JA Finance Park reopens at Libbie Mill Library after 700 days

Junior Achievement of Central Virginia has reopened its JA Finance Park at Libbie Mill Library, following a 700-day closure because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The finance park is a field trip experience that’s designed to help high school students learn healthy money habits. In pre-COVID years it served more than 8,000 students annually.

But it closed March 11 because of COVID and hadn’t reopened until Feb. 8, when some Henrico High School students visited.

“We are beyond thrilled to open the doors once again and welcome students, educators, and volunteers,” stated Jennifer Boyle, president & CEO of JA of Central Virginia. “I had the privilege to volunteer on our first day back in the space, and it was amazing to see the mentoring and hands-on learning that students benefit so much from. And our dedicated volunteers were eager to help guide them.”

JA Finance Park uses classroom lessons and in-person visits to the Libbie Mill location to help students build financial skills. When students enter the facility, they are handed iPads, each one providing a different persona – job, number of children, salary, debt, savings, and credit score.

With their new identities, they work to budget within their means, paying for utilities, insurance, food, and many other line items, as they learn the value of every dollar. The program aligns with the Economics and Personal Finance graduation requirement enacted by the Virginia General Assembly in 2010. Students from an average of 15 school districts visit JA Finance Park each year.

Volunteers come from various industries – many represented by the sponsored business booths found in JA Finance Park. The volunteers help guide them in their decision-making and understanding of various expenses.

“The best part was interacting with the students and them giving insight on what they want out of life, and then helping them come up with a plan,” said Mackenzie McCullough, a C&F Bank employee who volunteered last week.

After their visit to JA Finance Park last week, students from Henrico High School were asked, “What is one thing you learned today?”

Responses included: “ways to save money”, “to always check your credit score”, “it’s easy to budget if you stick to it”, and “many expenses may not cost much on their own, but they really add up.”