The Chick-fil-A Foundation and Junior Achievement of Georgia, with the support of Assurant, AT&T, Cisco, Delta Air Lines, SunTrust, The Home Depot and other area businesses, unveiled a new state-of-the-art financial literacy and career readiness center inside the Georgia World Congress Center. More than 30,000 middle school students from Atlanta Public Schools, DeKalb County Schools, Fulton County Schools, Gwinnett County and Marietta City Schools (Fall 2015) will visit Junior Achievement’s Chick-fil-A Foundation Discovery Center each school year.
The 50,000-square-foot facility provides a 360-degree educational experience that begins in the classroom and culminates with a day at the interactive simulation venues JA BizTown® and JA Finance Park®. The experiential learning experience, teaches students the importance of personal budgeting, career readiness and real-life adult responsibilities represented by a “mini-city” of simulated storefronts.
“This is the next step in JA’s continued efforts to empower students to own their future economic success. With JA BizTown and JA Finance Park, Junior Achievement had a vision to develop a center that would bring education to life,” says Jack Harris, president of Junior Achievement of Georgia. “In just 11 months, with the help of organizations like the Chick-fil-A Foundation, SunTrust and Delta, we were able to transform that vision into a reality.”
Junior Achievement and the Chick-fil-A Foundation’s commitment to financial literacy, career readiness and improving the graduation rate among local students drove the desire to bring JA BizTown and JA Finance Park to Atlanta. The cooperation among more than 50 businesses, foundations and local education systems laid the foundation for a transformative experience that will equip future leaders with the knowledge, capacity and motivation to become financially independent and build a better future for themselves and their community.
“The unique partnership forged between area businesses and educators provides kids with a unique opportunity for mentorship and learning beyond their mandated curriculum,” adds Rodney Bullard, vice president of Community Affairs of Chick-fil-A Inc. and executive director of Chick-fil-A Foundation. “It’s a perfect complement to the work we are doing for youth and education and demonstrates the old adage that it takes a village to raise a child.” AT
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