$100K given to Menendez program

Posted on Wednesday, July 29th, 2009

A Ponte Vedra company has made a contribution to a program at Pedro Menendez High School designed to help students go to college.

MDI Holdings Inc. donated $100,000 to the school to fund AVID, a program that helps struggling students gain the skills they need to be eligible to go to college.

“This AVID program benefits many students and will help many of them achieve their goals,” said Richard Willich, president and CEO of MDI Holdings.

AVID, which stands for Achievement Via Individual Determination, trains teachers and tutors with a curriculum driven by the WICR method, which stands for writing, inquiry, collaboration and reading. The goal of the program is to challenge middle-range students in addition to boosting their confidence and showing them that higher education is attainable. Read More…

    MDI supports HEAL with $80,000 donation

    Posted on Thursday, July 9th, 2009

    Richard Willich, president and CEO of MDI Holdings Inc., announced that MDI Holdings will donate $80,000 to Healing Every Autistic Life.

    The money will be used to sponsor the 2010 HEAL Film Camp with Joey Travolta.

    Willich made the announcement at the HEAL and Valley of Dreams Gala at the TPC clubhouse in Ponte Vedra Beach.

    In January, MDI Holdings donated $80,000 to HEAL for the 2009 Film Camp, which took place in June.

    During the two-week camp, which was filmed on the University of North Florida campus, children with autism learned how to write scripts, act in and produce movies, and interview their fellow students.

    In addition to shooting on the campus, they filmed on location at Mario’s Pizza in Jacksonville Beach. Read More…