Junior Achievement of Mahoning Valley is releasing a free resource for teens titled Making Sense: Understanding the Financial Impact of COVID-19.
The guide is designed to answer teens’ questions about the economic implications of COVID-19, including “Why are some store shelves empty?”, “Why are some people losing their jobs?” and “Are we going into a recession, or even a depression?” The guide is available at JA.org/MakingSense.
“While social distancing is essential to fighting COVID-19, the disease and the steps we must take to address it are having a financial impact. Our goal is to help young people better understand what’s happening,” said Michele Merkel, president of Junior Achievement of Mahoning Valley. “April is Financial Literacy Month, and this is really an important time to be sharing this kind of information.”
The guide is written with middle-school and high-school students in mind. It uses relatable examples to explain what a recession is, how the Federal Reserve works and steps being taken by government and the private sector to deal with the economic impact associated with COVID-19. JA is also offering free resources to teachers and parents who may have students finishing school online this semester. Those resources are available at JA.org/Tomorrows.
With Volunteer Appreciation Week being this week, April 19-25, Junior Achievement of Ashtabula County District Manager Patty Stone has been sending out JA Volunteer appreciation certificates and information.
“Junior Achievement of Ashtabula County has transitioned our in-classroom programs to virtual learning programs through [supporters’] generous support, and we have been given permission by our national office to implement a temporary teacher-led delivery model that does not require volunteers. Since our teachers are already working with the students, and most are familiar with JA programs, we will be able to continue to deliver JA to our community’s young people during this pandemic. It is not an ideal solution since the students get so much value from the volunteer interaction, but it is one way to help reduce the disruptions students may be facing during this period of uncertainty,” Stone said.
Junior Achievement also is supporting virtual classrooms with free online resources for schools and parents available at www.juniorachievement.org/web/ja-usa/program-resources and https://tinyurl.com/y8bod2y2.
These Junior Achievement supplements are learning experiences to support entrepreneurship, financial literacy and work and career readiness that students can do on their own, with a parent or caring adult or via a digital/virtual environment.
Programs include Junior Achievement High School Experiences Courses and JA It’s My Job (soft skills) for grades 6-12.
JA Economic Resources Online can be found at https://sites.google.com/ja.org/ja-econ-resources/home.
“We are hopeful that these programs can help children spend more timing planning for and dreaming about tomorrow, and less time worrying about today,” Stone said.
Additionally, as an extension of their digital and experiential learning resources, Junior Achievement is partnering with Invest in You: Ready. Set. Grow., CNBC’s financial wellness and education initiative in partnership with Acorns, to host “Tomorrows Are More Important Than Ever: A Virtual Town Hall for America’s Teens” on April 23 at 1 p.m.
Hosted by CNBC Senior Personal Finance Correspondent Sharon Epperson, this unique interactive event will give teens across America direct access to some of the country’s most knowledgeable economists, entrepreneurs, psychologists and counselors and ask them top-of-mind questions about how to best adapt to the new normal. The panelists will offer simple, straightforward strategies to help empower participants to strive toward a bright and successful tomorrow – because tomorrows are more important than ever.
If interested in participating, fill out the form at www.juniorachievement.org/web/ja-usa/townhall.
