SHARON, Pa. – Mercer County Community Federal Credit Union staff members recently volunteered at BizTown, Junior Achievement of Western PA’s experiential learning lab.
Sandi Carangi, credit union CEO, and Elaine Patton, vice president of HR and operations, were joined by Suzanne Kepple, Brad Mantzell and Jake Rickert, fellow members of the Junior Achievement of Mercer County Advisory Board.
More than 80 students from West Hill Elementary and C.M. Musser Elementary in the Sharon School District visited JA BizTown, a fully interactive mock town located in South Fayette Township that simulates the day-to-day functions of a thriving community and helps students connect what they learn in school with the realities of the business world and everyday life.
Designed for fourth- through sixth-grade students, the program begins with an in-class curriculum encompassing financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship. The students then spend a full day at the hands-on simulated community where they assume various roles within their business, learning about careers, budgeting, marketing and personal spending.
Volunteers assist the students as they learn various things such as how to apply for a job, write checks, service customers and manage their business.
“We are excited that these students from Mercer County had the opportunity to travel to JA BizTown and take on roles in their individual businesses,” Carangi said. “Having completed the classroom instruction portion and seeing the students put those lessons into action as they ran their JA BizTown businesses ties it all together. Our credit union is very proud to support JA and these type of financial literacy programs for students in our community.”
Pictured at top: From left are JA advisory board members Brad Mantzell, Sandi Carangi, Elaine Patton, Suzanne Kepple and Jake Rickert.