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Voya Financial, Inc., which has rebranded from ING U.S. and is a leading provider of retirement plans for educators, announced today that Judith Fedinick, a teacher at St. Anne’s School of Annapolis in Annapolis, Maryland, has received a $2,000 grant as part of the company’s 2014 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 the ability to positively influence the children they teach.
Selected from a group of more than 1,000 applicants, Fedinick is one of only 100 winners across the country who will receive a $2,000 award to help fund and bring to life her creative idea, Our Treasure, Chesapeake Bay. In addition, she will now compete with other winners for one of the top three prizes — an additional $5,000, $10,000 or $25,000 from Voya Financial.
Fedinick’s innovative teaching idea, Our Treasure, Chesapeake Bay, is designed to explore the health and wealth of the Chesapeake Bay and discover how it affects the lives of students and the larger community on a daily basis. Through this service learning project, students will experience the power of a collaborative, socially responsible community and learn to contribute meaningfully to the world around them. During a year-long collaboration, buddy classes in preschool through eighth grade will each research an aspect of the Bay; collect and share data; and collaborate to build a scale size Chesapeake Bay model. The ultimate goal is to use the model and data to create a larger outdoor classroom model and “learning walk” to educate the community at large. Students will develop research, academic, and social skills as they work to apply information in innovative ways for a meaningful and important purpose. In future years, the expanding project will continue to present opportunities to mentor new students and deepen service learning into new and broader areas.
“Voya Financial is honored to salute these outstanding teachers who have the vision to pioneer new methods and techniques in the classroom that inspire learning,” said Bernie Heffernon, senior vice president of Tax-Exempt Markets for Retirement Solutions at Voya Financial. “Each day, we help individuals prepare for a secure financial future and we are proud to recognize these men and women who prepare students for their future. We understand that teaching is one of the most important professions in the world and are pleased to help Judith continue making a life-long, positive impact on the children she teaches.”
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