OBA EDUCATION FOUNDATION OBA Education Foundation Presents Junior Achievement with Financial Education Champion Award The OBA Education Foundation presented Junior Achievement (JA) of Oregon and SW Washington with the 2023 Financial Education Champion Award during the Oregon Bank Leadership Symposium held in December. The award recognizes an individual or organization who has made a lasting impact on financial education in the state of Oregon. Junior Achievement was given the award in recognition of their JA Finance Park program. JA Finance Park gives students across Oregon and SW Washington the unique opportunity to experience their personal financial futures first-hand. JA Finance Park curriculum combines student self-guided narrated screencast modules or teacher-led lessons with a hands-on, now also completely virtual, simulation that is supported by volunteers and educators. There are two levels in the virtual simulation. In the entry level simulation geared for middle schoolers, students assume randomly assigned family and income scenarios and gather information to make informed financial decisions. They utilize banking services, purchase housing, transportation, insurance, furnishings, health care and other expenses, as well as make investment decisions. The advanced simulation geared for high schoolers takes a deeper dive, allowing students to make decisions on what they want their simulated future to look like. It takes them through numerous life stages, to experience what it is like to budget as a teenager compared to a retired adult. JA Finance Park helps these students build a foundation upon which they can make intelligent financial decisions that last a lifetime, including decisions related to income, expenses, savings and credit. “The OBA Education Foundation and several of OBA’s member banks are proud to support JA Finance Park,” said OBA President and CEO Linda Navarro. “This program provides students with a transformative experience. JA Finance Park is more than just an educational initiative; it’s a catalyst for shaping responsible and financially literate individuals which goes hand-in-hand with the Foundation’s mission of empowering all Oregonians to be financially educated and secure.” Junior Achievement’s Priscilla Treviño (left), director of development, and Barb Smith (center), president and CEO, pictured with OBA’s Lori Kaliher (right). 32 Winter 2024 • BANKING MATTERS
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