Unitus Helps Boost Students’ Financial Skills with Junior Achievement Partnership

Unitus pledges funds, volunteers to help 6,000 middle and high school students learn and apply the financial skills they need to succeed in the modern economy

In another effort to increase youth financial literacy, Unitus is sponsoring Junior Achievement of Oregon and Southwest Washington JA Finance Park^®.

What’s the JA Finance Park?

As a Business Sponsor, Unitus will help fund and volunteer for Junior Achievement’s flagship financial literacy program, JA Finance Park. The program will help thousands of 7-12^th grade students across 21 school districts learn the basics of financial literacy, including budgeting, investing, and managing risk.

What will students do?

The experience begins in the classroom, with a 12-lesson curriculum taught by their teacher covering a range of financial topics such as saving and investing, taxes and salary, personal budgeting and career goals. After the instruction, students will enter the JA Finance Park. This high-tech mobile exhibit offers a realistic simulation experience that calls on students to use their knowledge to create a balanced household budget in a real-world setting. Here, students will leave behind their lives as middle and high school students to “become adults” for the day, taking on fictional career and life scenarios, and managing expenses for housing, childcare, healthcare, groceries, and more.

How will the experience help students?

“We could not be more excited to partner with Junior Achievement to further our mission to educate our youth on the fundamentals of budgeting, saving, and managing money,” said Laurie Kresl, Chief Marketing Officer of Unitus. “Mastering these skills early enables them to take control of their finances and make positive financial choices throughout their lives.”

Being there for our youth

In addition to their sponsorship, Unitus employees are excited to work alongside the students, sharing their own financial knowledge and leading discussions about the students’ vision for their financial futures. Unitus Community Development Officer Aimee Berg is currently recruiting Unitus financial professionals to volunteer as coaches during the Finance Park’s traveling tour. The tour began November 5, 2018 in Klamath Falls and will end May 16, 2019 in Portland, stopping at various areas in between.

Want to learn more about Junior Achievers?

Junior Achievement of Oregon and SW Washington (JA) inspires and prepares young people to succeed in a global economy through volunteer-delivered, experiential programs for K-12 students that promote work readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy. Established locally in 1950, JA is an affiliate of Junior Achievement USA, which has worked for over a century to empower young people to own their economic success. Visit www.jaorswwa.org for more information.

Posted By: Jacob Schnee

About the Author: Jacob joined Unitus as Marketing Specialist in March 2015 and transitioned to Marketing Communications Specialist in March 2017. His experience has spanned hospitality, business development, consulting, and marketing in various industries along the east coast, west coast and in between.

When he is not developing internal and external communications for Unitus, he is engaging in recreational fitness, studying personality types and exploring the outdoors with his wife, dog, and baby.