Helping Schools in the Community

Employees at First Farmers Bank & Trust are dedicated to teaching local students in the community. Whether through Junior Achievement, Reading Railroad, or other types of participation, our employees spend time each year teaching students of all ages about personal financing, identity theft protection, credit, the economy, world trade, budgeting, and many other topics.

Junior Achievement is an organization dedicated to educating students about workforce readiness. It provides a structured curriculum to follow, but also leaves room for volunteers to provide their own experiences. They assign these volunteers to specific classrooms and specific times. Amy Million, Amanda Schmidt, and Jennifer Van Horn all volunteer their time to Peru High School. This year, one topic taught at Peru High School was about career aspirations and the requirements for each position. On the first day of class, the students wrote down what they wanted their career to be. After learning about skills, goals, values, and ethics that are involved in each career, many of the students changed their minds by the end of the course. By breaking down each part of a career, many were able to find a career that they had a significant interest in. Amanda Schmidt, HR Benefits Specialist at our Peru office, states, “This program was very beneficial for the students, especially at this age. Most of these students are at a point in their lives where they are just starting to think about the real world. The hands-on activities and shared experiences from volunteers penetrate their minds and get them to think more in-depth about their future.”

Beth Tilley, Jennifer McConahay, Deb Ploss, Greg Thompson, and Bruce Shanks also volunteer their time to Junior Achievement at schools in the area. Beth has volunteered at Tri-Central High School. The basis of her curriculum was product development. The students were asked to create and name a company, and then come up with a product to market and sell. They were required to make enough money in sales to pay for company operations and the remainder was given to a charity of the students’ choice. They were also asked to elect a President, Vice President, Treasurer, etc for the company and had to set up a bank account to manage their funds. Jennifer volunteers her time at Northfield Middle School, teaching 6th graders about world trade and 8th graders about budgeting. Bruce has volunteered at Knox High School for the past two years. The focus of his curriculum has been on personal finance for junior and senior students. Greg Thompson has volunteered at Liberty Elementary School, teaching 6th graders about economic principles and current economic conditions.

While many employees are volunteers for Junior Achievement, some of our employees, such as Deb Ploss, Joyce Flick, and Jodi Cecil volunteer for other educational purposes. Every month, Deb reads to 1st graders at Galveston Elementary through the Reading Railroad Program. Joyce and Jodi visit Eastern School Corporation several times each year and teach a variety of topics. Most recently, they taught several classes from 7th grade through the senior classes in conjunction with the ABA Education Foundation’s ‘Teach Children About Credit Day’. For the high school students, Joyce and Jodi discussed why credit is important in your life. They also covered what to expect when you open a checking account, and how to protect yourself from identity theft. For 7th and 8th graders, they discussed the Federal Reserve, inflation, and how U.S currency is protected against counterfeiters.

The employees volunteer their time to local schools because they thoroughly enjoy teaching students something that isn’t often taught in a classroom setting. They love listening to students’ ideas and answering any questions that come up. But mostly, they enjoy the looks on students’ faces when they see that something has made sense and that they have learned something new.