Say Yes to Education announces partnership with POMCO Group and SRC

Susan Feightner
(315) 443-1525

Say Yes to Education and the Central New York Community Foundation today are announcing a partnership with POMCO Group and SRC, formerly Syracuse Research Corp., to create new Say Yes to Education scholarships for students who live in the City of Syracuse. The formal announcement will be made at a luncheon attended by Say Yes to Education founder George Weiss, local CEOs and dignitaries at POMCO Group’s headquarters in Syracuse.

The scholarships will benefit Syracuse students who have been accepted to one of the nearly 100 colleges and universities participating in the Say Yes to Education compact, including Syracuse University. SRC has pledged $500,000 to the scholarship fund, and the POMCO Group has announced it will match all employee donations to Say Yes. These pledges in turn will be matched 1:1 by the Community Foundation. POMCO Group President and CEO Bob Pomfrey is also developing a program through which employees can use work hours to volunteer with students enrolled in Say Yes to Education.

The new commitments bring the total raised for the Central New York Say Yes initiative to more than $20 million.

“The Say Yes to Education effort in Central New York has fostered a spectacular partnership that is working to create better futures for students in Syracuse,” says Mary Anne Schmitt-Carey, president of Say Yes to Education, Inc. “We are leading the way to high-quality, high-functioning and high-results government working collaboratively with the private sector to achieve unprecedented, breakthrough results in urban America.”

“Our corporate philanthropic focus is on education–especially related to science and technology,” says Bob Roberts, president and CEO of SRC. “Many students are not given the opportunity to obtain a degree because they don’t have the means. The Say Yes program provides support throughout the education lifecycle, and the scholarship program will help the students achieve their full potential. Businesses in our community need to realize the positive impact this program will have, and we encourage them to join us in making this possible.”

“Say Yes to Education exemplifies a unified focus on education, community and respect,” says POMCO’s Pomfrey. “These values, combined with the tools Say Yes to Education provides, give the students in the City of Syracuse the inspiration they need to be successful. We are proud to offer them a way to continue their success.”

Say Yes to Education, Inc. (Say Yes) is a national, nonprofit foundation committed to dramatically increasing high school and college graduation rates for urban youth. For more than 20 years, Say Yes has provided comprehensive support, including the promise of a full college or vocational education, and a host of other educational, social and health care resources to enable every child in the program to achieve his or her potential. The Syracuse Say Yes project is a partnership among Say Yes to Education, Inc., Syracuse University and the Syracuse City School District. While Say Yes, Inc. has successfully impacted hundreds of students in Cambridge, Philadelphia, Hartford and New York City, the Syracuse Say Yes project is making history, implementing the program into an entire school district, making it the only program of its kind and scale in the nation. For more on the Syracuse Say Yes project, visit http://www.sayyessyracuse.org or contact Susan Feightner, director of marketing and communications, (315) 443-1525.

POMCO is one of the nation’s largest independent professional benefits administrators assembling best-in-class services to offer comprehensive, cost effective solutions for clients. Established in Syracuse in 1978, POMCO Group has nine offices within the United States. Visit http://www.pomcogroup.com for more information.

SRC is a research and development company with more than 50 years of experience in defense, environment and intelligence. SRCTec, an SRC company, provides manufacturing and logistics support for complex electronics systems. Together, through innovation in science, technology and information, they are redefining possible™. The companies work with the customer for the best solution–not the bottom line–resulting in nationally significant, next-generation products and services. For more information, visit http://www.srcinc.com.