Ernst & Young LLP (yellow shirts) and students from Olympic High School’s National Academy Foundation Career Academy of Finance gathered at Reedy Creek Park to shovel and distribute mulch at two park playgrounds Friday September 19, 2014. EY employees are mentors with the company’s College MAP program. College MAP (Mentoring for Access and Persistence) addresses EY’s top priority for education, enabling minority and disadvantaged youth to gain access to college and succeed in higher education. The mentoring program helps low-income high school students prepare to be among the first in their family to receive a college degree. The program overlaps with the goals of Olympic High School and the National Academy Foundation, where 50 percent of high school career academy graduates that transition into college are the first in their families. Through the firm’s annual EY Connect Day, approximately 350 employees donated aabout 1,400 volunteer hours on Friday as a part of the “firm’s commitment to building a better working world,” said Charlotte Managing Partner Malcomb Coley. We are fortunate to work for a firm that supports community benefit efforts, and EY Connect Day is a unique opportunity for our employees to volunteer on a single day, strengthen relationships in and out of the office and give back to our community.”