Voya Financial Honors Brockton Teachers With $2K Voya Unsung Heroes Grant for Innovative Teaching Program

From Voya Financial: Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE: VOYA), a leading provider of workplace retirement solutions, including savings plans for K-12 educators, announced today that Marcia Andrade Serpa, Peri Jacoubs and Julie Perillo, a group of teachers at Louis F. Angelo Elementary School in Brockton, Mass., have received a $2,000 grant as part of the company’s 2017 Voya Unsung Heroes awards competition.

Through the Voya Unsung Heroes program, Voya Financial awards grants to K-12 educators nationwide to honor their innovative teaching methods, creative educational projects, and ability to positively influence their students. For more than 20 years, the program has awarded over $5 million in grants to more than 2,000 educators across the United States.

“At Voya, we are proud to recognize the many teachers who go above and beyond to inspire a love of learning in their classrooms,” said Heather Lavallee, president of Tax-Exempt Markets at Voya Financial. “Understanding that we all learn differently, these teachers have developed unique programs to engage the minds of each and every student. This aligns with our desire to help all Americans prepare for their unique financial futures. We are honored to empower this group of teachers to continue to impact the lives of young people who will one day be the future leaders of our communities.”

The team’s innovative teaching idea, “Full STEAM Ahead,” focuses on using the Museum of Science, (Boston “Engineering is Elementary” program kits to bring hands-on) Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics (STEAM) experiences to children in their socially and economically diverse city. Among other materials, each kit contains an educational picture book that features diverse characters with whom their school’s multi-ethic student body can relate. By introducing STEAM concepts, connecting them to literature and facilitating the design-build-test-redesign cycle, these kits will not only teach students about science and engineering, but also help them develop critical communication, collaboration and problem-solving skills.

Selected from a group of more than 1,200 applicants, the group is among only 100 winners across the country who will receive this award to help fund and bring their program to life. In addition, they will now compete with other finalists for one of the top three prizes — an additional $5,000, $10,000 or $25,000 from Voya Financial.

To learn more about this year’s winning projects, as well as those from previous years, visit the Voya Unsung Heroes website(unsungheroes.com). Applications for the 2018 Voya Unsung Heroes awards are currently being accepted through the website until April 30, 2018.

Images Courtesy of Voya Financial