Key Hyundai of Milford concludes successful Pays for A's program after area high school students received nearly $10,000 for good grades after just one marking period. The Connecticut Hyundai dealer plans to reach even more students next year.
Key Hyundai of Milford’s ambitious Pays for A’s program has come to a close, after paying local high school students a total of $10,000 for receiving As in academic rigorous classes.
Key Hyundai of Milford Pays for A’s distributed nearly $10,000 to local high school students
Find out what's happening in Milfordfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
What started as a “crazy idea” from general sales manager Sal Sinardi of Key Hyundai of Milford, quickly billowed into a social media success as scores of Milford students from Jonathan Law, Joseph A. Foran, the Academy and Platt Tech arrived in droves to collect Westfield Post Mall Gift Cards in exchange for receiving a 90 or better in each academic class.
Jill Merriam, owner of Key Hyundai of Milford and Key Hyundai of Manchester, is pleased at the results of the Pays for A's campaign, and is sad to see it end so soon. "I am extremely proud of the Milford students and their academic success at reaching our $10,000 mark so quickly. We can't wait to revamp the program to see how we can reach even more students next year." (Jill speaks about the Pays for A's success on this YouTube video.)
Find out what's happening in Milfordfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Promised $10 per academic A, Key Hyundai of Milford paid up, and with an annual budget of $10,000, this was quickly reached after just the first marking period.
“The students had to simply come to the dealership with report card in hand, and bring their parent and a high school ID, and we paid up,” said Sal Sinardi, GM of Key Hyundai of Milford. “It was a great way to reward these kids for hard work, and to congratulate their parents for a job well done. We got to meet some pretty extraordinary kids: Milford should be very proud; I know I am.”
While the initial reporting neglected the first couple weeks of 30-50 unaccounted Milford students, the records to date indicate 230 students were paid a total of $9,300. Here’s how the numbers worked out:
Joseph A. Foran 88 Students 225 As
Jonathan Law 64 Students 180 As
Platt Tech 68 Students 246 As
The Academy 10 students 29 As
Westfield Connecticut Post Mall Gift Cards: 402 (not including initial 30-50 students prior to tracking!)
For the record the gift cards are only available in $20 denominiations (with a $3 service fee: boo American Express), so the out of pocket expense to Key Hyundai of Milford likely surpassed $10,000. That’s a lot of cash – and a lot of happy, extremely bright high school students headed to the CT Post Mall, courtesy of Key Hyundai of Milford.
Key Hyundai Pays for A's benefits Milford students from High Schools of Law, Foran, Platt Tech & the Academy.
Key Hyundai Pays for A’s was originally going to extend the entire academic school year of 2011-2012, but the yearly quota of $10,000 decided by owner Jill Merriam was exceeded after just the first marking period.
“These kids are remarkable,” said Jill Merriam. “Their photos on our Facebook page are just so inspiring! This is the top of our agenda for next year. We’re going to explore how to best revisit this program, with perhaps smaller payouts, to reach more and ore students. No doubt it was a success, and these kids will be back!”
Key Hyundai is a proud supporter of local events in both the Milford and Manchester | Vernon communities. Key Hyundai of Milford sponsored Pays for A's for the first academic quarter for Milford high school students, paying out $10,000 in CT Post Mall gift cards.
At Key Hyundai of Manchester, Key Hyundai is a proud supporter of Rockville High School's Project Graduation, donating a Key-certified previously owned vehicle to raise funds for this deserving event keeping kids safe and entertained on graduation night.
