Atlantic Union Bank & Junior Achievement: A Partnership that Just Makes Sense

Atlantic Union Bank (AUB) has been excited to support the efforts of Junior Achievement (JA) in their goals of helping students and young adults gain skills that will help them in the future. JA is focused on workforce readiness, financial literacy and entrepreneurship.

JA has programs for students starting at the elementary school age and going up into young adulthood. The youngest participants engage with JA most often through classroom-based lessons, where a trained volunteer comes in and works with the students. These lessons are specially designed to be aligned with the curriculum the students are already learning, so it’s a great way for them to go deeper into the information.

The Central Virginia chapter of JA has a JA Finance Park, which is a special classroom focused on financial literacy and workforce readiness. At the JA Finance Park, students run through real simulations about how to make a budget, what a starting salary can look like, and how different careers they choose can affect their financial life. Their budgeting tool is comprehensive and even has a section for students to focus on giving back to the community. AUB has often sent volunteers to work with students at the JA Finance Park, and they all agree that it’s a great way for students to learn more about what an actual budget is like.

AUB has also been involved with some of the first classes Junior Achievement has created for young adults. Last year, our class of summer interns went through the course JA set up for young adults as a pilot program. They were some of the first to go through this program, and it was both a great experience for them, and a great way for them to give feedback on this new initiative.

It is exciting for AUB to get more deeply involved with JA throughout our footprint. We’re thrilled about all the ways this nonprofit helps students learn more about financial literacy and be better prepared to join the workforce.