Copper Basin Federal Credit Union team members Mollie Morrow and Pamela Cruse recently completed a five-week program with Junior Achievement of the Ocoee Region (JA) in which they were placed in Copper Basin High School to teach about personal finance.
Over the five weeks, the pair delivered lesson plans curated by JA to a class of students. Each lesson covered specific topics such as earnings, budgeting, saving, credit and debt and consumer protection.
Founded in 1919, JA is a non-profit organization dedicated to educating kindergarten through K-12 grade students on entrepreneurship, work readiness and financial literacy through hands-on programs delivered by volunteers like Morrow and Cruse.
“Our President and CEO, Jessica Grostic, was approached by a JA representative while we were volunteering for the Life Maze experience at Copper Basin High School several months ago, which is how we ended up getting involved in the program,” said Morrow.
Of the experience itself, the two said the students were very engaged in each session and enjoyed the lessons.
“The JA is an amazing program that every school should implement,” said Cruse. “Financial literacy is so important. The sessions we taught were things they’ll use in their everyday life—things I wish I knew as a 17-year-old. The students were so engaged and asked several questions and thoroughly enjoyed the activities we prepared for them. They really enjoyed having us there and were so sad to see the program end. They even clapped and gave us a standing ovation.”
