PORTLAND, Ore., Aug. 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- A $100,000 lead gift from KeyBank to Junior Achievement of Oregon & SW Washington kicks off a $ 1 million fund-raising campaign to support its newest program initiative – JA Finance Park.  

(Photo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110815/CL50682 )

JA Finance Park is designed to help middle and high school students build a foundation for making intelligent, life-long, personal financial decisions. The program, pioneered by Junior Achievement USA in 13 states, includes in-school, teacher-led activities culminating in an on-site simulation at JA Finance Park.  The JA Finance Park mobile unit will house up to 16 mini-businesses, including KeyBank's smallest branch in Oregon, with each business representing a household budget category.  During the half-day simulation, students will visit each business to develop a realistic budget based on a randomly assigned life situation.

JA Finance Park will look like a high-end trade show structure. The mobile learning center will set-up in fairground buildings, convention centers and large gymnasiums across the state where busloads of students will visit.  It will be designed and built by Hillsboro-based Pinnacle Exhibits.

KeyBank is a long-time supporter of Junior Achievement and its focus on financial literacy and education for children. Key's last gift of $200,000 was instrumental in building JA BizTown in SE Portland which has provided experiential business and financial education for more than 26,000 upper elementary students since it opened in 2007.  With JA BizTown fully paid for and realizing an 80 percent enrollment capacity, Junior Achievement is undertaking the JA Finance Park mobile unit as the second phase of its energetic plan to teach Oregon kids how to manage money.

"Financial literacy education is one of the core values underlying KeyBank's giving strategy," said Brian Rice, President of KeyBank in Oregon and Southwest Washington. "JA Finance Park will bring education to kids all over the state and, happily for us, will serve many of the communities where we have branches." KeyBank is growing in Oregon and SW Washington, and will have 90 branches from Vancouver, Washington, to Ashland, Oregon by the end of 2012.

Rice and Key Private Bank Vice President Steve Gray presented the gift to JA Board Chairman Bob Strader and President John Hancock at a recent meeting of JA's board of directors.  Each board member received a Nestle 100 Grand chocolate bar to celebrate the occasion.

"We are proud to partner with a community leader like KeyBank whose support of Junior Achievement plays an important role in our success and the future economic success of students in Oregon," stated John Hancock.  "JA Finance Park will positively affect thousands of students across the state and we are extremely grateful for their trust and commitment."

With its track record of successful fundraising, Hancock believes that the JA Finance Park mobile unit project can be financed and built by mid-2012.

For more information or to contribute to the campaign, please contact Junior Achievement at 503-238-6430.

Junior Achievement of Oregon & SW Washington (JA) is a nonprofit youth organization dedicated to empowering young people to own their future economic success.  We partner with schools and businesses to improve student knowledge in the areas of work readiness, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy. By forging close relationships with hundreds of local businesses and schools, JA provides high-impact in-class and after-school programming that readies thousands of young people to take charge of their personal finances and succeed in their career goals. Annually, JA serves more than 36,000 K-12 students in 1,500 classrooms at public and private schools throughout Oregon and SW Washington.

SOURCE KeyCorp