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JA Biztown Welcomes The Fort Wayne TinCaps

Levan Scott Academy and Waynedale Elementary 5th graders were witnesses to a special moment on as the Fort Wayne TinCaps officially opened their JA BizTown storefront with a ceremonial ribbon cutting.

They aren’t old enough to drive, work, or be the boss, but at JA BizTown, students are allowed to run the bank, manage the restaurant, and control the government. As they operate the life-like community, they also earn a paycheck to spend and save as consumers.

During the JA BizTown Opening Town meeting, student Mayor Aaliyah, with the help of TinCaps mascot Johnny, cuts the ribbon on the new Sports Marketing storefront sponsored by the Fort Wayne TinCaps.

“Partnerships with the business community, like this new one with the Fort Wayne TinCaps, allow the JA BizTown experience to come alive for students,” says Karen Cooper, Vice President of Capstone Experiences, Junior Achievement of Northern Indiana. “One of my favorite parts of this experience is how our business sponsors help to shape the town into a reflection of the real community these students live in.”

The Fort Wayne TinCaps storefront will have a sports marketing focus with student employees creating game recaps for the town’s radio, print, and television media outlets, a social media campaign, group ticket sales, and a retail storefront selling sports themed items.

“It is powerful for students dreaming of a professional sports future to understand that there are also highly rewarding careers off the field,” says Cooper.

JA BizTown is a capstone program of Junior Achievement. JA BizTown combines in-class learning with a day-long visit to the simulated economy of the life-size town. As the students learn the fundamental relationship between academics and life beyond school, they also think from the perspective of both consumer and businessperson. Through the experience, young people are learning about the workforce, economics, and entrepreneurism.

More than 9,000 5th and 6th grade students, supported by over 2,000 adult volunteers, will participate in the JA BizTown program this year. For more than 184,000 learning experiences each year across Northern Indiana, Junior Achievement’s volunteer-delivered economic education experiences foster work-readiness, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy skills and use experiential learning to inspire students to dream big and reach their potential. If you are interested in learning more about supporting the JA BizTown program, please contact Karen Cooper at (260) 484-2543. JA BizTown is located at 550 E. Wallen Rd. in Fort Wayne.

The Waynedale News Staff

The Waynedale News Staff

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