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.
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