KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Junior Achievement is a national organization that has more than 100 local chapters across the country. The organization helps students learn financial responsible and carry those lessons into adulthood.
"We know that when you are insecure in your financial position, it really is a domino factor in the rest of your life," Junior Achievement of Greater Kansas City President Megan Sturges Stanfield said. "So learning to manage money and understanding how money moves throughout the community and the economy, it really is critical to how you make decisions, not only as a child, but then as an adult."
The Junior Achievement of Greater Kansas City has volunteers who work with students. This week, they worked with first graders at Trailwoods Elementary.
The organization works with students from kindergarten to high school level. They currently serve more than 24,000 students in 12 counties in both Kansas and Missouri.
Sturges Stanfield said with the younger students, it's more about the basics of how money works, and why it's important to be responsible with spending.
The hope is if they learn about money now, it'll help them develop the right skills as an adult.
"We want to start introducing those good concepts, start those good behaviors early on," Sturges Stanfield said. "And that really starts at the kindergarten level with understanding what is a need versus a want and helping kids move through that every grade level so that they are ready to make good financial decisions and have good financial health as they enter the working world as an adult."
Older students get the opportunity to learn a variety of financial planning and security, including learning about loans and entrepreneurship.
"A lot of our programs give them the chance to not just learn it through a structured curriculum, but then they go and do hands-on, really experiential learning to put it into their own world," Sturges Stanfield said. "Because that's when it really starts to stick and fix some maybe bad habits that have already been created."
If you'd like to support the Junior Achievement program (and get some exercise at the same time), 401K Race for Financial Fitness is planned for this weekend.
The race starts at 8:30 a.m. Saturday at the National World War One Museum and Memorial.
The race helps support the Junior Achievement of Greater Kansas City’s financial literacy programs in schools.
To register, click here.
