Support JA - Donor Spotlight

In 2006, Junior Achievement (JA) of Southeastern Michigan realized a vision three years in the making, the grand opening of our high-tech, hands-on learning center in downtown Detroit – Quicken Loans JA Finance Park.

This facility was made possible thanks to the generosity of several Detroit leaders, including a $750,000 donation by Dan Gilbert, Chairman and Founder of Quicken Loans – the nation’s largest online lender. The donation allowed JA to turn a drab, cramped office space into a vibrant array of shops and storefronts used to teach local children how to live like an adult through budgeting and money management based on a real-life scenario.

At Quicken Loans JA Finance Park, each student is randomly assigned a paycheck and a living situation. They could be making $20,000 a year and have two children. Or they could be making
$60,000 a year and have no children. What’s important is that at the end of the month the kids have maintained a balanced budget.

“It is a shame that many kids coming out of school can tell you the difference between an igneous rock and a sedimentary rock, but cannot tell you what a stock or bond is,” Gilbert said. “The program at Quicken Loans JA Finance Park really fills a major void in today’s school curriculum and lays the foundation for financial literacy as an adult.”

Since its opening, Quicken Loans JA Finance Park has played host to more than 25,000 students from the metro Detroit area, and an additional 8,000 children are expected to complete the program by year’s end.

The project is a resounding success. More than 90 percent of students surveyed said the park better helped them understand about budgeting and the real-world pressures of managing money.

“Now I understand my parents and what they go through when trying to pay bills, save money, and still try to make a way for my family to have fun. Thank you JA for giving me the opportunity to learn how to handle money before I go away to college,” one student said.

JA is always looking for volunteers, sign up today! “I really enjoyed working with the kids. It was fun to watch them work at making their earnings work for them.”- JA Volunteer

Interested in signing up a classroom of middle school students for the program? Don’t wait! “Junior Achievement brings real life experiences and presents it to children at their level.”
– Detroit High School Teacher