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What’s New in Young Americans Center Programs

Janet RedwineInternational Towne, Programs, Young AmeriTowne Leave a Comment

AmeriTowne and International Towne began the 2019-20 school year with some exciting changes!  The end goal is to provide programs that are relevant, thought-provoking, and that deliver an improved hands-on lesson in financial education. Young AmeriTowne changes include parent communication, curriculum enhancements, and the Day in Towne experience.  When a school registers for Young AmeriTowne, teachers receive a Parent Newsletter …

UPS Volunteers Young AmeriTowne with Eagleview with Towne Mayor

Sponsor Spotlight: UPS Volunteers Deliver a Day in Young AmeriTowne

Janet RedwineGet Involved, Young AmeriTowne Leave a Comment

Preparing for a day in Young AmeriTowne requires effort from students, teachers, and parents. So, there’s nothing worse than doing all of the work and then having your day cancelled due to snow. Unfortunately, this is exactly what happened for students at Eagleview Elementary, an Adams 12 school in Thornton. A January snow storm derailed their visit to Young AmeriTowne, …

Asian American Counts Cash and Writes in Checkbook

Sponsor Spotlight: How Vectra Bank Teaches Kids that Saving is Important

Janet RedwineGet Involved, Young AmeriTowne Leave a Comment

When the Federal Reserve published the latest Report on the Economic Well-Being in May, 2019, results indicated that although saving rates in the United States are improving, there is still much work to be done.  In particular, non-white and middle-to-low-income adults reported higher rates of financial distress than surveyed white and middle-to-upper-income adults.  Federal Reserve Board Governor Michelle W. Bowman …

A Towne bank teller assists another participant with manner others

Sponsor Spotlight: JJP Family Foundation Involves All Learners in Experiential Education

Janet RedwineGet Involved, International Towne, Young AmeriTowne Leave a Comment

“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember.  Involve me and I learn.” – Benjamin Franklin Both anecdotal and research-based evidence suggests that students learn best when they experience a concept for themselves.  The Young AmeriTowne and International Towne programs do just that in the field of financial education.  They allow elementary and middle school students to open their own …

In Young AmeriTowne, students discover philanthropy by thinking about how they can share their time, talent and treasure. Today, we’re highlighting a proud partner of Young Americans Center for Financial Education that has shared time, talent and treasure with young learners for nearly three decades: Empower . Empower Retirement first became involved with Young Americans Center near the very start of the Young AmeriTowne program in 1991. Over the next 28 years, Empower sent thousands of low-income students to Young AmeriTowne or International Towne and taught thousands more the basics of financial education through Money Matters classes. This year, Young Americans Center is thrilled to have Empower as a supporter at the 2019 Spotlight on YouthBiz Stars business competition and gala fundraiser. The driving force behind Empower’s community impact is a focus on ACT: associates, community, together. According to the Empower website , “Our ACT Program is designed to amplify the commitment of each associate through matching their donations, funding volunteer time and supporting collaborative philanthropy.” EMPOWER VOLUNTEER “SUPER HEROES” HELPED PREPARE YOUNG AMERITOWNE FOR A NEW SCHOOL YEAR, INCLUDING YOUNG AMERICANS CENTER BOARD MEMBER STEPHANIE BENDRICK. This focus has enabled Empower to have a direct impact on youth through volunteer time in programs. In 2018 alone, 24 Empower volunteers donated 127 hours by serving as business consultants in Young AmeriTowne or International Towne, preparing the physical Towne spaces for the start of a new school year, and providing feedback as part of a YouthBiz StartUp pitch competition judging panel. Leading this volunteer effort is Stephanie Bendrick, Vice President, Transformation and Innovation at Empower and Member of the Young Americans Center Board of Directors. In particular, Ms. Bendrick’s leadership on the Board has helped guide technology upgrades throughout the organization and has helped determine the strategic direction of Young Americans Center as a whole. For Ms. Bendrick, “Serving on the Board is a way to provide the next generation with knowledge to budget, save and obtain a secure financial future.” The impact of Empower is extraordinary. Since 1991, 471,318 youth have participated in Young AmeriTowne where they gained a hands-on lesson in free enterprise that prepared them for life-long financial success. Thank you Empower for your continued commitment to today’s young learners!

Sponsor Spotlight: Empower shares time, talent, and treasure with young learners

Janet RedwineGet Involved, International Towne, Young AmeriTowne Leave a Comment

In Young AmeriTowne, students discover philanthropy by thinking about how they can share their time, talent and treasure. Today, we’re highlighting a proud partner of Young Americans Center for Financial Education that has shared time, talent and treasure with young learners for nearly three decades: Empower. Empower Retirement first became involved with Young Americans Center near the very start of the …

Market students at work in Young AmeriTowne

Sponsor Spotlight: Lifelong lessons delivered by CliftonLarsonAllen Foundation

Janet RedwineGet Involved, International Towne, Young AmeriTowne Leave a Comment

Each year, the Send-a-School Project affords low-income schools an opportunity to participate in the Young AmeriTowne and International Towne educational programs.  A valuable partner in this work is CliftonLarsonAllen Foundation, which provided scholarship funds for 504 deserving students last year. Why is this learning so valuable?  Researchers are able to demonstrate that financial literacy “reduces the likelihood of being financially fragile …

AmeriTowne On the Road in New Mexico Smiling Students. She is in front of a cash register with others.

