Girls learn tools for success at Junior Achievement’s Day of The Girl

The inaugural Day of The Girl event hosted by Junior Achievement of North Florida’s JA Girl$ program and Police Athletic League of Jacksonville, Inc. was held July 21 at JaxPAL’s location on Monument Road in Jacksonville.

A day ALL about girls, Day of The Girl aimed to provide a holistic, girl-centered approach to the Junior Achievement concepts of financial literacy, entrepreneurship and career readiness.

The day was emceed by Angela Spears, Angela Spears Communication, and six workshops led by local business women and leaders covered everything from saving money to leadership to social media savviness.

“I learned why it’s important to save money now,” said one 8^th grader from The Bridge of Northeast Florida TEAM-Up. “I want to be able to live a good life and I can’t if I waste all my money.”

A seventeen-year old girl from Daniel Memorial Independent Living Program said the program has made a positive impact on her life. “I needed this,” she said. “I’ve made a lot of mistakes already; I’m trying to do better. This was fun…I learned a lot that can help me now and later.”

Junior Achievement’s ‘Reverse Job Shadow’ was incorporated into the day. Presenters spoke to rotating groups of girls about educational requirements, salary range and skills needed to work in their career field.

“You saw the light bulbs go off,” said one volunteer from Voya Financial. “The girls were so excited to know they have a choice in how their life will turn out.”

The ‘Economics of Healthy Eating,’ sponsored by The Jim Moran Foundation, taught girls how to save money on food but eat healthy at the same time.

In total, 220 girls from the following groups participated in Day of The Girl:

• JaxPAL
• Girl Scouts of the Gateway Council
• Girls on the Run – Northeast Florida
• Daniel Memorial – Independent Living Program
• Daniel Memorial – Residential Program
• Daniel Memorial – Journey To Success Program
• Virtue Art & Science Academy
• The Bridge of Northeast Florida – Team-Up
• Individual registrants

“I can’t wait for next year,” said one parent. “The girls were so excited to have a day just for them; all about girls.”

The inaugural Day of The Girl’s success is due in part to incredible women who volunteered from the following companies:

• Bank of America
• Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office
• Macquarie Group
• Primerica
• Voya Financial
• Women Entrepreneurs

Special thanks to Chase Bank, Natural Life, and Panera Bread for providing in-kind donations to Day of The Girl, and to Celebration Church for stuffing the Day of The Girl goodie bags.

“There’s something magical that happens when you provide girls with a space to just be themselves,” said Sabrina Kinslow, JA Girl$ Program Manager. “To ask questions. To be confident in their answers. To be inspired to dream big. ‘Day of The Girl’ was created to provide that space.”

She continues, “Day of The girl provided the tools and role models to encourage the continuation of developing healthy, successful girls. JA Girl$ and JaxPAL know healthy, successful girls become healthy, successful women.”

View more photos on Junior Achievement’s Facebook page.

JA Girl$ is a Junior Achievement of North Florida initiative to educate girls and young women in financial literacy, career readiness and entrepreneurship. Learn more about JA Girl$ and how you can become involved.

$mart Women Make Change!, the signature luncheon event to benefit JA Girl$, will take place October 20 at the Florida Blue Conference Center. The event will feature keynote speaker Sonia Manzano, “Maria” on Sesame Street and Author. All proceeds from this event fund the JA Girl$ program and make Day of The Girl possible. Click here to learn more about $mart Women Make Change!.

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Kind and selfless act by high school students in JA Company Program

Teens in the JA Company Program® at Sandalwood High School donated their total profit of $250 to Clara White Mission.

Sandalwood High School JA Company, “The Plug,” with a check made out to Clara White Mission in the amount of $250.

Above photo shows the check in the hands of JA Company, “The Plug,” and below is Tiffany Mackey of Junior Achievement and Sandalwood’s Mrs. Jones presenting the check to Clara White Mission CEO/President, Ju’Coby Pittman.

Clara White Mission CEO/President, Ju’Coby Pittman (center) receives a $250 check for the organization from Sandalwood High School JA Company.

JA Company Program® is a blended learning approach that offers groups of students the opportunity to understand the steps involved in launching their own businesses while learning the basics of entrepreneurship, financial litearacy and business success. Learn more about JA Company Program in Jacksonville.

