Jackson

JA Visionary: Jackson

In 2018, Junior Achievement launched a re-developed JA Our City®, made possible with the support of the Jackson Charitable Foundation. The upgraded program incorporates the Foundation's signature program, Cha-ChingTM Money Smart Kids, which is a series of three-minute music videos about making real-world money decisions. JA and the Foundation's partnership integrated Cha-ChingTM videos and lessons into the JA Our City entrepreneurship, financial literacy, and work-readiness program, which is taught in classrooms to approximately 450,000 third-grade students across the country annually. To inspire financial learning beyond the classroom, the program includes take-home activities for kids and their parents.

To help promote the partnership with JA, Jackson supported the creation of a financial literacy survey. The survey included 500 children seven to 10 years of age and their parents. The findings revealed 33 percent of the young respondents haven't been taught how to earn money, 41 percent haven't been taught how to spend money, and 47 percent have not learned how to give money to help people. When asked why they think people put money in a bank, only 53 percent selected the answer of saving it so they won't spend it. Only 25 percent know you can earn interest on savings.

In the 2016-2017 school year, Jackson received the Bronze level PVSA award which recognized over 100 Jackson volunteers who reached more than 1,600 students. Today, Jackson is active internationally, providing over 8,600 volunteer hours!

JA Visionary: Ernst & Young

EY, LLP

In 2017, EY kicked off a three year commitment to support JA Launch Lesson® during National Entrepreneurship Month, which is November. This initiative is a way for Junior Achievement to honor and celebrate entrepreneurs across the country. By bringing them into classrooms to share their business stories, JA Launch Lesson helps inspire students to consider pursuing their entrepreneurial dreams.

In addition to supporting JA Launch Lesson, EY provided funding to support the 2017 and 2018 Teens & Careers survey, conducted in May each year. Through their support of this survey, JA USA discovered the interest in STEM careers is declining among young males, while young females' interest remains unchanged.

To further support JA USA, EY has committed to be the sponsor of the EY Innovation Award for the JA National Student Leadership Summit (NSLS) through 2020. This award is presented to the student company that best shows how their product, service, strategy, or process provides an innovative solution to an existing problem.

EY has received the Gold President's Volunteer Service Award in recent years for their volunteer efforts. During the 2017-18 school year in the U.S., more than 3,800 EY associates volunteered in about 1,700 JA classes-impacting approximately 40,000 students.

AIG

JA Visionary: AIG

Since 2014, AIG has partnered with Junior Achievement to promote financial literacy education and foster entrepreneurship as part of its global corporate citizenship efforts. During the 2017-2018 fiscal year, AIG generously provided funding and support for the implementation of JA programming in two dozen areas around the globe. A majority of those areas also benefited from the leadership of AIG employee board members, mentors and local office support for fundraising events and student activities. In addition, AIG sponsored the April 2018 JA Teens and Personal Finance survey and the September 2018 JA Teens and Retirement survey.

These signature surveys positioned Junior Achievement and AIG as thought leaders in educating young people to take ownership of their financial futures. "We are on a mission to ensure that every American achieves a secure, fulfilling retirement, and that includes kids," said Rob Scheinerman, President of AIG Group Retirement. "Whether for teens or adults, through the work we do with Junior Achievement and other financial literacy efforts we support, we want to help people gain a deeper understanding of the importance of lifetime income, realize the true cost of retirement, and develop a solid plan for the future."

Through their commitment to engage with the communities where they live, work, and serve their customers, AIG employees generously volunteered more than 3,300 hours in JA classrooms, impacting more than 21,000 students. Additionally, AIG leadership proved invaluable at the 2018 JA Volunteer Engagement Think Tank event in New York City, providing feedback and insight to enhance the JA volunteer experience. And by featuring Junior Achievement in the "Spotlight" section of their LinkedIn page, AIG has increased awareness of JA's mission and showcased the impact of our partnership.

"AIG partners with organizations like Junior Achievement to help young people obtain the information they need to be more prepared for and to feel more confident about their futures," said Laura Gallagher, Global Head of Corporate Citizenship at AIG.

JA feels fortunate to have a community partner who shares our commitment to transforming the lives of young people.