How Avant Healthcare Professionals is Helping Foster the Next Generation of Leaders

July 10, 2019

ORLANDO, Fla. (July 9, 2019) — Avant Healthcare Professionals’ team serves central Florida’s students through their partnership with Junior Achievement, a program that prepares students to succeed in and outside the classroom. Since their initial partnership in 2017, Avant Healthcare Professionals has raised over $8,000 to send students to the Junior Achievement Academy, a magnet school in partnership with Orange County Public Schools to teach leadership and entrepreneurial skills.

“We hold a fundraiser during the fall where we attempt to raise $4,000 to sponsor a high school student to attend the Junior Achievement Academy for all four years,” said Mike Gorritz, Avant Healthcare Professionals’ director of organizational development. “During the spring semester, we serve in the classroom. Our employees go to a Junior Achievement-sponsored high school or middle school to teach a class on a predetermined topic provided by the program including ‘paying for college,’ identity theft,’ etc.”

Last year, Avant Healthcare Professionals brought students from the Junior Achievement Academy into their corporate headquarters to job shadow members of the company to learn about the organization and career paths associated with the staffing industry.

Working with Junior Achievement aligns with Avant Healthcare Professionals’ mission to “Change lives,” said Shari Dingle Costantini, Chief Executive Officer at Avant Healthcare Professionals. “Knowing that Junior Achievement changes lives of young people toward successful career paths, we felt that our culture and the culture of Junior Achievement aligned perfectly where we could make a local impact with students together.”

In addition to its volunteer work with Junior Achievement, Avant Healthcare Professionals gives corporate employees the opportunity to use one PTO day a year for charitable activity. Avant is currently in the process of creating a community impact team to best support giving back to the greater Orlando community and maximizing effectiveness of Junior Achievement involvement.