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Containers Shop employees work together to assemble a briefcase in AmeriTowne On the Road
Young AmeriTowne provides a real-life learning experience for students throughout Colorado. Thanks to the Rollie R. Kelley Family Foundation, part of this experience includes ecommerce—students can purchase a cardboard briefcase “online” that will be delivered to them in their shop.
One of the most popular items to buy in Young AmeriTowne, briefcases are generously donated to Young Americans Center for Financial Education each year by the Rollie R. Kelley Family Foundation, a Fund of the Denver Foundation. The briefcases and sponsoring grant for the Young AmeriTowe Containers Shops are a tribute to a business originally owned by the family: Colorado Container Corporation. Now under a different name in the real world, this business lives on in Young AmeriTowne at the Denver and Belmar locations where Container Shop Assemblers build and sell more than 24 briefcases a day—that’s 10,502 briefcases a year!
In both the AmeriTowne and AmeriTowne On the Road programs, students use kiosks to order a briefcase. As the funds are directly withdrawn from the student’s checking account, these purchases provide a hands-on lesson in how online shopping works. Students learn to ensure they have enough money to pay for the item before clicking “purchase,” and they must remember to record the transaction in their checkbook register when it’s complete. When they are done shopping, students are encouraged to logout of the system so that other students don’t unknowingly use their account.
Rollie R. Kelley was a Colorado entrepreneur who believed in giving back to the community. His children honor his memory and his commitment to business and cultural education for young people through a long partnership with Young Americans so that all students, regardless of background, are prepared for a successful financial future.
