CAPE ELIZABETH – Long after Cape Elizabeth’s traffic situation has returned to normal, the elite athletes have moved on to their next race and the not-so-elite athletes have fully recovered, Junior Achievement (JA) of Maine will still be feeling the effects of Saturday’s 13th TD Bank Beach to Beacon 10K Road Race.

JA of Maine, a nonprofit organization that provides financial and economic education to children throughout the state, was this year’s race beneficiary, receiving $30,000 from the TD Charitable Foundation, the title sponsor’s charitable branch.

In 2009, JA programs reached nearly 9,000 students from grades K-12 in more than 100 Maine schools. Program volunteers, numbering 350 across the state, educate students in everything from saving money to the global economy in order to enhance students’ financial literacy through experiential learning.

The $30,000 will help JA of Maine expand its offering, said organization president Melissa Bourque.

“It will allow us to reach a lot more students through our financial education programs,” said Bourque, who also ran the Beacon to Beacon for the sixth time, finishing in just over one hour.

“Every year, we have more requests from schools to bring the programs in, get the volunteers in. We just don’t ever have enough money or volunteers to meet all the demand from the schools, so having this, we’ll definitely be able to get our programs to more schools and provide more of the programs that the teachers are asking us for.”

On top of the $30,000, JA of Maine expects to receive more than $10,000 from fundraisers who raised at least $500 for the organization in exchange for a sought-after Beach to Beacon bib number. Each year, the current beneficiary and all past beneficiaries receive an allotment of bib numbers to use to raise money. With overall bib demand far outpacing supply this year’s open online registration for 4,000 spots filled in 32 minutes these bibs are a valuable fundraising tool.

Eighteen runners raised the requisite $500 for JA of Maine, according to marketing manager Jenny Jasa, led by 10-year old Parker Wyatt of Falmouth. For his efforts, Wyatt, who finished the race in a speedy 48:06, will also receive a JA bib for next year.

“Most of the beneficiaries, JA included, see this not as a way to get $30,000, but as a way to raise their profile, get their name out there, and really use this as a springboard to further the good that they do,” said TD Bank Maine President Larry Wold, who has run all 13 Beach to Beacons, finishing this year’s race in 40:07.

Four JA of Maine students were also selected as finish line tape holders, and more than a dozen others held flags representing the countries of foreign runners at the post-race awards ceremony.

Ryan Jamison of Scarborough, a soon-to-be sophomore at Scarborough High School, was one of the tape holders. His mother, Tracy Jamison, works for JA. Ryan has participated in a number of JA programs, with a job shadow at Sprague Energy being his most memorable.

“We definitely learn a lot,” he said. “It’s basically to show us what jobs there are in the world.”

Jamison, who is used to the pressure of racing from his involvement in track in high school, admitted being a little nervous holding the tape, but more than anything was thankful for the opportunity. “It’s exciting,” he said. “It’s such a good experience.”

TD Bank, operating under several different names in the past, has donated nearly $400,000 to race beneficiaries since the Beach to Beacon’s inception.

“We get a number of applications to be the beneficiary each year and it’s always a tough choice, because it comes down to a handful, all of whom would be great choices,” Wold said.

But, like 2010 Beach to Beacon champ Gebre Gebremariam, JA of Maine was able to pull away from a formidable field of competitors.

“The history of the race has been to find charities that focus their efforts on kids,” Wold said. “And then (JA’s mission) just lined up perfectly with one of our corporate goals, which is to really promote financial literacy.”

Beach to Beacon founder Joan Benoit Samuelson, the 1984 Olympic women’s marathon gold medalist and a Cape Elizabeth native, said the charitable piece has always been an integral part of the race.

“I have always said the youth of today are our most valuable resources for tomorrow,” Samuelson said. “Anything we can do to support youth, especially through this challenging economy and budget cuts in the school systems, is a great thing.”

Samuelson would like to see more of Maine’s best and brightest remain in the state, and believes JA’s work can make that a reality.

“There’s a problem in this state,” she said. “There’s a brain drain when kids graduate from high school and college. If we can help to keep these young people in the state to boost the economy going forward, I think that’s a great thing. JA certainly helps to make that happen.”

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