On July 28, 2016 at the National Harbor’s Gaylord Convention Center, Heath Carelock, Education Director for Junior Achievement of Greater Washington's JA Finance Park® Prince George's County, accepted a surprise $5,000 check from Synchrony Financial on behalf of Junior Achievement of Greater Washington.
In acceptance of the donation, Heath spoke before an audience of 400 financial professionals from across the country who were gathered for Synchrony Financial's Global Diversity Network Symposium. The teams in attendance sorted, organized, and donated 700 fully supplied backpacks which will be given to students in the DC area in the coming weeks in preparation for the upcoming school year.
When he accepted the award on behalf of JA of Greater Washington, Heath told the story of an eighth grade girl who approached him before she boarded the bus to depart from JA Finance Park® Prince George's County. She remarked, “Has anyone ever told you they cry here?” Heath told the girl he had never seen anyone here cry but asked if she had. She said, “Yes,” with a smidgen of sadness, but mostly humility. When he asked her why she had cried, she said, “Because my character in the simulation made more money than my mom and I see why she has to tell me ‘No’ so much.”
What the financial literacy simulation offers these kids is an opportunity to see life on the other side self-responsibility, self-agency and varying levels of financial independence. Each student grapples with the personal reality of what money can mean if they manage it effectively.
Junior Achievement of Greater Washington thanks Synchrony Financial for the generous donation of $5,000 that will go towards programming that is aimed at empowering the next generation to be financially capable and tenacious.
About Synchrony Financial
Synchrony Financial offers expertise, partnership and innovation to help businesses and customers achieve their unique ambitions. With over 84 years of experience, they are a leader in financing major consumer purchases and elective healthcare and the largest provider of private label credit cards in the United States.