Vanderbilt Mortgage, Junior Achievement® Hosted Sixth Annual Blind Pig Fundraiser

Junior Achievement of East Tennessee and Vanderbilt Mortgage and Finance, Inc. hosted the sixth annual Blind Pig fundraiser, which raised more than $27,000 for Junior Achievement of East Tennessee, doubling the proceeds of past Blind Pig events. Attendees at the August 3rd event, held at The Press Room in Knoxville, TN, enjoyed a speakeasy-themed BBQ party with BBQ Bites, live music, custom cocktails, and a moonshine tasting.

The event supports Junior Achievement's financial literacy, workforce readiness, and entrepreneurship programming across East Tennessee, designed to inspire students to dream big.

“Vanderbilt's vision and values are at the core of our support for Junior Achievement programs both in the classrooms and financially,” said Brittany Marcus Ford, Vanderbilt Mortgage Portfolio Manager and Junior Achievement of East Tennessee board member. “Vanderbilt’s team members rally around the annual Blind Pig fundraiser, celebrating Junior Achievement’s growth and our opportunity to lift up students throughout east Tennessee.”

The first Blind Pig was held in 2013 and has since raised more than $102,000 for Junior Achievement of East Tennessee. In addition to co-hosting Blind Pig, Vanderbilt Mortgage positively impacts students of the Knoxville community throughout the year. In 2018, employee volunteers worked alongside nearly 750 local Junior Achievement students who were engaged in active learning and self-discovery in the classroom.

In 2018, Junior Achievement impacted the lives of more than 24,040 students in East Tennessee. Junior Achievement is celebrating its 100th year of programming to ensure local youth understand their earning potential and how their financial and career choices impact their future.

About Vanderbilt Mortgage and Finance, Inc. Vanderbilt Mortgage and Finance, Inc. is a national housing lender that specializes in financing manufactured homes. In business for more than 40 years, the company currently services more than 180,000 home loans and works hard to tailor loans to each family’s needs. Vanderbilt has an A+ grade from the Better Business Bureau and is a Berkshire Hathaway company. For more information, visit VMF.com. NMLS #1561.

About Junior Achievement of East TN Founded nationally in 1919 and locally in 1969, Junior Achievement’s mission is to inspire and prepare young people to succeed in a global economy. In partnership with local businesses and educators, Junior Achievement brings the real world to students, opening their minds to their potential. JA programs deal with real issues like workforce readiness, financial literacy, and entrepreneurship so that young people not only understand their opportunities in life but can also take advantage of those opportunities.

JA develops young people with volunteer driven K-12 classroom based programs, collaborative after school initiatives, job shadowing opportunities and an experiential learning curriculum and facility called JA BizTown, and now JA Finance Park Virtual. These programs ensure our youth have a fundamental understanding of business and economics, which is so important to success in life. Financial literacy, career exploration and workforce readiness, and business education can help young people avoid poor decisions today, which can affect them for years…and keep them from reaching for their dreams. During the 2018-2019 school year, more than 24,000 students benefited from JA programs across 17 counties in East TN.

For more information on JA Programs in East Tennessee, please visit www.jaeasttennessee.org or call (865) 457-2461.