Tampa, Fla. – Just one month before the 2011 hurricane season officially starts, representatives from
American Integrity Insurance Group sponsored a field trip to the Museum of Science & Industry (MOSI)
for a group of elementary students from Gateway Christian Academy to learn about weather safety.
Students learned about how to help prepare their families and homes in the event of a natural disaster
before they put their newly gained knowledge to use in the Disasterville exhibit, MOSI’s 10,000 square
foot extreme weather exhibit. The group also viewed the film Tornado Alley in MOSI’s IMAX theatre.
Twenty-three elementary students from Gateway Christian Academy attended the hurricane
preparedness event on Friday, May 6th
.
American Integrity’s vice president of marketing, Jenny Hodge engaged the elementary students in a
presentation on how hurricanes form and what to expect if a hurricane were to threaten the state of
Florida before the group viewed the IMAX film Tornado Alley. The group of students, teachers and
American Integrity Insurance representatives experienced the film in the IMAX dome, which provides
the audience with 10,500 square feet of visual imagery and six-channel multispeaker sound quality.
Students then moved to the Disasterville exhibit where they were able to experience the effects of
various simulated natural disasters, from hurricanes and tornados to floods and tsunamis. The children
enjoyed seeing the models of towns that had been affected by extreme weather, and had the
opportunity to try their hand at news reporting in the Bay News 9 WeatherQuest portion of the exhibit.
As an extension of its partnership with Step Up
For Students Scholarship Program, American
Integrity Insurance Group offered the outing to
students at Gateway Christian Academy, a
school that participates in the scholarship
program, as an educational and fun way to
prepare for the upcoming hurricane season.
Since joining Step Up For Students as a
corporate partner in 2009, American Integrity
has contributed $1 million to fund K-12
scholarships for low income Florida families.
“At American Integrity we live and work in Florida, and our goal is to protect and provide the best
services to the people in the communities we serve. Beyond our business objectives, we want to see
these communities thrive and prosper, which is why we joined Step Up For Students, ” said Jenny
Hodge. “Through this innovative program, we are able to help Florida families choose where their
children attend school, when they otherwise would not have the financial means to do so. And it is a
simple tax redirection that comes at no cost to our company, so it is truly a win-win situation for
American Integrity and the students who are benefitting from the scholarships.”
Step Up For Students is a nonprofit organization that administers scholarships to students so that low
income Florida families can choose a school that may better fit their child’s learning style. Students that
qualify may receive more than $4000 towards private school tuition or a $500 scholarship to help with
transportation costs of attending another public school in a different county. Companies like American
Integrity Insurance are able to redirect their Florida tax liability to fund the scholarships, and receive a
dollar-for-dollar tax credit for the amount they redirect to the program.
“We are honored to have American Integrity Insurance Group as one of our corporate partners and are
thankful for their generous contribution that will provide nearly 250 scholarships for low income
students,” Step Up For Students Doug Tuthill said. “It is exciting to know that there are companies like
American Integrity that value school choice and want to work with us in providing educational options
to those students in Florida who have the least.”