Nonprofit Honors Ernst & Young and Louis Pratt of Cisco

At the recent Junior Achievement of Eastern North Carolina Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast on Sept 28, sponsored by Delta Air Lines, the organization presented its Outstanding Corporate Service Award to Ernst & Young, and its Outstanding Individual Service Award to Louis Pratt, technical marketing engineer with Cisco. The awards were presented by JAENC Board Chair Clayton Dorn and Vice Chair Monica Cutno.

JAENC is a 41-year-old nonprofit that strives to empower young people to own their economic success. It facilitates partnerships between schools, sponsors and volunteers across an 18-county area to inspire and prepare young people to succeed in a global economy by teaching financial literacy, workforce development and entrepreneurship to students in grades K-12.

Last year, Ernst & Young supported Junior Achievement with 32 volunteers who taught 410 students in 17 classes and logged more than 2,000 student-contact hours. Additionally, Ernst & Young was the top fundraising team in JAENC’s Annual Accountants’ Classic Bowlathon, raising over $13,000. Ryan Cotterman accepted the award on behalf of the company.

Pratt began volunteering with JAENC in 1999. He consistently signs up to teach multiple classes each year, and in 2015 he taught 175 students in seven classes, totaling 875 contact hours. Since 2007, Pratt has taught over 60 classes, reaching 1,525 students.

“Junior Achievement could not achieve our mission without outstanding support from companies like Ernst & Young and volunteers like Louis Pratt,” said Bebee Bason Lee, president of JAENC. “We are deeply grateful for their time and commitment, and congratulate them on receiving these awards.”

For more information, or to make a contribution, visit www.juniorachievementnc.com or call 919-821-2100.