Wells Fargo partners with Junior Achievement to bring “JA-in-a-Day” to local students

PRLog (Press Release) - Dec. 10, 2012 - Junior Achievement of Southwest Florida recently partnered with Wells Fargo to host two “JA-in-a-Day” events, one at Cypress Palm Middle School in Collier County and one at Fort Myers Middle Academy in Lee County.  

Wells Fargo provided the sponsorship for these programs, as well as 36 bankers from their local branches, to teach and inspire more than 470 eighth grade students through the “JA-in-a-Day” events. The “JA-in-a-Day” accelerated teaching format, allows community and business volunteers to teach an entire Junior Achievement program, comprised of six lessons, in the course of one school day.

Through the “JA-in-a-Day,” students participated in relevant, hands-on activities to learn about personal financial literacy, including how to balance a budget, the advantages and disadvantages of paying cash versus credit, how their decisions can negatively or positively affect their credit score, and the importance of having insurance, in order to minimize their financial risk. Additionally, work-readiness skills were emphasized as students analyzed their abilities, interests and values, and tied their self-knowledge to potential education and career pathways. Supplementing the curriculum provided by Junior Achievement, each volunteer shared their personal life stories and examples to enrich the lessons and bring the topics to “life.”

Students gained a glimpse into the business world, and even learned the importance of a firm handshake.

“My students loved spending time with real world professionals. The speakers were energetic and grabbed the students’ attention with relevant information that they are excited to use,” said Susan Manuel, Cypress Palm Middle School teacher, who welcomed the program into her classroom for the day.

“Education is one of our primary focus areas at Wells Fargo so we were very proud to support the ‘JA-in-a-Day’ events,” said Dale Hall, Wells Fargo District Manager. “Our team member volunteers were delighted to see the student’s enthusiasm and engagement around each of the topics in the program.”

“We are thrilled that Junior Achievement of Southwest Florida receives volunteer support from Wells Fargo, who has been a longtime champion of Junior Achievement,” said Brittany Pickard, JA Program Manager.  “The Wells Fargo volunteers used their financial expertise and real-life knowledge to influence these students at this most critical age, as they are just starting to learn the value of personal financial literacy and the importance of making smart decisions for their future.”

To find out more about JA volunteer opportunities, visit Junior Achievement of Southwest Florida’s website at www.jaswfl.org.

About Junior Achievement:

Junior Achievement is the world's largest organization dedicated to inspiring and preparing young people to succeed in a global economy. Through a dedicated volunteer network, Junior Achievement of Southwest Florida provides in-school and after-school programs for students in Collier, Lee and Charlotte counties that focus on three key content areas: work readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy. Today, 122 individual area operations reach more than 4 million students in the U.S., with an additional 5 million students served by operations in 120 other countries worldwide. For more information about Junior Achievement of Southwest Florida, contact Anne Frazier at 239-225-2590 or info@jaswfl.org. The website is www.JASWFL.org.

About Wells Fargo:

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a nationwide, diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.4 trillion in assets. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through more than 9,000 stores, 12,000 ATMs, the Internet (wellsfargo.com), and has offices in more than 35 countries to support the bank’s customers who conduct business in the global economy. With more than 265,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States.  Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 26 on Fortune’s 2012 rankings of America’s largest corporations. Wells Fargo’s vision is to satisfy all our customers’ financial needs and help them succeed financially.