EverBank partners with Junior Achievement to teach financial litearcy

Thanks to partners like EverBank, we’re able to bring financial literacy lessons to thousands of students in Duval County Public Schools each year! EverBank created this great video showing our partnership.

The following originally appeared on EverBank’s website:

“For reasons that should be pretty clear to all, we place great importance on the value of sound money management skills and training as well as financial discipline. To help support a stronger financial future for individuals throughout our communities, we proudly assume responsibility for sharing our financial expertise and knowledge in a variety of unique and exciting ways. Junior Achievement shares in our passion for financial literacy. And together, we’re helping to make a difference one person at a time.” -EverBank

JA Boy$ Reverse Job Shadow at Young Men’s Leadership Academy

Groups of boys at Young Men’s Leadership Academy spoke with business men from the community and learned about potential career paths.

Young men spoke with businessmen and gained insights on potential career paths during JA Boy$ Reverse Job Shadow.

Thank you to the following members of our community for participating at Young Men’s Leadership Academy on June 1!

Thanks for helping Junior Achievement empower the future.

– Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville

– Felix Service Center, LLC

– Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office

– Transamerica Financial Advisors, Inc.

View photo album on our Facebook page.

Junior Achievement’s Reverse Job Shadow events provide local businesses with a chance to give back to the community and invest in possible future employees, and students become more work-ready by learning about the career opportunities available to them in the Jacksonville area and beyond.

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2014-15 school year results are in: JA of North Florida’s best year yet!

We reached 52,881 students during the 2014-15 school year with our financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship programs.

In other words, 42% of students in Duval County Public Schools participated in a Junior Achievement program last school year.

We are excited to share some highlights from JA USA’s end-of-year results. These results demonstrate the impact our organization, volunteers and donors are making on the lives of young people in North Florida.

For the first time in its 52-year history, JA of North Florida is in the top 25 of the 115 JA Areas in the United States, and is now the second largest JA Area in the state of Florida, second only to JA of Tampa Bay!

Last school year, the amount of time volunteers spent with students teaching JA increased.

JA of North Florida volunteers spent more hours per student than the national average.

We are proud to announce JA of North Florida is 23rd out of 115 JA Areas in the nation in market share, and #1 of the nine JA Areas in Florida!

These numbers reflect the strength of this community of JA supporters. Give yourself a hand!

Thank you for giving young people the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for their futures, and make smart academic and economic choices.

We look forward to continue sharing the impact and successes of the program and students involved during the 2015-16 school year.

To volunteer with us or to learn more, visit JAjax.com.

New school year, new ways to become involved with JA

Hard to believe it is September!
We were busy all summer long bringing our financial literacy and entrepreneurship programs to summer camps throughout Jacksonville.

We held our first-ever crowdfunding campaign for the summer programs, raising just shy of $2,000. A HUGE thank you to all who donated!

Now that the new school year has started, we are busy recruiting, training volunteers and scheduling with teachers to bring JA programs into their classrooms.

In addition, new partnerships will bring exciting new initiatives to students in Duval County. Stay tuned for more on these experiential learning opportunities.

Many new volunteer opportunities are posted on our website at www.JAjax.com. There are so many ways to get involved with JA this school year!

During school, after school, morning, afternoon, evening, gender-specific, elementary, middle, and high school, personal finance-related, entrepreneurship-related, Reverse Job Shadows and more…Click here to visit our website and find one that’s right for you!

Feel free to contact us if you have any questions about volunteering, our programs or bringing JA to your classroom.

It’s going to be a great year!

– Program Staff of Junior Achievement of North Florida
Tiffany Mackey, VP of Programs (tiffany@jajax.com)
Rita Story, Program Director – Southside & Mandarin (rita@jajax.com)
Teresa Smith, Director of Special Initiatives (teresa@jajax.com)
Sabrina Kinslow, JA Girl$ Program Manager (sabrina@jajax.com)
Jonathan Bishop, JA Boy$ Program Manager (jonathan@jajax.com)
Melissa Daniel, Program Director – Northside & Westside (melissa@jajax.com)

Mentor Duval County high school students as they start companies in JA Company Program!

