All posts tagged: JA Inspire

Junior Achievement Benefits From $70,000 State Farm Grant

Funding Supports Financial Literacy and Career Readiness Programs for At-Risk Youth

For Immediate Release

City of Coconut Creek, Florida (June 23, 2022) – The Junior Achievement Florida Foundation has announced today that it has received a $70,000 grant from State Farm. The state-wide initiative will support Junior Achievement learning experiences in eight localities throughout Florida, enabling thousands of young people to participate in the organization’s nationally recognized financial literacy and career readiness learning experiences.

“State Farm believes that financial literacy education is critical to building stronger and more resilient communities” said Jose Soto, State Farm Corporate Responsibility Analyst. “Part of our education funding is directed toward initiatives and programs that support K-12 financial literacy and pathways for college and career success. We are proud to support Junior Achievement financial literacy and career readiness programs across Florida.”

Each of the eight Florida-based Junior Achievement areas will use the support to advance learning experiences most needed in their region.

Junior Achievement of South Florida (JA), along with JA Space Coast and JA North Florida will use the support to:

Provide JA Personal Finance introducing high school students to the interrelationship between today’s financial decisions and future financial freedom.

“Thanks to partners like State Farm, JA can provide students with opportunities to grow their confidence and resiliency, explore career possibilities, learn and practice financial literacy and entrepreneurship skills they will need to succeed in the workplace and life,” said Laurie Sallarulo, Junior Achievement of South Florida President & CEO.

JA Tampa Bay, which includes Hillsborough, Polk, Highlands and Sarasota Counties will use the support for:

JA BizTown, a capstone learning experience that introduces 5th graders to economic concepts, workplace skills, and personal and business finances. They act as employees and consumers, from paying bills to handling customer service, they experience what it is like to earn and work in a community.
JA Finance Park, another capstone learning experience that is a real-life simulation, where students enter the game of life and apply financial concepts to balance their personal budget and learn to make choices that support their future goals.
3DE schools by Junior Achievement, the newest JA learning experience, teaches students in high school relevant business skills and core competencies through business case methodology.

JA Miami will use the support to:

Provide local elementary students with an interactive JA Day where they will explore the concepts of financial literacy and workforce readiness.

JA Palm Beaches will use the support to:

Provide JA Personal Finance at area high schools where students are introduced to the interrelationship between today’s financial decisions and future financial freedom and JA Inspire Career Expo where students explore their skills and interests.

JA Central Florida will use the support to provide:

JA Finance Park Virtual Advanced to 12^th graders in Orange and Osceola districts where students will build a foundation for making intelligent and informed lifelong personal finance decisions.

JA Southwest Florida will use the support to:

Provide JA Personal Finance, JA Economics for Success and JA Career Success

The JA Florida Foundation areas have worked with local State Farm representatives to build out an interactive Career Exploration booth for the JA Inspire Career Expo. This virtual platform provides students with the opportunity to explore over 100 business and education booths and listen to dynamic speakers. Live virtual interaction days are scheduled where students can ask volunteers industry related questions. Across the state over 25,000 students will participate.

All areas will offer volunteer opportunities for State Farm associates to participate either in person or virtually, the length and scope varies for each experience.

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About Junior Achievement of South Florida

Junior Achievement of South Florida empowers our youth with the knowledge, ability and confidence to navigate their futures, drive our economy, and lead our community. JA provides real-world training in financial literacy including budgeting, spending, investing and the use of credit; offers cutting-edge skill-building opportunities that enable young people to explore meaningful, productive careers; teaches students how to start businesses; and introduces entrepreneurial values that strengthen workplaces. Last year, with the help of over 5,000 trained corporate and community volunteers, JA delivered 20+ programs to over 73,000 students in classrooms throughout Broward and south Palm Beach counties and at JA World Huizenga Center at the Lillian S. Wells Pavilion, a first-class facility housing JA BizTown and JA Finance Park. For more information about Junior Achievement of South Florida, visit JASouthFlorida.org. Follow JA on social media @jasouthflorida.

