NewsVGM Group’s Q2 Community Giving Focuses on Education & Literacy

For VGM Community Giving’s Q2 donation efforts, they focused on schools and organizations that help promote education and literacy to local children. 

Donations for Q2 totaled $15,500. Learn more about the three organizations and schools below. 

Partners in Education                                                                                                          Donation amount: $4,500 

Every year, VGM provides a donation to area schools Highland Elementary, Cunningham Elementary, and Lincoln Elementary as part of the Partners in Education program. These funds can be utilized by the schools how they see fit, such as teacher appreciation and field days for the school kids. Recently, both Cunningham and Highland schools paid a visit to VGM’s main campus for VGM tours and some fun! 

Junior Achievement of Eastern Iowa and Junior Achievement of Central Iowa        Donation amount: $8,500 

Junior Achievement (JA) is a nonprofit organization that helps prepare local students in grades pre-K to 12 for their success. JA programs typically take around five to six weeks for completion, with each lesson taking around 30-45 minutes. During this time, JA volunteers teach children valuable life skills such as how money works, how education leads to future career success, and even how to start and run a business. For Q2, the VGM Community Giving Committee donated to both JA of Eastern Iowa ($6,500) and JA of Central Iowa ($2,000). 

During the 2022-2023 school year, the JA of Eastern Iowa program reached 40,439 students in 156 schools. For more information about JA of Eastern Iowa, how you can volunteer, or how you can donate, visit https://easterniowa.ja.org/.  

For JA of Central Iowa, VGM’s donations are going toward their Bowl-A-Thon, which occurs in December. This event provides an opportunity for coworkers to build camaraderie and network with other companies, and helps “strike out” financial literacy in future leaders. During the 2022-2023 school year, the JA of Eastern Iowa program reached 28,114 students in 173 schools. For more information about JA of Central Iowa, how you can volunteer, or how you can donate, visit https://centraliowa.ja.org/.  

Marching Against the Darkness Excellence Expo                                                        Donation amount: $2,500 

Marching Against the Darkness’ goal is to provide a performing arts platform that challenges youth to achieve excellence in life. The Excellence Expo event held in April of this year was comprised of three components: a college and career fair, skills seminars, and art workshops. Through these activities, students participated in various life-building skills to help use these skills in both personal and professional settings. 

To learn more about March Against the Darkness, visit www.matd.org. 

Questions? Can contact members of the VGM Community Giving Committee at [email protected]