Junior Achievement summer participants design businesses to “fill a need”

Wayman’s summer camp used JA It’s My Business! as enrichment to their program.

What were you doing when you were thirteen years old? For students at Wayman Community Development Corporation’s summer camp, they were designing their own business and stepping into the mindset of entrepreneurs.

The summer camp participated in JA It’s My Business! During one lesson students identified the first entrepreneurial characteristic: Fill a need.

Each group designed their business blueprint according to their target market’s need, then presented their plans to classmates and answered questions relating to their businesses.

Step one: Fill a need.

JA It’s My Business! teaches the four traits of a successful entrepreneur.

This group of young ladies designed the “Dazzling Diva’s Dance Studio.”

Students answered questions from their peers relating to their blueprints.

To learn more about Junior Achievement of North Florida’s summer programs, please click here.

Stay up to date with all things Junior Achievement

Read April’s edition of our monthly newsletter here.

To get JA news delivered right to your inbox, please click here to become a subscriber.

High school Seniors face real-world budgeting scenarios

JA Finance Park Virtual  is wrapping up in 20 Duval County Public Schools. More than 5,000 high school Seniors are now better prepared to own their economic success!

This was the first school year the curriculum was rolled out county-wide. 41 Economics teachers led the curriculum in their classrooms and more than 50 individual volunteers gave their time and expertise going into the classroom and sharing lessons in budgeting and personal finance.

Students navigate their way through the virtual Park, complete with their own avatar they design themselves.

They must visit each “store” in the Park, and decide how each product or service fits into their budget.

The simulation will not let students move forward if they do not budget correctly within their given means. Students learn quickly that the $50,000 car they thought they wanted, or dining out every night, might not be the most economical choices!

As we prepare for the 2015-2016 school year, we invite you to join us in the classroom. Contact Teresa Smith at 398-9944 ext.227 or email teresa@jajax.com and find out how you can get involved!

Sponsorships are available for storefronts in the virtual Park. Students see sponsoring company logos placed on stores throughout the Park and on budgeting worksheets when they enter each “store.” Contact Steve St. Amand for details at 398-9944 ext.228 or email jajaxsteve@hotmail.com.

Click here to learn more about JA Finance Park Virtual and to see the Park in action!

Volunteers have successful first-time JA teaching experience

From left to right: First-time volunteers Anthony Periozzo, Matthew Sheroff, Justin Tarro and David Kleer, all of Vistakon, taught Junior Achievement lessons at Greenfield Elementary on Friday, January 30.

“Once they got settled in, they all did really well teaching their classes,” said Rita Story, JA Program Director.

We are always in need of volunteers! Click here to see our current opportunities.

5,000 students to benefit from partnership between Duval County Public Schools and Junior Achievement

Superintendent Vitti was the catalyst for a program that began in March and will impact more than 5,000 students in Duval County. Titled D.A.I.L.Y. (District Administrators Investing in the Lives of Youth), he and nearly 240 employees from the District are serving as Junior Achievement (JA) volunteers in elementary and secondary schools.

All District employees, including supervisors, chiefs, directors and coordinators, have been trained by Junior Achievement program staff to teach five JA lessons throughout the 2013 school year.

“Early feedback tells us that Superintendent Vitti’s goals of exposing District staff to the classroom, influencing a greater appreciation of teachers, administrators and District staff for each other, and bringing additional financial literacy programs to students are being accomplished,” said Steve St. Amand, President of Junior Achievement of North Florida.

St. Amand continues, “Because of Dr. Vitti and the District staff, Junior Achievement’s programs will reach 5,000 K-12 students who would not otherwise have received those programs. The District staff people are proving to be exemplary JA volunteers.”

D.A.I.L.Y. will prepare thousands of Duval county students with the skills and knowledge they need for future success and making smart economic choices. All program materials used for this initiative were paid for by the Jim Moran Foundation. This initiative could not have been undertaken without their generous support.

Junior Achievement is the world’s largest organization dedicated to educating students about workforce readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy through experiential, hands-on programs. JA programs educate and inspire youth about the connection between education and success in the workplace, and give them hope for the future.

Stay tuned to http://www.jajax.com for updates on this special initiative.