TAMPA, Fla. — Lola is usually an eighth-grader at Roland Park K-8 Magnet School in Tampa, but today, she's been assigned the role of a preschool teacher trying to make ends meet.
"I never thought I'd be this low on money," Lola says. "I'm realizing a lot."
Lola and her classmates are spending the day at Junior Achievement Finance Park, a nonprofit that introduces young students to the world of money management, credit scores, budgeting, career goals and more.
They're assigned a job, family and economic status — and then set out into a make-believe village to see just how far their cash goes.
Junior Achievement partners with local businesses like Outback, Kane's, Publix, Truist Bank and United Way Suncoast to give kids a peek at grownup possibilities and realities.
"Finance Park" is a year-round endeavor that wants to prepare students for what's next — but also make them more well-rounded.
So Ernest Hooper and United Way Suncoast are there to introduce kids to the idea of philanthropy — using money not just for themselves, but for the greater good.
"We want to infuse in them a desire to give back and help others," says Hooper.
For more on Junior Achievement Finance Park, go here.
"I know how important it is."
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