Junior Achievement Thunderbirds Charities

Thunderbirds Charities Grant $50,000 to Junior Achievement Arizona

Thunderbirds Charities has granted $50,000 to Junior Achievement Arizona (JA) to support JA Biz Town during the 2021-22 school year. The additional funds will allow 556 low-income students to visit JA BizTown and take part in hands-on learning designed to prepare them for their futures.

“JA’s real-word education is needed today more than ever, particularly because of the pandemic,” said Katherine Cecala, president of Junior Achievement of Arizona. “A recent study by the Federal Reserve Board found that 40 percent of Americans were unable to cover a $400 emergency expense, let alone survive a job loss or salary reduction. Making it more critical for low-income students to learn skills at home or school to carry them into the future workforce and prepare them to navigate the realities they will face in adulthood.”

JA BizTown will re-open to schools this fall. It begins with teachers leading their students through 14-20 hours of preparatory lessons. During these lessons, students learn about STEM and other high growth careers, paychecks, budgeting, taxes, economics, city government, resume writing, bank loans, teamwork, leadership, and how their skills and interests correlate to careers. After these lessons, students put their new knowledge to the test in a 4.5-hour simulation in a child-sized economy built just for them. There, students are tasked with running businesses for a day, working in teams as CEOs, CFOs, engineers, marketing directors, radio DJs, and many other jobs, to pay back a bank loan and make their businesses profitable.

Junior Achievement Arizona

This grant is part of the Spring 2021 cycle. View a list of all Recent Grantees.