FA’s Jobs for Maine Graduates program launches a school store

    DOVER-FOXCROFT — Students in Foxcroft Academy’s Jobs for Maine’s Graduates (JMG) program have launched an official Foxcroft Academy school store. They will be selling reasonably-priced hats, scarves, hoodies, sweatshirts, long- and short-sleeved T-shirts, mugs and other items in both child and adult sizes. The store will be run as a nonprofit, with all proceeds reinvested in the community.

Photo courtesy of Foxcroft Academy

    SCHOOL CLOTHING — Foxcroft Academy JMG students, who are members of the junior class and are from left Cody Strout, Trevor Crocker , Cameron Cookson and Lois Stinson, wear Foxcroft Academy attire. The Foxcroft JMG program has launched an official school store, with all proceeds to be reinvested in the community.

    JMG students plan to conduct surveys during advisory periods to determine what other items they should stock, and they will be creating a website for the store in the near future. In the meantime, anyone who would like to place an order or learn more about the store can contact JMG Specialist Brenda Clawson at brenda.clawson@foxcroftacademy.org.
    JMG is a program that was founded in 1993 with a mission to identify students who face barriers to education, and to guide each one on to a successful path toward continued education, a meaningful career, and productive adulthood. Foxcroft Academy ran a JMG program in the late 1990s through the early 2000s but discontinued the program until it was revived under Clawson’s leadership last year.
    “I believe the school store is an excellent way to showcase the JMG Mission and Vision Statements,” said Clawson, who works with a total of 37 students through five different classes. “JMG specialists teach a hands-on, interactive curriculum that focuses on career development, job attainment, job survival, leadership, team building, communication, time management and community service learning. By maintaining a school store, JMG students will learn about the many facets of a business, including marketing, advertising, e-commerce, inventory, financial literacy, customer service and philanthropy.”
    Each of the 79 JMG programs throughout Maine also receives $1,000 annually from the Unity Foundation to help students learn about philanthropy. Students must research non-profit organizations in their area and decide which they would like to support. Last year Foxcroft Academy invested in Womancare, Penquis Journey House and the Piscataquis Chamber of Commerce.