Maine Jump$tart Coalition Named 2024 State Coalition of the Year

April 23, 2024
CONTACT: Mary Dyer (Maine Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy) (207) 620-3556
mainejumpstart207@gmail.com

(Augusta) – The Maine Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy (hyperlink) was recently recognized by the National Jump$tart Coalition as the 2024 State Coalition of the Year. The State Coalition of the Year Award was created to recognize the sound structure and management of a state coalition; its effectiveness and innovation in reaching, supporting, and assisting teachers; its public awareness activities; its effectiveness in carrying out Jump$tart’s State Coalition Common Strategy; and the level of participation and collaboration within the coalition itself.

This is the second time that the Maine Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy has received this award. Mary Dyer, Maine Jump$tart President, along with six Maine personal finance teachers, traveled to Washington D.C. recently to attend the annual awards luncheon and accept this recognition on behalf of Maine.

At the ceremony, Dyer thanked Maine teachers for elevating personal finance in their classrooms: “I stand here before you today, surrounded by six of Maine’s rockstar personal finance teachers. Each of them has been honored with Maine Jumpstart’s Financial Educator of the Year Award and now serves on our board of directors. On a shoestring budget, we made our way here, together, in a 15-passenger van on a 13-hour drive, during what should be their April vacation. If that doesn’t convey the passion and commitment of Maine’s personal finance teachers, I’m not sure what would.”

Maine Jump$tart is an all-volunteer nonprofit coalition that offers a variety of free professional development opportunities for Maine teachers, including the Fostering Financial Education in Maine Schools Conference, which is in its 15th year. The Coalition also provides teacher scholarships for the National Education Conference and recognizes distinguished educators through the Financial Educator of the Year Award.

The Maine Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy is an all-volunteer, nonprofit organization focused on improving the financial knowledge of Maine citizens, with a special focus on pre-K through college students, including adult learners. Working collaboratively, the Coalition seeks to increase awareness and provide training and support to Maine educators while also promoting educational resources and fostering communication among agencies and

individuals who provide financial education to Maine families. For more information, please visit: https://mejumpstart.org/.

Attached photo of:

Mary Dyer, Maine Jumpstart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy President Samantha Drost, Maine Jumpstart Board of Directors and Caribou High School
Caitlyn Roy, Maine Jumpstart Board of Directors and Rose M. Gaffney Elementary School Dr. Valerie Waldemarson, Maine Jumpstart Board of Directors and Caribou High School Logan Landry, Maine Jumpstart Board of Directors and Brunswick Junior High School Steve Kautz, Maine Jumpstart Board of Directors and Finance Authority of Maine Raelene Allen, Maine Jumpstart Board of Directors and Madison High School