Junior Achievement unveils new Meta Storefront at Libbie Mill Library

On June 9, Junior Achievement of Central Virginia unveiled the new Meta Storefront at JA Finance Park, a new, interactive space designed to help local students with JA goals of personal financial planning and career exploration. The storefront, made possible by a grant from Meta, will provide students with the opportunity to simulate budget activities through an online shopping experience.

In addition to a ribbon-cutting ceremony and remarks by JA and Meta representatives as well as Dan Schmitt and Frank Thornton of the Henrico County Board of Supervisors, the event included tours of the new space and a chance to try out virtual reality headsets such as the Meta Quest Pro.

Among the guests who tried their hand at the VR were Thornton, Beth Monroe of Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, and Michel Zajur of the Virginia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. As Meta product specialist Bryan Benavides (below, left) helped Zajur (below, right) navigate his virtual world, Zajur exclaimed, "I don't know what I'm doing – but it's incredible!"