Jacksonville-based employees of The Main Street America Group donated 400 books to support a summer reading program for primary grade students (kindergarten through second grade) at Woodland Acres Elementary School in Jacksonville's Arlington neighborhood.

According to a release, the summer reading program is a new component of the long-time partnership super regional insurance carrier Main Street America has established with the University of North Florida's (UNF) Urban Schools program that supports public schools throughout Duval County, Fla. Through this program, Main Street America "adopted" Woodland Acres in 2009 and has provided year-round support to the school over the past three years.

The company noted that during a book fair held in the media center at Woodland Acres last week, students selected the book they want to read this summer. Several employees of Main Street America were on hand to help the students choose their book.

"It was such a rewarding feeling to know that every primary student during the last week of the school year received the gift of reading courtesy of The Main Street America Group," said Christie Stevenson, UNF residential clinical faculty at Woodland Acres.

The book fair came on the heels of Main Street America hosting the entire fifth-grade class at Woodland Acres for a unique field trip. During their visit to Main Street America's Southside headquarters, the 70-plus students learned some of the fundamentals of property/casualty insurance. The field trip also included an office tour and brief, interactive presentations by members of the company's information technology, product, claims and underwriting teams.

"The Main Street America field trip opened the eyes of our future young professionals to the idea of a career in insurance," Stevenson said. "It also enabled our students to spend time in an office environment and see firsthand the types of local jobs they can hold as adults if they work hard in school."

The company added that since forming its strong relationship with Woodland Acres, nearly 20 of Main Street America'sJacksonville- based employees have volunteered to tutor at the Arlington-area school throughout the entire school year. The company has also held multiple school supply drives and supported other onsite programs in conjunction with UNF.

In addition to supporting Woodland Acres, Main Street America is a long-time supporter of the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America's InVEST program, which provides curriculum and college scholarships for students who are interested in pursuing careers in the insurance field. Several Duval County public high schools participate in InVEST.

The Main Street America Group is an insurance company that operates eight property/casualty insurance carriers: NGM Insurance Company, Old Dominion Insurance Company, Main Street America Assurance Company, MSA Insurance Company, Great Lakes Casualty Insurance Company Grain Dealers Mutual Insurance Company, Main Street America Protection Insurance Company and Spring Valley Mutual Insurance Company.

More information:

www.msagroup.com

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