News Release
For Immediate Release:
November 12, 2010
Wal-Mart Foundation Awards Grant to Junior Achievement Michigan
Mich. – In an effort to introduce more work-readiness and entrepreneurship educational experiences to local middle and high school students, Junior Achievement of Michigan (JA) announced today that the Wal-Mart Foundation awarded the eight local JA chapters collectively a $100,000 grant to support programming.
In order to address the need for teaching valuable life skills to youth, JA is working with schools to ensure that students have the opportunity to explore and learn more about entrepreneurial ventures and being prepared for the workforce. Through five separate educational programs, JA will reach out to students in grades 6-12 to expose them to these important concepts and help them become tomorrow’s successful business leaders, employees, and consumers.
The grant will provide students throughout Michigan with JA programming to help them to use their creativity and critical-thinking abilities to explore various aspects of entrepreneurship and teach them skills to succeed in the workplace. JA’s programs will focus on learning about career options, what it takes to succeed in those careers, how to run their own company, and the basic characteristics of the
In addition to in-school programming, the grant also supports the promotion of the JA Student Center to teens across
The Wal-Mart Foundation recognizes the importance of JA’s efforts here in Michigan and around the world and we are grateful to have the opportunity to deliver these programs to deserving students. The statewide grant will go to support local programming. JA programs are taught by volunteers from the community and are projected to impact more than 3,400 high school & Middle School students statewide.
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----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Michigan Board of Education Endorses JA Programs Teaching Financial Literacy K-12
We are all pleased to share with you that Junior Achievement’s K-12th grade programs have been selected by the Michigan Department of Education as part of the National ‘Leave No Child Behind’ legislation, regarding which the State of Michigan passed House Bill 5327, requiring the Michigan Department of Education to develop and make available to schools one or more model programs for youth financial education.
Junior Achievement programs align with both the Michigan Department of Education’s benchmarks and standards and with one or more of the State Board of Education’s initiatives. JA programs, (specifically, the early elementary programs for K-2, the higher elementary programs for grades 3-5, JA Exchange City, JA Personal Economics and JA Economics of Staying in School for grades 6-8, and JA's Personal Finance for grades 9-12), meet the requirement “to incorporate financial education throughout the curriculum for grades K to 12 and be based on the concept of achieving financial literacy though the teaching of personal financial management skills and the basic principles involved with earning, spending, saving, borrowing and investing”, per section 1165 of PA 111.
Members of the selection work group included:
Charles Allan
Michigan Department of Education
Laura Baskins
Michigan Council for the Social Studies
Michigan Department of Education
Susan Cocciarelli
Community and Economic Development
Michigan State University
David A. Dieterle
Michigan Council on Economic Education
Rose Evers
Royal Oakland Community Credit Union
Lynn A. Feldhouse
Junior Achievement of Southeastern Michigan, Inc.
Patrick J. Murray
Junior Achievement of Southeastern Michigan, Inc.
Gwen M. Reichbach
National Institute for Consumer Education
Mary Jane Riley
Michigan Council for the Social Studies
Family and Consumer Sciences
Congratulations to all the Michigan Junior Achievement Area offices for securing this endorsement and support from the Michigan Department of Education. This is just more “proof” that JA’s high quality resources increase the financial literacy of students.
Pete Cursio
Regional Vice President-North Central Region
Junior Achievement®