Junior Achievement and Peoples Bank deliver financial literacy program

Thanks to a $100,000 donation by Peoples Bank, Junior Achievement will coordinate and lead semester-long financial literacy programs for high school students throughout the state beginning next academic year.

The new program is in response to Senate Bill 1 signed into law by Gov. Mike DeWine in October. The bill requires all high school students to take and pass a financial literacy course offered by Junior Achievement to graduate.

The Peoples Bank donation of $100,000 will allow Junior Achievement to roll out the program in five areas across Ohio at no cost to the partner schools.

“Thanks to the incredibly generous support of Peoples Bank, young people across the state of Ohio are going to develop the mindsets, skill sets and understanding of finances that will help them to achieve success in their lives,” said Mike Davis, president of Junior Achievement of Central Ohio.

According to Chuck Sulerzyski, the President and CEO of Peoples Bank, the donation reflects the bank’s commitment to communities and charitable giving efforts. Peoples Bank, headquartered in Marietta, said it is a perfect sponsor for the initiative as its vision is to be the best community bank in America and to make a positive and meaningful difference in neighborhoods.

“Financial literacy is a very important topic. If we can help teenagers learn more about finances before they become young adults, it will pay great dividends down the road,” he said. “Peoples Bank is very excited and proud to be the launch sponsor of this initiative in our home state.”

As an organization whose primary focus is financial literacy education, Junior Achievement is positioned to partner with schools as it explores options to meet the new requirement. Junior Achievement has developed a semester-long curriculum that fulfills every standard outlined by the Ohio Department of Education.

“The ability to understand and make smart financial decisions is a critical life skill that students need to be taught. We are pleased to see the Ohio Legislature take action in making this a required course for high school graduation,” said Lori McCleese, President of Junior Achievement of North Central Ohio. “Because of the generous support of Peoples Bank, Junior Achievement will be able to offer this program at no cost to school districts.”

The curriculum will be offered to high school students in easy-to-use formats and on familiar platforms, such as Google Classroom. It will cover topics such as employment and income, budgeting, credit, debt management, understanding taxes, insurance and consumer protection.

“Junior Achievement of Greater Cleveland is grateful for this incredibly generous investment from Peoples Bank,” said Joe Faulhaber, president of Junior Achievement of Greater Cleveland. “Funding provided by Peoples Bank enables our organization to support school districts as they strengthen the financial literacy curriculum introduced through Senate Bill 1 and will help countless young people on their journey to financial empowerment.”

To learn more about Junior Achievement, go to jausa.ja.org/about/index.

Source: The Parkersburg News and Sentitnel

Source: https://www.newsandsentinel.com/news/business/2022/02/junior-achievement-peoples-bank-deliver-financial-literacy-program/