Students in 19 global cities will learn important entrepreneurship, financial literacy and work readiness skills, thanks to a generous grant of $425,000 from American International Group, Inc. (AIG) to implement Junior Achievement USA® (JA) programs.
This partnership will bring JA programming to students in kindergarten through 12th grade as part of the 2015-2016 school year, helping them learn important skills like creating a budget, becoming work-ready and developing a business plan. As part of the partnership, AIG employees will serve as JA classroom volunteers and board members, as well as support other special events.
"We recently surveyed teens and found that while 59 percent think the best time to learn about money management is in elementary or junior high school, half of the students surveyed said their school has no programs available," said Jack E. Kosakowski, president and chief executive officer of Junior Achievement USA. "These K-12 years are the ideal time for students to learn these basic life skills and we're thankful to AIG to continue our collaboration and grow the number of students learning about personal finance concepts."
This is the second year AIG has invested in a large-scale partnership with Junior Achievement to support programs that help students gain the knowledge and skills they need to make smart academic and economic choices. This year's grant will serve schools in 19 global locations, including: Amarillo, Texas; Atlanta; Boston; Chicago; Cleveland, Ohio; Dallas; Greensboro, N.C.; Houston; Los Angeles; Neptune, N.J.; New York, Oakdale, Minn.; Stevens Point, Wis.; Dublin, Ireland; Madrid, Spain; Jakarta, Indonesia; Muntinlupa City, Philippines; Bogota, Colombia; and Toronto, Ontario.
"We are committed to helping develop and prepare young people for future success – particularly in a time when there is a growing skills gap between unemployed/underemployed individuals and companies in need of qualified workers," said Valerie Hendy, Head of Global Corporate Citizenship, AIG.
Junior Achievement's programs are aligned with AIG's commitment to supporting financial education and workforce readiness.