Executive Service Corps of Indiana to Transition Programs and Services

Contacts:         

Jim Shaffer, President                                      Jeff Miller, President & CEO

Executive Service Corps of Indiana, Inc.          Junior Achievement of Central Indiana, Inc.

317-574-7272, ext. 228                                 The Experiential Learning & Entrepreneurship Foundation, Inc.

Cell: 317-370-0062                                        317-252-5900, ext. 202 Cell: 317-443-9091

Executive Service Corps of Indiana to Transition

Programs and Services

            INDIANAPOLIS, IN – The Executive Service Corps of Indiana (ESC) will transition its programs, services and all intellectual property to The Experiential Learning and Entrepreneurship Foundation, Inc. (ELEF) a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit foundation. ELEF will contract with Junior Achievement of Central Indiana (JACI) to operate and grow these programs.  This transfer will become effective November 1, 2006, and ESC will cease operations as an independent 501(c)(3) organization on or about December 31, 2006, it was announced today by Jim Shaffer, ESC President, and Jeff Miller, President & CEO of ELEF and JACI.

When looking at the best ways to deliver and grow programs and services, ESC came to the decision to seek an established organization to continue the great work it has established over the past 32 years. “Following several months of strategic assessment and evaluation, and in response to growing pressures to maintain financial sustainability, ESC’s Board of Directors made a very courageous, difficult decision to cease operations and transition programs, services and intellectual property to another organization,” Shaffer said. “This will permit ESC’s dedicated volunteers to continue giving back to the community.”

Miller said, “The ELEF foundation and JACI are very excited to be part of continuing

the legacy as well as the 32-year commitment to the community of ESC, whose programs have touched thousands of lives by helping organizations and individuals achieve their highest potential. ESC has been able to accomplish this due to its dedicated corps of volunteers who have generously given their ‘time, talent and treasure’ in making a difference to so many individuals and organizations.”

Lou Schmitt, Chief Financial Officer of JACI, will become Executive Director of ESC programs and services going forward. “Lou’s extensive financial and consulting background is a perfect fit to carry on and grow the ESC programs and services,” said Miller. He also indicated selected current ESC staff will transition to Junior Achievement to help carry on the ESC programs and services.

ESC volunteers have helped thousands of businesses and nonprofits strengthen their management capacity through strategic planning, board development, executive mentoring, and other consulting projects. ESC’s volunteer education mentors have supported thousands of youth and young adults to grow into productive citizens. In addition, ESC has:

·          Provided more than $300,000 in college scholarships to high school students in Indianapolis Public Schools through its Mentor Scholarship Program,

·          Helped nearly 40,000 young people and adults to prepare for the workforce through job preparation workshops, and

·          Reached more than 53,000 children through ESC’s Science Comes Alive! program, encouraging and inspiring students to look at science in new ways and to possibly consider science-related careers.

The mission of ELEF is to foster, support and create innovative experiential learning and entrepreneurship programs like JACI has done. The Foundation currently has a restricted endowment -- “The Futures Unlimited Endowment Fund” -- to benefit JACI, as well as a restricted scholarship fund for the ESC Mentor Scholarship Program.

JACI’s mission is to ensure every child has a fundamental understanding of business, economics and the free enterprise system through innovative experiential learning simulations that teach financial literacy, job skills, life skills, how a community works and career exploration. All JACI programs promote and correlate with the Indiana Department of Education standards for Math, Science, Language Arts and Social Studies. JACI strives to and has become known as an expert in the experiential learning arena. The organization also is acknowledged for its creative and innovative approach to reinvent and operate in a fast changing not-for-profit sector.