About Junior Achievement Florida Foundation

Chartered in 2010, the JA Florida Foundation represents the nine Florida JA chapters joining forces to link to schools across the state of Florida. This collaboration has allowed us each to grow our impact on our area’s marginalized youth through statewide funding and support. Junior Achievement delivers K-12 programming for entrepreneurship, financial literacy and career readiness. For more information on the organization, visit www.juniorachievement.org/web/ja-floridafoundation.

About State Farm®

For 100 years, the mission of State Farm has been and continues to be to help people manage the risks of everyday life, recover from the unexpected, and realize their dreams. State Farm and its affiliates are the largest providers of auto and home insurance in the United States. Its more than 19,400 agents and approximately 61,764 employees serve over 91 million policies and accounts – which includes auto, fire, life, health, commercial policies and financial services accounts. Commercial auto insurance, along with coverage for renters, business owners, boats and motorcycles, is available. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No. 42 on the 2022 Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information, please visit http://www.statefarm.com. 

For More Information, Contact:

Christopher Miller, Senior Marketing and Media Production Manager
Junior Achievement of South Florida
(954) 979-7110

Latest News

Virtual Career Exploration Program Reaches More Than 8,000 South Florida Students

For Immediate Release

For More Information Contact:

Christopher Miller, Marketing Manager
Junior Achievement of South Florida
(954) 979-7110
[email protected]

VIRTUAL CAREER EXPLORATION PROGRAM REACHES
MORE THAN 8,000 SOUTH FLORIDA STUDENTS

Junior Achievement of South Florida is hosting JA Inspire Virtual, an online and interactive career exploration program on February 2-3, 2021. JA Inspire is a virtual career exploration fair targeting up to 8,000 8th, 11th and 12th grade students introducing them to high growth/high demand career pathways. These pathways include automotive, aviation, construction, finance, government, health, hospitality, marine and technology.

“Building a talent pipeline across industries is a common problem faced by our community. This is an opportunity for all of us to work together to inspire and excite our young people about jobs available right here in South Florida,” said Laurie Sallarulo, President & CEO. “JA Inspire gives students the ability to connect with employers who will answer the students’ questions about their industries, career paths, job responsibilities and business culture.”

The program will feature more than 50 exhibitors that have the flexibility to make their booths creative with videos, pamphlets, flyers, photos and career stories using the VFairs platform. Students will be given the choice to add information to their “backpack” so they can re-visit the booths for up to 90 days after the live event.

When students sign into the virtual platform, they will enter a virtual lobby along with other student avatars. They can then maneuver to an information center, an auditorium with live webinars, and visit virtual halls. Students will find specific industries using the directory provided to them, or can explore the virtual halls and stop at exhibitor booths. Throughout the day, there will be games to keep the students interested and engaged.

“Why JA Inspire? Students will begin their explorations with mostly abstract notions and will end up focused and activated, with real insights on what industries interest them, what specific jobs are like, and what education is required to do them successfully,” Sallarulo said.

For exhibitors and partners, this is an opportunity to inspire today’s students by sharing great things about your industry/business, financially contribute to JA programs through a sponsorship, and market your company to students, educators, parents and other businesses. Thank you to our current sponsor, The City of Pompano Beach and our exhibitors, Crewfacilities.com, Coconut Creek Fire Rescue, Publix and Tri Rail.

To get involved with JA Inspire, or to learn more visit https://jasouthflorida.org/JAInspire call Claire Aguilera at (954) 979-7104.

About Junior Achievement of South Florida

Junior Achievement of South Florida (JA) inspires and prepares youth to succeed in a global economy. JA provides real-world training in financial literacy including budgeting, spending, investing and the use of credit; offers cutting-edge skill-building opportunities that enable young people to explore meaningful, productive careers; teaches students how to start businesses; and introduces entrepreneurial values that strengthen workplaces. Last year, with the help of over 7,100 trained corporate and community volunteers, JA delivered over 20 various programs to almost 50,000 students in classrooms throughout Broward and south Palm Beach counties and at JA World Huizenga Center at the Lillian S. Wells Pavilion, a first-class facility housing JA BizTown and JA Finance Park. For more information about Junior Achievement of South Florida, visit www.JASouthFlorida.org. Follow JA on social media @jasouthflorida.

