Caterpillar Foundation Sends 100 Students on Educational Field Trip

Adams and Hamilton: Students enjoyed a presentation from Alexander Hamilton and John Adams at the Freedoms Foundation.

With the help of the Caterpillar Foundation, 100 students from Caterpillar communities attended a leadership program in Valley Forge, Penn.

The Foundation made an investment with Freedoms Foundation, a non-profit education organization to establish the Caterpillar Civic Education Initiative - the Spirit of America Youth Leadership Program. The students, with 10 teachers, from Aurora, Decatur, Joliet and Peoria, Ill., Lafayette, Ind., and Milwaukee, Wis., attended the program at the Freedoms Foundation campus November 8 through 11. Freedoms Foundation's mission is to help students, teachers and citizens understand the principles of a free and democratic society.

The Foundation's investment allowed students who normally would not be able to afford the program attend and learn. The students attended presentations, participated in team-building exercises and learned the process of creating legislature. Clay Thompson, director of Global Government Affairs at Caterpillar, addressed the students about how Caterpillar plays its part in government.

Three Peoria High School juniors attended the program thanks to the Caterpillar Foundation. The students enjoyed four days of history, politics and friendship.

"It really broke down the barrier. We got to know students from other area schools," said Shaynah Woody, Peoria High School junior.

"They were put out of their comfort zone with roommates, but it helped them mingle and meet new people," said Peoria High School teacher and chaperone, Kassandra Duncan. "It was a neat opportunity to get to know other kids and learn about themselves as leaders."

The Caterpillar Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Caterpillar Inc. Founded in 1952, the Caterpillar Foundation has contributed more than $500 million to help make sustainable progress possible around the world by providing program support in the areas of environmental sustainability, access to education and basic human needs. To learn more about the global impact of the Caterpillar Foundation, please visit www.caterpillar.com/foundation.