Volunteering at JA World
At JA World Huizenga Center, two “mini-city” experiential programs, JA BizTown and JA Finance Park, significantly transform how every 5th and 8th grade student in Broward County Public Schools is taught to view the world of work, free enterprise, and his or her possibilities for success. It is a mandate for every 5th and 8th grader in Broward County Public Schools to go through Junior Achievement. Students buzz with the excitement and challenges that adults face every day in the real world. They put their classroom instruction to work as they practice decision-making and learn about leadership and teamwork.
Volunteers are needed to help guide, assist, and facilitate students in a specific storefront during their on-site simulation in JA BizTown or JA Finance Park. The time commitment is approximately 5 hours and vary per school schedule, but generally start between 8:00am and 9:00am. The first 45-minutes of the day will include all the training you need to help the students successfully navigate the “real” world.
JA BizTown
JA BizTown is an indoor center that contains a mini city with 18 public and private businesses. Each business is sponsored by a real local business and displays the authentic logo and the actual marketplace appearance of the sponsor bringing the town to life for the students. Before visiting JA BizTown, 5th grade students learn through a pre-visit curriculum program basic economic principles, such as how to manage their personal bank account. They participate in job interviews, learn about their new workplace and the job they will perform. Jobs range from retail sales professionals, accountants, business managers, medical professionals to TV and magazine reporters. On their experiential day, these young consumers rush to the bank to deposit their paychecks, sales clerks create merchandise displays and reporters interview local business leaders to get the most up-to-date story. Across the way, Chick-fil-A prepares for the lunch hour and the mayor meets with business managers to get an understanding of current economic trends.
JA Finance Park
At JA Finance Park, students study the concept of personal financial managements in the classroom and then apply them in a life-like business environment. JA Finance Park is an actual center, structured in a business park setting with 16 local businesses represented. 8th grade students visit each business, and utilize the information they receive to create their own personal budget. When students arrive, they receive a tablet that will give them a real life case scenario for the day, for example being a single father, with 2 children, making $57,000 a year, with a Bachelor’s Degree. With this information, they start learning how much they will be paying in taxes, and start understanding the cost of a house and a car, and budgeting to see what they are able to afford.