Contact:
Jacqueline Dolly
Junior Achievement of New York
212-907-0046
jdolly@jany.org
December 7, 2010 - NEW YORK, NY: Wall Street – the financial capital of the world - is where the rubber meets the road in terms of money management expertise. This holiday season – when the thought of buying budget busting items is top of mind for most folks, more than 2,000 NYC public school students will spend a day on Wall Street at the inaugural installation of the Capital One/Junior Achievement Finance ParkTM program at the Museum of American Finance’s Center for Financial Education. Finance Park is an economic reality “wake–up call” for teens. Students experience, and are challenged by, simulated real-life budgetary decisions that adults typically make. And their take-away? That budgeting, money management and life skills are necessary for a successful and financially stable future. Capital One/JA Finance ParkTM at the Museum for American Finance is scheduled to run December 13, 2010 through February 11, 2011.
Capital One/JA Finance ParkTM, a unique, award-winning program for middle and high school students, begins with four weeks of intensive in?classroom, financial education lessons developed by Junior Achievement. Students then have the opportunity to put their newly-acquired money management knowledge to the test in a high?tech learning lab, designed to replicate the community of a small city. In this innovative learning environment, students are assigned fictional jobs, incomes, families and expenses, and are tasked with developing and managing their household budgets.
“There couldn’t be a better place for students to receive much needed lessons in money management, budgeting and life skills,” said Joseph Peri, president of JA New York “The location at the Museum of American Finance will give them an opportunity to explore and tap into the local, national and global economic pulse that drives and impacts business, commerce, spending and saving decisions in their households and communities.”
Classroom lessons are driven home by the experience of making real?life financial decisions about housing, furnishings, investments, food, entertainment, phone, cable, savings and charitable contributions; decisions they will ultimately make upon entering adulthood. Deciding wants vs. needs becomes a sobering and critical economic life lesson.
Capital One believes that financial literacy and money-management skills are crucial building blocks for economic success. Especially in today’s economic environment, the ability to make wise financial decisions is critical,” said James Covington, Manhattan Market President for Capital One Bank. “Capital One/Junior Achievement Finance Park™ has a proven track record in engaging students in financial-education learning that is both substantive and fun.”
David Cowen, President and CEO of the Museum of American Finance, said the Museum is proud to host Capital One /JA Finance ParkTM.
“Junior Achievement’s economic education programs and experiences are world-class, and Capital One shares our vision of improving the lives of students through financial education,” said Cowen. “From our perspective this is a perfect match.”
Capital One/JA Finance Park was awarded the Corporate Citizenship Award by the US Chamber of Commerce in 2006. Since launching three years ago in the NYC & Long Island market, Finance Park has delivered vital financial education to over 9,000 middle and high school students. The program will be hosted at the Museum of American Finance located at 48 Wall Street, NYC, beginning December 13, 2010 through to February 11, 2011. Finance Park is not open to the public. School/student participation is by invitation only. For more information about Junior Achievement programs and experiences, visit: www.jany.org or connect with us on Facebook or Twitter.
About Junior Achievement of New York
For more than 80 years, Junior Achievement of New York (JA New York) has delivered economic education and empowerment programs to NYC and Long Island students. Through a dedicated volunteer network of corporate and community individuals, JA New York provides high-quality K?12 in?school, after?school, and summer educational programs. JA New York is the New York affiliate of Junior Achievement Worldwide, the world’s largest and fastest?growing organization dedicated to inspiring and preparing young people to succeed in a global economy. JA educational programs impact important societal issues including youth development, economic development, and education reform, and focus on three key content areas: work readiness, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy. Today, 126 individual area operations reach more than four million students in the United States, with an additional 5.8 million students served by operations in 122 other countries worldwide. For more information about JA New York and its programs, visit www.jany.org.
About Capital One
Capital One Financial Corporation (www.capitalone.com) is a financial holding company whose subsidiaries, which include Capital One, N.A. and Capital One Bank (USA), N. A., had $119.2 billion in deposits and $196.9 billion in total assets outstanding as of September 30, 2010. Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, Capital One offers a broad spectrum of financial products and services to consumers, small businesses and commercial clients. Capital One, N.A. has approximately 1,000 branch locations primarily in New York, New Jersey, Texas, Louisiana, Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. A Fortune 500 company, Capital One trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "COF" and is included in the S&P 100 index.
About the Museum of American Finance
The Museum of American Finance, an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, is the nation’s only public museum dedicated to finance, entrepreneurship and the open market system. With its extensive collection of financial documents and objects, its seminars and educational programming, its publication and oral history program, the Museum portrays the breadth and richness of American financial history, achievement and practices. The Museum is located at 48 Wall Street, on the corner of William Street, and is open Tues–Sat, 10 am – 4 pm. For more information, visit www.moaf.org or connect with the Museum on Facebook or Twitter.