Perdue Foundation Awards $60,000 grant for two Accomack County elementary schools

Pictured from left to right. Front row are Belinda Rippon, early childhood education coordinator, Dr. Rhonda Hall, assistant superintendent of instruction, Kim Nechay, executive director of the Perdue Foundation, Phyllis Smith, Kegotank Elementary School principal, and Stephanie Green, senior assistant director of Ripken Foundation programs. Back row are Chelsea Sharp, Kegotank assistant principal, Travis Punt, senior director of development for the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation, John Custis, STEM Center initiative co-chair, and Chad McGregor, Kegotank assistant principal.

SALISBURY, MD. (Wednesday, January 5, 2021) — As part of a commitment to education, Perdue Farms has awarded the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation (CRSF) a $60,000 grant from the Franklin P. and Arthur W. Perdue Foundation to help bring STEM Centers to two Accomack County elementary schools in rural Eastern Shore of Virginia.

The Perdue gift from the company’s charitable giving arm is part of its Delivering Hope To Our Neighbors^® initiative focused on improving quality of life and building stronger communities where Perdue associates live and work.

The Ripken Foundation announced in December it will bring STEM Centers to seven schools in both Accomack and Northampton counties thanks to $210,000 raised from various funders, including the Perdue Foundation. The Perdue grant will support Accawmacke Elementary and Kegotank Elementary schools in Accomack County.

“Accomack County Public Schools is looking forward to this wonderful partnership,” said Dr. Rhonda Hall, assistant superintendent for instruction for Accomack County Public Schools. “We appreciate the support of our community for providing this exciting educational opportunity to our students and thank the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation for thinking of us.”

The CRSF has opened 140 fully operational and turnkey STEM Centers in elementary and middle schools in 16 states. These new STEM Centers will be the first that the Ripken Foundation brings to Virginia.

“We are thrilled to be bringing these STEM Centers to seven schools in Virginia,” said Cal Ripken Jr., co-founder of the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation. “We’ve learned that getting STEM in front of kids in elementary and middle schools is critical. Thanks to great partners like Perdue Farms and community leaders, we are opening these STEM Centers at a rapid pace nationwide, and they are making a difference to students, teachers, and the schools.”

“STEM opportunities are lacking in many rural communities such as Accomack County. What the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation is bringing to the schools here is very exciting and much needed,” said Kim Nechay, executive director of the Perdue Foundation. “We at Perdue are honored to partner with them to make it happen. The educational tools these kids will now have access to are not only fun but state of the art. That’s very exciting for our community!”

.