Press Release

(Pictured Above: First Financial’s Assistant VP of Business Development, VP of Marketing and Business Development, and Grant Recipient Susan Holland with some of her students.)

FREEHOLD, N.J. – Manchester Township Middle School special education teacher, Susan Holland, was recently surprised by members of the First Financial Foundation with a $93.50 Erma Dorrer classroom grant for the 2019-2020 school year.

Holland submitted a grant application to purchase a set of books called The Egypt Game for her seventh grade social studies class, which includes students with multiple disabilities.

“My class will be studying ancient Egypt this year and I would like to include a cross-curricular component by reading this novel together as a class,” said Holland. “My students will identify with the characters as well as the content of the book. It would be a great opportunity for the students to strengthen their reading stamina and comprehension skills. I will continue to use these books in years to come.”

Since First Financial began with a group of Asbury Park schoolteachers back in 1936, the credit union has not forgotten its educational roots. That is why its Foundation offered current Monmouth and Ocean County educators seven (7) classroom grants to use at their schools for the 2019-2020 school year.

(Pictured Above: First Financial’s Assistant Vice President of Business Development with Grant Recipient Susan Holland.)

“Education has and always will be a pivotal piece of our organization, and we’re delighted to be able to help our local educators enhance their classroom experience,” said First Financial President & CEO, Issa Stephan.

Stephan also noted that the Foundation committee had a tough job of choosing just seven winning teachers out of the numerous applications received this year. “We received double the amount of classroom grant entries this year, which included heartwarming essays and videos from educators hoping to use the grant money to implement or maintain a variety of creative programs within their schools,” said Stephan. “We wish we were able to reward each and every one of our participants, and after extremely careful consideration we selected the seven initiatives in which we felt the grant money would have the largest impact.”