Perdue Farms Generous Donation to the Museum Aviation Foundation

          Candi James, Melissa Spalding, Wally Hunter, Sharon Brown, Shakira Relaford, Chrissy Miner, Jenny Maas, and Valerie Myers

The Museum of Aviation Foundation is tremendously grateful for the generosity of Perdue Farms for donating $10,000 to help fund our Outdoor Environmental Classroom Project. The outdoor classroom will feature solar panels, a wind turbine, greenhouse, herb garden, water filtration system, and a weather wall. It will be completely self-sustainable and feature hands-on activities for students in grades 2^nd-8^th.

“We at Perdue are proud to invest in the construction of this Outdoor Environmental Classroom at the Museum,” said Wally Hunter, director of Perdue harvest operations in Perry. “This will provide the young people of our region with such wonderful learning opportunities about being good stewards of our environment. What they have planned for this is very exciting!”

The Foundation’s Education Center has already ordered the awning, solar panels, and wind turbine. We hope to have the classroom completed by February 2018 in time for spring planting. The Foundation is still sourcing additional partners for the completion of this project. We have about $50,000 left to meet our goal.

“The Museum of Aviation is very grateful for the generous donation from the Franklin P. and Arthur W. Perdue Foundation. The new classroom will offer field trips, Saturday STEM Labs, and summer camp programs to students,” said Melissa Spalding, the Education Director for the Foundation.  “This new space will be a great way to teach students the importance of protecting our earth’s resources and environmental awareness.”

Perdue Farms is a third-generation, family owned, U.S food and agriculture company. Through their belief in responsible food and agriculture, they are empowering consumers, customers, and farmers through trusted choices in products and services. Perdue Farms focuses on continuously improving everything they do, constantly learning, and sharing those insights across different production methods. That innovative approach is driving change throughout the company and onto farms. This continuous advancement is leading them toward their vision of becoming the most trusted name in food and agricultural products.

The Franklin P. and Arthur E. Perdue Foundation, the charitable giving arm of Perdue Farms, was established in 1957 by company found Arthur W. Perdue, and is funded through the estates of Arthur W. Perdue and Frank Perdue. The Foundation provides grants on behalf of Perdue Farms in communities where large numbers of their associates live and work. At Perdue Farms, they believe in responsible food and agriculture.

The Museum of Aviation has grown to become the second largest museum in the United States Air Force and the fourth most visited museum in the Department of Defense. The museum is a place that honors our veterans and their families and reminds our Airmen of their legendary Air Force heritage. The Museum of Aviation Education Center operates Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) and History-focused education programs and field trips for learners ages 4 to adult under five major programs. Programs are aligned to state and national education standards. Education programs and field trips highlight career opportunities and workforce development strategies and are conducted both on the school site and at the Museum of Aviation.

Contact: Sara Koohang, Public Relations and Marketing Specialist

skoohang@museumofaviation.org