Back from Albuquerque

Janet RedwineYoung AmeriTowne Leave a Comment

Young AmeriTowne On the Road just returned from its farthest voyage this summer: Albuquerque, New Mexico!  The program delivered a hands-on lesson in financial education to 21 elementary school students through a week-long summer camp program. This summer marks the third consecutive year that AmeriTowne On the Road has reached students in New Mexico.  This year, as in years past, …

Young AmeriTowne Bank customers write checks at the bank

Sponsor Spotlight: Financially fit future thanks to IMA Foundation

Janet RedwineGet Involved, Young AmeriTowne Leave a Comment

Young AmeriTowne and International Towne help prepare young people for the real world.  And thanks to the IMA Foundation, students from all different backgrounds can gain this hands-on experience in financial education. Proud partner IMA supports the Send-a-School initiative of Young Americans Center for Financial Education which provides scholarships to Young AmeriTowne and International Towne.  This education is particularly important …

Students Shake Hands in the AmeriTowne College with graduation cap and outfit. Two other students handshake and praise the graduate.

Sponsor Spotlight: Colorado Community Colleges provide a free education in Young AmeriTowne

Janet RedwineYoung AmeriTowne Leave a Comment

Nestled right between the Bank and the Medical Center is a valuable institution: the Young AmeriTowne College. Here, five Colorado Community Colleges ensure that students receive a free education every day! Five educational institutions came together in 2013 to promote hands-on, real world learning: Arapahoe Community College, Community College of Aurora, Community College of Denver, Front Range Community College, and Red …

Young Americans Center for Financial Education welcomes four Daniels Scholar interns to our team this summer! Madison Turner, Sasha Shadrina, Miguel Gonzalez, and Imad Rashed, current college students, have all stepped into roles as Counselors in Young AmeriTowne and Junior Money Matters summer camps. I caught up with three of these exceptional individuals between camps to see how their experiences have been so far. Madison Turner, aka Madi, just finished her freshman year at Texas Christian University. She is working on a communications major there, and knows that she will start her own nonprofit someday. For Madi, this summer has been a “huge learning experience.” Although she has worked with children in the past, seeing them take on new, “adult” roles in Young AmeriTowne demonstrates to her how important financial education is. And, the campers are also fun to watch. “I thought it was a good life lesson when one of my students had to pay a co-pay in the AmeriTowne Medical Center,” said Madi. “He didn’t realize that he would need to put some money aside for emergencies, so this was a good example of why you shouldn’t spend all of your money.” Another accomplished intern, Imad Rashed will begin his sophomore year at Cal Poly this fall where he’s studying business. He was excited about the Young Americans Center opportunity because he thought teaching young people about business would be something different and interesting. Plus, even though he grew up in Denver, he didn’t have an opportunity to do Young AmeriTowne as a kid. In addition to facilitating learning for campers, Imad is excited that he has learned a few lessons himself this summer. “When it seems like nothing is going according to plan, I have to improvise and make sure they have a good experience regardless,” said Imad. He added, “It’s been so great having the opportunity to teach students about the world we live in and to see these lessons really stick with them.” Sasha Shadrina is just as excited about her summer so far. She is a finance major at the University of Denver, and she is also beginning her sophomore year this fall. Passionate about financial education, what she has found most interesting about her experience this summer is infection between her many interests–kids, business, education–that Young Americans Center has provided. Sasha was particularly impacted by her experience at Moorhead Recreation Center two weeks ago where she enjoyed helping kids see a different future for themselves. “It was so meaningful for me to see how much these students learned in just one week,” she said. “Kids who started the week shy ended up running for an election.” The addition of these four interns serves two purposes. Madi, Sasha, Miguel and Imad have all helped our staff deliver quality programs. But even more importantly, these four are serving as such great examples to the students they work with. Thank you to our interns for your time and dedication!

Daniels Scholars Teach and Learn in Young Americans Center Camps

Janet RedwineClasses + Camps, General, Young AmeriTowne Leave a Comment

Young Americans Center for Financial Education welcomes four Daniels Scholar interns to our team this summer! Madison Turner, Sasha Shadrina, Miguel Gonzalez, and Imad Rashed, current college students, have all stepped into roles as Counselors in Young AmeriTowne and Junior Money Matters summer camps.  I caught up with three of these exceptional individuals between camps to see how their experiences have been so …