The Steward School Awarded Generous Grant From Monument Consulting

January 17, 2008, Richmond, VA: The Steward School, an independent K-12 school in Henrico County, has been awarded a $60,000 grant from Monument Consulting to support diversity programs at the School. This gift has been made possible through the generosity of MeadWestvaco, a client of Monument Consulting.

This gift will be used to support The Steward School's Latino Education Advancement Program (LEAP). LEAP is the flagship program of Steward's Avanzando (moving forward) Latino Education Initiative. LEAP seeks to introduce Richmond-area Latino student to the fundamentals of independent school educational and enhanced academic experiences through a summer program held on the Steward campus.

LEAP is targeted to rising eighth- and ninth-grade Latino students. The program offers a rigorous, enriched college-preparatory curriculum in ESL, Spanish for native speakers, math, and technology with segments on study skills, English-language skills, and physical education. Participants travel to various industries, government agencies, and organizations throughout the summer as part of its community-outreach component.

"We are truly grateful that Monument Consulting selected Steward as the recipient of this generous gift," said Ken Seward, Headmaster of The Steward School. "Their support will help us provide valuable educational and life experience to members of Richmond’s Latino population." Richmond's Latino population is the fastest growing demographic group in our area, but is currently the most underserved by independent schools. Seward continues, "Steward aims to open doors of opportunity to this group."

"The opportunity to partner with our client MeadWestvaco in making this type of commitment to a great local independent school is a privilege," said Brad Cummings, Principal at Monument Consulting. "It starts with Mead’s generosity, and it ends with Steward being able to add true community value with that generosity. Monument is fortunate we were able to play a role here."

MeadWestvaco, based in Henrico County, provides packaging solutions and products to many of the world’s best-known companies and most-admired brands. With a presence in more than 30 countries, its research, design, manufacturing and distribution capabilities serve leaders in the food and beverage, media and entertainment, personal care, home and garden, cosmetics, and healthcare industries. They also have market-leading positions in Consumer & Office Products and Specialty Chemicals businesses.

Monument Consulting is a Human Resources Outsourcing firm focused on recruitment. Located in Richmond, Virginia, Monument offers Recruitment Process Outsourcing and Vendor Management Solutions to companies from Fortune 500 to midsized firms. Today, Monument is the go-to firm for companies looking for a more effective way to keep pace with their demanding and dynamic recruitment and vendor management needs.

The $60,000 will help fund staffing, programs, curricula design, and materials for the summer program, which will be in its second year in the summer of 2008. It completes a $100,000 matching grant from E.E. Ford, given last year to kick off Steward’s Latino Outreach Initiative. For more information about LEAP, visit www.stewardschool.org/leap.

About Monument Consulting
Monument Consulting was formed in 2003 and is led by partners Matt Aprahamian, Rodney Ashby and Brad Cummings. With more than thirty combined years in management consulting and human resources, the trio decided that the traditional model for staffing was outdated and inadequate. Their vision to develop a new and better way to help companies find the best talent, quickly and seamlessly, resulted in the founding of Monument Consulting. They are dedicated to serving their clients with trust, expert guidance, creative solutions and previously unheard of flexibility. They are a leader in providing Vendor Management Services and Recruitment Process Outsourcing solutions.