MUNICH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--They met at the Yahoo! Group headquarters in Sunnyvale, California. Ralph Clemens Martin, Director of EMIRAT AG, redeemed his auction prize, a lunch with Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer, on 5 September. As the winner of the recent online charity auction by Charitybuzz, Munich-based Martin had the opportunity to meet one of the world's top managers in person. Auction proceeds benefited the Aspire East Palo Alto Charter School (EPACS) – a public school which prepares students for higher education and beyond. On top of the auction proceeds, Ralph Clemens Martin donated an additional 25,000 USD to EPACS.
On 5 September, the lucky winner of the auction, Ralph Clemens Martin, enjoyed a lunch meeting with Marissa Mayer. The famous top manager and the Director of EMIRAT AG, an international risk management company, met in the canteen of the Yahoo! headquarters in Sunnyvale.
“The meeting with Marissa Mayer was very inspiring. She is a very interesting, pleasant and charismatic person, who gives a lot of her time outside work to charitable causes – the concept of charity is extremely important in the USA”, explains Ralph C. Martin, and continues: “During the meeting we also spoke about the work of EPACS and she gave me a small insight into her private life.”
Marissa Mayer and Ralph Clemens Martin visit EPACS
All the proceeds of this charity auction went to EPACS, a public charter school. EPACS was founded in 1997 and is part of Aspire Public Schools – a national, non-profit charter management organization serving over 12,500 students. It is the highest-performing high-poverty school system in the state of California. EPACS’s main mission is to prepare its students for success in higher education and beyond.
Despite serving 95% low-income students, EPACS and its sister high school, Aspire East Palo Alto Phoenix Academy, boast a 100% college acceptance rate – for its entire history, all graduating seniors have been admitted to higher education.
To learn more about EPACS, Ralph Clemens Martin visited the school, accompanied by his fellow EMIRAT board member Andrea Bargholz. “We were extremely moved by our visit to EPACS. It's unbelievable what this school has achieved and the enthusiasm it shows in supporting its students. EPACS should be praised for its high level of commitment in preparing its students for life after school and in giving them a future”, says Ralph C. Martin. “We were so impressed that we would like to continue to support the school's charitable work. EMIRAT therefore presented Principal Tom Madson with an additional check of 25,000 USD. We are also planning to build on this charitable concept and possibly invite students for a school exchange in Germany.”