Would you like the opportunity to help prepare students to be the great employers and employees of the future? Consider supporting Pennsylvania Free Enterprise Week 2018.
For forty years, PFEW has offered incoming high school juniors and seniors a unique and challenging opportunity to see what it is like to run their own business. Participants make up an imaginary management team and learn first-hand about the free enterprise system. Their task: turn their failing company into a financial success. They develop their own marketing strategies, design a website, and make all the decisions that are demanded of real life company executives. They do this all while living on a college campus for a week. Last year, over 2,100 students shared the challenge and adventure of PFEW.
Pennsylvania still does not require even a basic course in economics as a prerequisite to high school graduation. If we are to compete as a state and a nation, we must address this.
PFEW President and CEO, Karen Musante, states: “If this were available when I was navigating my career choices in high school, I would have emerged as a better-prepared student and more aware of the opportunities that lie ahead of me. I was fortunate to volunteer as a guest Marketing Judge last August, and watching the student flourish, has impacted my thinking and opened our minds to discover how we can help as an organization.”
But does PFEW work? Consider this quote from 2017 PFEW graduate Luke Poltorak from Chester County:
“I understand that choosing to sponsor someone whom you may never meet may seem like a decision that is difficult to justify. Rest assured, however, that your choice is an investment in the future of free enterprise for our town, state, and country. As for my experience at PFEW, it has been undoubtedly life-changing for me.”
The program receives no government funding. Students attend on a $575 scholarship donated by a company, chamber, foundation, or individual in their community. I urge you to sponsor a local student because:
•Your donation is completely tax-deductible. PFEW is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and a participant in PA’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) program;
•Your firm’s name will be worn on the name badge of those you sponsor, and they will write to you at the end of their week reporting about what they learned and experienced;
•Your firm’s name will be published in PFEW’s Program Brochure which is distributed to nearly 5,000 businesses, chambers, associations, and other institutions statewide;
•You will have opened the eyes of students to the challenges facing businesses and given them an opportunity to understand the importance of business and the critical role they must play in our communities and nation.
Considering making any size now, or a pledge that you can fulfill anytime between now and September. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call Karen Musante, President & CEO, at 814.833.9576 ext. 2, or email her at karen@pfew.org. More information can be found at www.pfew.org.