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Latest News

2,000 Students Attend Interactive Career Exploration Program

More Than 2,000 Students Will Attend JA Inspire – An Interactive Career Exploration Program

City of Coconut Creek, Florida – On Friday, February 8, starting at 8:15 a.m., Junior Achievement of South Florida is hosting JA Inspire, an interactive career exploration program, in partnership with educators and industry leaders. The event will be held at JA World Huizenga Center at the Lillian S. Wells Foundation Pavilion and will begin with a community breakfast with community and business leaders.

At the community breakfast, there will be a press conference to highlight the JA Fellows Company entrepreneurship program. The community will hear from the JA DHSP Enterprises team representing Dillard High School, about their unique product, “DHSP Safe Block,” that was inspired by the recent tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas. Hear about how their product, which covers door windows to deter a shooter, may be a potential solution to keeping students safe in the classroom during a safety threat.

“It is very time consuming for teachers in an emergency situation to find tape and paper to cover their windows,” said DHSP team representative. “Our product can help teachers prepare quickly in an emergency.”

More than 2,000 students will be participating in the JA Inspire program. During the simulation at JA World, students will be introduced to high growth/high paying careers in industries including construction, health, marine, aviation, finance, automotive, technology, hospitality and government.

“JA Inspire is designed to have a deep impact on the students as they begin to explore their future career choices. Before the day of the simulation, students participate in 3 hours of career readiness curriculum. This combination or classroom curriculum and interactive simulation is what makes JA programs unique,” said Laurie Sallarulo, President/CEO.

More than 40 exhibitor partners will participate and have the opportunity to connect and inspire students through an interactive experience. Business representatives will also share information about their industry, career paths, job responsibilities and business culture.

JA Inspire is sponsored by BBVA Compass, Body Tek Enterprises, City of Pompano Beach, TD Bank and United Way of Broward County. The current confirmed exhibitors include Allegiance Crane and Equipment, Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc., AT&T, Atlantic Technical College, Broward College, Broward Health, City of Coconut Creek SWAT, City Furniture, City of Margate Fire Rescue, City of Pompano Beach, Cliff Berry, Inc., Construction Association of South Florida, Construction Executives Association, Exotech, EY, Florida Atlantic University, Humane Society of Broward County, Jazwares, JM Family Enterprises, Kaufman Rossin, Marine Industries Association, Microsoft, Moss Construction, Nova Southeastern University, Publix, SalesForce, Stiles Corporation, Stryker, Suffolk, Suntrust, TD Bank, Wells Fargo, Wild Lime Adventures, WPLG, U.S. Army, U.S. Navy and U.S. Marines Corps.

For more information about JA Inspire, visit www.jasouthflorida.org/programs/ja-inspire/.

About JA Fellows Company Entrepreneurship Program:

JA Fellows is an in-depth, highly intensive leadership and entrepreneurship program for high school students.

Students gain real-world business experience by working in groups of 20-25, conceptualizing, capitalizing, and managing their own small businesses. Throughout this real-life entrepreneurship experience, students develop an entrepreneurial mindset which includes skills such as communication, financial management, problem-solving, collaboration and time management skills.

Mentors, in teams of four, coach students through the process of starting and running a small business. “Spark Tank” competitions (Shark Tank-like events) are judged by local business leaders. At year-end, companies participate in a local competition for awards, and a chance to compete in a national competition in Washington, D.C. in June. For more information about the program, visit www.jasouthflorida.org/ja-fellows.

About Junior Achievement of South Florida

Junior Achievement of South Florida (JA) inspires and prepares youth to succeed in a global economy. JA provides real-world training in financial literacy including budgeting, spending, investing and the use of credit; offers cutting-edge skill-building opportunities that enable young people to explore meaningful, productive careers; teaches students how to start businesses; and introduces entrepreneurial values that strengthen workplaces. Last year, with the help of over 7,000 trained corporate and community volunteers, JA delivered over 20 various programs to almost 50,000 students in classrooms throughout Broward and south Palm Beach Counties and at JA World Huizenga Center at the Lillian S. Wells Pavilion on the Broward College North Campus, a first-class facility housing JA BizTown and JA Finance Park. Over the past 60 years, Junior Achievement of South Florida has served over 1,000,000 students. For more information about Junior Achievement of South Florida, visit www.JASouthFlorida.org.