FORT WASHINGTON, Penn.—Denise Magasich, a career and technical education (CTE) teacher at Abraham Lincoln High School in Philadelphia, has secured a grant for her school through TruMark Financial Credit Union’s Kiss A Pig Financial Literacy fundraiser. The grant is being used for personal finance resources.
According to Trumark Financial, Magasich was confident students would embrace the idea and be excited to raise money to see one of the faculty members kiss a pig.
The students held a number of fundraisers and selected Bonnie Uditsky, who was serving as the interim principal, to smooch with the pig at the event held at the Abington Art Center in Jenkintown. “Uditsky had no qualms about participating and actually looked forward to the event. Some of her colleagues attended and cheered for her as she stepped on the stage to plant a kiss on Raines, the pot-bellied pig,” the credit unions aid.
The fundraiser, one component of TruMark Financial’s Building Financial Futures initiative, heightens awareness for financial literacy and raises money for local schools in need of personal finance materials, according to the CU.
Abraham Lincoln High School administrators used part of the grant to purchase Virtual Business - Personal Finance, an online simulation that teaches key personal finance concepts. Magasich said students retain more personal finance knowledge from this tool because it is interactive and they are required to track their personal behavior and spending habits.
The following schools also participated in the Kiss-A-Pig Financial Literacy Fundraiser and will receive a $5,500 grant:
- Archbishop Wood High School
- Baldi Middle School
- Bensalem High School
- Cheltenham High School
- Herbert Hoover Elementary School
- Maritime Academy Charter School
- Norristown High School
- Our Lady of Calvary School
- St. George School
- St. Jerome School
- Stephen Decatur Elementary School