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JA Company selling ‘sweet’ product at Terry Parker High School

CTRL Chocolatiers, student-run JA Company at Terry Parker High, are making and selling chocolate-covered pretzels. They are all Senior culinary students who have a passion for creating and cooking for people. The JA Company Program provides a way for them to turn this creative passion into a profitable business.

To learn more about JA Company Program, click here.

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.

Junior Achievement’s Company Program teaches lessons in entrepreneurship

Englewood High School students of JA company, “School Swag,” from left to right: Almir Keserovic, Tyree Silver, Anthony Montgomery and Reid Ellis. The company sold t-shirts for Spring Break 2015.

The JA Company Program lets high school students become entrepreneurs and puts them face-to-face with all the challenges associated with it, including budgeting, teamwork, inventory and marketing.

Seniors at Englewood High School have been facing those challenges all school year running their t-shirt company, “School Swag.”

The students took on leadership roles in finance, marketing, supply and demand and operations. They also learned the importance of communicating effectively as a salesperson.

Once they decided to sell t-shirts and tank tops for Spring Break, their first challenge was getting an inventory of shirts. Luckily, a connection with Mandarin Rotary member, Ladson Montgomery, came through with a shirt donation and the students were ready to begin sketching their designs.

   

The participating students are part of Englewood’s “Promotional Enterprises” program which provides courses in business education with a focus on marketing and manufacturing. Given the nature of that program, tools including a printing press and computers equipped with design software were already at their fingertips – a perfect resource for their t-shirt business.

“Out of many ideas, we narrowed it down to t shirts and tank tops for Spring Break,” said Reid Ellis, 18. “We came up with two prints: one said ‘Spring Break 2015’ and the other, ‘I Can’t Keep Calm It’s Spring Break.’”

       

With a production cost of $3 to print, the students sold their shirts to fellow students and faculty for $10 during lunch.

They marketed their product with posters around campus and a commercial on the school news. Word-of-mouth spread further awareness.

“This program has helped prepare us and put us in the mindset of what it’s like in business in the real world,” said Reid. “It’s definitely a good program to be a part of because it gives us leadership opportunities.”

“Being in high school, most of us aren’t aware of everything it takes to run a business. This gives us a snapshot. It can help us later on in our jobs because we know what skills are required. During a job interview, mentioning that we participated in Junior Achievement can make us valuable candidates.”

The JA Company Program is also underway at Wolfson High School and new classes will start in the fall.

Get involved with JA Company Program!

If you are a small business owner, have a knack for entrepreneurship, or are interested in getting involved with JA Company Program during the 2015-2016 school year, we’d love to have you as a volunteer!

Please contact Tiffany Mackey, Junior Achievement VP of Programs, at 904-398-9944 ext.230 or email tiffany@jajax.com.

To learn more about JA Company Program, please visit our website.

High school girls learn importance of personal branding during entrepreneur conference

On March 6, twenty-four local businesswomen mentored a group of 60 high school girls for the 10th annual It’s HER Business entrepreneur conference held at the University of North Florida.

Junior Achievement brought JA It’s My Future and adapted one of its lessons as “It’s MY Brand” to fit the conference theme.

Through self-reflection and creation of a personal logo, the girls explored the importance of building a positive personal brand for the future.

     

The girls were reminded that their social media pages have an influence on their brand and reputation.

During the activity the girls thought about what their brand would look like if they had to draw it on paper. Once they sketched out their brands they presented to the group.

       

It’s HER Business is a one-day conference that pairs women mentors with girls ages 15-18 enrolled in high school. It is designed to encourage financial literacy and help girls learn about starting businesses and managing personal finances through interactive games and hands-on activities.

The Junior Achievement lesson taught at this event is part of JA of North Florida’s JA Girl$ initiative, which empowers young women to take charge of their financial futures and live to their fullest potential.

For more photos, visit the It’s HER Business Facebook page.

For information about JA Girl$ and ways to get involved, please visit jajax.com.

JA Girl$ encourages young women at entrepreneurship conference

Positive energy filled the room as the 8th Annual Teen Entrepreneurship Conference “It’s HER Business” got underway at the UNF University Center on March 15. Junior Achievement’s JA Girl$, along with community partners including The Small Business Development Center at UNF and Duval County Public Schools held this one-day conference to encourage financial literacy and entrepreneurship among high school girls ages 15-18.