HOUSTON, May 13, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Recently, students from the Stadium Emergency Shelter had the opportunity to experience the program Junior Achievement Finance Park. Stadium Emergency Shelter provides protection and stability for males ages 10-17 who have been removed from their families and homes.
"Our boys have never had a lot of family structure and these lessons gave them confidence to believe they can be successful with a little planning," Lee Preston, Stadium Emergency Shelter Director said.
JA Finance Park takes students through a one-day personal finance and career exploration hands-on experience. Students assume randomly assigned family and income scenarios and visit businesses to gather information for their personal financial decision-making, experiencing first-hand some of the difficulties adults face on a daily basis. Students also learn about career paths at local companies, and the salaries and education required for such positions.
Participating students use bank services, contribute to charities, purchase housing, transportation, furnishings, food, health care, and more, make investment decisions, and work to balance their personal budgets. Community volunteers are actively involved in the JA Finance Park program by offering students experience from their own lives as they go through the budgeting process.
"This is a hands-on, practical exercise every child could utilize from an early age right up through becoming a young adult," Joseph Sisti, a JA Finance Park volunteer said. "I enjoyed bringing real life experience to the conversation. I think it helped the boys put budget items they were questioning into perspective."
JA Finance Park depends upon gifts and sponsorships from the Houston area community and its businesses. "We are excited to continue our partnership with organizations such as State Farm through these programs that are essential to our youth," Rick Franke, President of Junior Achievement of Southeast Texas said. "We appreciate their commitment to the community."
About Junior Achievement of Southeast Texas
Junior Achievement of Southeast Texas is the greater Houston area's largest organization dedicated to inspiring and preparing young people to succeed in a global economy. Through a dedicated volunteer network of 12,000 adult role models, JA of Southeast Texas provides in-school and after-school programs for students in grades K-12 which focus on entrepreneurship, work readiness and financial literacy. Today, JA of Southeast Texas reaches 273,000 students in more than 900 schools. For more information, visit www.jahouston.org.