized for this accomplishment on October 25, 2007 at the Junior Achievement Midwestern Regional Leadership Training Conference held in Toledo, OH. Representatives of the area office attended the conference to accept the award. This was the 8th consecutive year that the office has received the Platinum Summit Award.  The Platinum Summit Award was presented to 23 out of 140 offices in the United States.

            "These Summit Award winners represent the best Junior Achievement has to offer," said Gerald M. Czarnecki, president and CEO of JA Worldwide. "They set the standard by which Junior Achievement’s success is measured at the local level. Their commitment and dedication to young people is reflected in their achieving this honor."

“We are always honored to receive this award from the JA Worldwide Office that recognizes the hard work of our staff and board, and the support we receive from companies, as well as individual donors, in the West Michigan area,” commented President, Bill Coderre.  “JA of the Michigan Great Lakes has plans to expand program reach so that even more students can benefit from the proven effectiveness of JA programs.”

Junior Achievement of the Michigan Great Lakes continues to be a leader within the organization in the United States.  Earlier this year, Mr. Coderre was presented the Charles R. Hook Award, which is bestowed to one U.S. JA executive annually, and is the top honor for JA presidents who demonstrate superior results in promoting the growth and development of Junior Achievement in their area.

 

About Junior Achievement

In 2006, Junior Achievement of the Michigan Great Lakes celebrated 50 years of inspiring children.  JAMGL is the 18th largest Junior Achievement organization in the United States.  Junior Achievement of the Michigan Great Lakes reached over 58,000 students in western and northern Michigan during the 2006-2007 school year which is more than double the number of students served in 1999.  For more information visit http://westmichigan.ja.org

 

 

JA of Grand Rapids President Receives
Junior Achievement’s Highest U.S. Award

Bill is congratulated by his wife Cheryl, daughter Elizabeth, Jay Ediger, VP of Development and Lisa Hegenbart, Director of Education at the JA Worldwide Leadership Conference in July of 2007

NEWS RELEASE

 

For Immediate Release

September 12, 2007

 

For More Information Contact:

Amy Callaway

Junior Achievement of the Michigan Great Lakes, Inc.

(616) 575-9080 ex. 24

amy.callaway@ja.org

 

 

Award given each year to top JA franchise president for
generating revenue and student impact.

 

Colorado Springs, Colo. – Bill Coderre, president of Junior Achievement of The Michigan Great Lakes in Grand Rapids, Mich., has been awarded the nonprofit organization’s 2007 Charles R. Hook Award. The Hook Award is bestowed to one U.S. JA executive annually, and is the top honor for JA presidents who demonstrate superior results in promoting the growth and development of Junior Achievement in their area. The award was presented to Coderre during a ceremony at the JA Worldwide Leadership Conference on July 14th in Washington, D.C.

Coderre was one of six finalists for the 2007 Hook Award. Each finalist was judged on his or her effectiveness in achieving impact, generating revenue, building sustainability, and improving efficiency. Finalists were also accountable for their actions in demonstrating JA’s values of respect, integrity, and excellence. Candidates for the award must have at least 10 years of service to Junior Achievement and a minimum of five years as a JA president, including three years as chief staff officer in their current area.

“I am so pleased and honored to receive this award, which recognizes the efforts of a tremendous staff, thousands of volunteers and our board of directors,” said Coderre. “It is through their tireless work that JA is able to inspire and prepare thousands of West Michigan  students to succeed through JA’s entrepreneurship, work readiness, and financial literacy programs.”

Coderre was first exposed to Junior Achievement as a Jr. at Bishop Hendricken7High School in Warwick Rhode Island.  Upon graduating high school, he became a JA volunteer throughout his college years.  At the end of his junior year at Bryant College, then college president William O’Hara asked Bill if he was interested in a paid internship with Junior Achievement.  Bill stated that his internship “excited him about the potential for a career with Junior Achievement.”  “Working for JA has truly been an avocation as well as a vocation.”

Coderre has been president of JA of the Michigan Great Lakes since 1999, and began his JA career in 1983 when he started as a program manager in Providence, R.I. He has served in a variety of positions, including president in Charleston, S.C., from 1990 to 1999. Since Coderre became the JA president in Grand Rapids, JA programs have grown 119 percent. His area is projected to reach more than 59,800 students in 2006-2007. In addition, Coderre has increased his operation’s net assets by 149 percent to over two million dollars.  

Bill is married to Cheryl and they have one daughter Elizabeth, who is a sophomore at Catholic Central High School.  Bill is a member of St. Thomas the Apostle Parish, and is immediate past president of the St. Thomas the Apostle Education Commission.  St. Thomas the Apostle School was awarded the 2007 “School of Distinction” designation by the Michigan Association of Non-Public Schools.  St. Thomas is one of only two school statewide that has received this first time ever award, which was given on the basis of St. Thomas’s exemplary efforts in ongoing school improvement.  In addition to his service at St. Thomas, Bill is an active member of the Grand Rapids Economic Club, and has served the last two years on their essay contest committee.

“Bill’s efforts throughout his JA career have been exceptional,” said Gerald M. Czarnecki, president and chief executive officer of JA Worldwide. “The recipients of the Hook Award represent JA’s ‘best of the best,’ and Bill is truly deserving of this honor. His work has meant a strong and successful operation in the Grand Rapids area, and I sincerely congratulate him on receiving this prestigious award.”

The Hook Award is named after Charles R. Hook, an industrialist who served as president and chairman of Junior Achievement during the 1940s and 1950s. Under Hook’s leadership, Junior Achievement grew from a regional program in the northeastern U.S. into a national organization.

 

About JA Worldwide™ (Junior Achievement)

JA Worldwide is the world's largest organization dedicated to inspiring and preparing young people to succeed in a global economy. Through a dedicated volunteer network, JA Worldwide provides in-school and after-school programs for students in grades K-12. JA Worldwide offers educational programs that focus on three key content areas: entrepreneurship, work readiness, and financial literacy. Today, 140 individual area operations reach approximately four million students in the United States, with more than 3.5 million students served by operations in 114 countries worldwide. Junior Achievement of the Michigan Great Lakes is the 18th largest JA operation in the United States.  For more information, visit www.ja.org. 

 

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