PERRY COUNTY – Efforts to promote among local students a healthy affinity for financial literacy, hard sciences, trade skills and how those fields tie into modern manufacturing received a shot in the arm Tuesday afternoon as both Perry Central and Tell City high schools were presented with $2,500 checks from Waupaca Foundry. This windfall will go to support Junior Achievement programs at the schools, which should help both teachers and students involved in the effort expand their horizons.

Junior Achievement aims to inspire and prepare young people to succeed in a global economy. It emphasizes its efforts on students from kindergarten all the way to senior year, offering demonstrations and full courses on critical financial skills, work-readiness, entrepreneurial studies and hands-on projects that put those lessons to work.
Gary Greubel, human resources manager for Waupaca Foundry, presented the check to school staff along with other company representatives. He noted that operations at the foundry require a host of skilled hands to keep moving smoothly. It can often be difficult for an industry of that size to fill its ranks, especially if skilled workers aren’t being produced and kept close to home.

Greubel stressed that the company’s partnership with local Junior Achievement programs, and its total of $5,000 in donations to local schools, was something of an investment in the future for both Waupaca Foundry and the wider community. By encouraging interest in manufacturing among students, and highlighting readily available career opportunities, Greubel hoped to see a new generation of skilled young people joining the local workforce.

Local leaders in both the schools and other local partners in the Junior Achievement program echoed these sentiments.
“We are thrilled that Waupaca has come on board to fund JA Career Success, JA Be Entrepreneurial and JA Personal Finance programs this year,” said Kelly Malone, who works closely with Junior Achievement. “These funds will allow us to deliver our financial literacy programs that have heavy STEM correlations, which is a perfect fit for Waupaca, because they rely on cutting edge technology in science, math and engineering to embrace lean manufacturing techniques.”
Indeed, Waupaca Foundry is also working to provide curriculum courses to local students that would ready them for a potential career within the company in the future. In this way, Waupaca and other companies can attract quality candidates and prepare them before they officially join the workforce.

For more information about becoming involved with Junior Achievement, call (270) 684-7291 or send email to Ashley.hamby@ja.org or visit the website at http://westky.ja.org.