Phoenix, Ariz., October 22, 2007 – On November 6, AAA will begin its second year of helping students in the west valley learn basic business skills and practices through its award-winning volunteer mentoring program, AAA Cares.

After a successful first year, AAA Cares is reaching out to more students and working with two school districts, Deer Valley Unified and Glendale Union High School District. The free after-school program gives students a chance to learn about business practices over the course of 20 weeks. Last year, the program graduated 10 students, two of whom went on to secure full-time permanent positions within AAA. This year, the program will invite 20 students to participate.

Last year, AAA Cares received an ASPRA*tions Award in the category of Business, Foundation, or Civic/Community Organization for Contributions to Public Education from the Arizona School Public Relations Association (ASPRA). These awards recognize standards of excellence in school public relations.

“Last year the program was such a success that we wanted to increase our reach this year,” said Mario B. Soberal, director of AAA's information technology operation services and executive sponsor of AAA Cares. “We expanded to include an additional school district and we are collaborating with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Arizona.”

The program matches aspiring students with workforce professionals to demonstrate how to participate effectively in a working environment. Course lessons include collaboration and team building, business dress, oral and written communication, and computer training. All students will be given laptops and trained in standard Microsoft Office software, including MS Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

“This program makes a big impact on students’ lives,” said Danielle Janssen, 2007 program graduate. “You can see the kids in the class changing from the beginning to the end, changing throughout. Without AAA Cares, I would probably still be working at Pizza Hut and not thinking about college whatsoever.” Danielle completed the program and was selected for an internship with AAA during the summer. Upon completion of her internship, Danielle was hired as a full-time employee with AAA and is currently attending Glendale Community College.

Classes are held at the AAA Operations Center at 5353 W. Bell Road, and dinner is provided for all students. Mentors are selected from staff within AAA, and are screened by Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Arizona (BBBSAZ), which provides oversight to ensure that programs comply with BBBSAZ standards for one-to-one practice and also trains volunteers and assists with school relationships. The program has received additional support from AT&T, HP, Cognizant, Microsoft, and Oracle, who have all donated valuable resources to support this effort.

“As we continue to work with more students, we want to provide them with the very best experience possible,” said Soberal. “We are all amazed by what we can learn from the kids and by their determination to succeed.”

ACA Holdings, Inc. is a member club of the AAA, with five partner clubs serving over 6 million AAA members in ten states.  Partner clubs are AAA Arizona, California State Automobile Association, AAA MountainWest, AAA Oklahoma and AAA Hoosier.