Junior Achievement (JA) is a nonprofit organization that provides financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship education to students from kindergarten through high school. The organization partners with schools, volunteers, and businesses like Walton & Company to deliver programs that help students develop skills for success in the future.

Cindy Eshleman and Kristy Ebaugh, from our Human Resources Department, spent some time with Penn Manor High School juniors to participate in REAL Life, a financial literacy program sponsored by Junior Achievement of South Central PA. REAL Life includes exercises and games designed to help students understand how financial decisions will impact their lives during high school and into adulthood. 

Budget Simulation is another paramount exercise the students were briefed in. Each student was assigned a unique life situation, including marital status, number of children (if any), education, employment, and income for their Budget Builder. They had to determine how much of their income was available to them each month after taxes, and allocate their money as they completed their budget, led by an adult volunteer from the business world.

Cindy, our Director of Human Resources was helping out with an activity called “Is the Price Right?” In this competition, students worked in groups to guess the prices of everyday household items.

The 11th-graders also competed in REAL Life #Adulting, a Monopoly-style game in which they encountered financial challenges as they moved their game pieces around the board. REAL Life also included a giant Jenga game activity in which teams answered questions about the “do’s” and “don’ts” of job interviewing to see which team could build the tallest tower.

We are proud to be volunteers and financial contributors to Junior Achievement.  We are excited to help prepare more young people for the role they will play in society as consumers, workers, and individuals. “Young people are our most valuable resource for the world of work.”  Perfectly stated by Junior Achievement. #waltonproud