May 17, 2006 -- For a second year, Asher & Company and seven other businesses in the office building at 1845 Walnut Street hosted an educational open house for fourth-grade students from Henry A. Brown Elementary School. 

Asher & Company, Ltd. adopted H.A. Brown Elementary School in conjunction with Greater Philadelphia Cares in 2002.  “Visit Our Office Day” was developed with the goals of exposing the students to how different businesses operate and the variety of professions available for them to pursue.  Because much of the student body at H.A. Brown Elementary come from less fortunate families, many only have an opportunity to view office buildings from the outside and have no concept of what goes on inside. 

This year, 85 students will be participated in this program. The children were organized into seven teams named after office items: clipboards, bells, briefcases, stamps, file cabinets, paperclips, and copiers. They were escorted by a teacher or administrator and a company representative to two to three companies for 30 to 40 minute mini-tours. 

Participating companies used creativity and hands-on activities to engage the children in the information unique to their businesses and professions. The children had the opportunity to see features unique to each business such as a bank vault and video-conferencing rooms.  

Asher Director Bill Burns states, “We received a lot of positive feedback from team leaders and teachers regarding the first annual ‘Visit Our Office Day.’  This years' program surpassed our expectations. The amount of enthusiasm the participating businesses provided definitely showed through in the positive reactions of the students.”

The participating businesses included: Asher & Company, Ltd., CSS Industries, Inc., Drucker & Scaccetti, PC, Frankel Enterprises, Inc., Hudson United Bank (soon to become TD Banknorth), Jewish Employment Vocational Services, Resource America , and Savitz Organization.  Representatives from Greater Philadelphia Cares provided valuable assistance during the day as well.

Each child received a goody bag filled with items generously donated by each participating company. The Philadelphia Phillies donated posters for each child and Wawa donated refreshments.    

		The students arrive for the second annual "Visit Our Office Day" for H.A. Brown Elementary School.
		Asher's Louis Moravec distributes the team signs.
		The "Briefcases" take a tour of Asher.
		Asher's Justine McGinley and Frank Baratta discuss the world of accounting with children.
		Drucker and Scaccetti's Jenny Zhang poses for a picture with a member of the "Clipboards" team.
		A student tests out an office cubicle at Drucker and Scacetti.
		Students get to try out a copiers.