UnitedHealthcare Prepares Local Kids for a Better Financial Future

Financial and health literacy go hand in hand, but many kids are never taught the basics of finance or how to make a budget. At UnitedHealthcare, we want to inspire young students to dream big and reach their potential.

That’s why UnitedHealthcare of the Mid-Atlantic sponsors the “Life Happens” exhibit at the Junior Achievement Finance Park® in Fairfax, Virginia, in addition to offering permanent exhibits set up at Finance Park locations across Virginia in our quest to educate kids for the future. The program is held by Junior Achievement of Greater Washington.

For the nearly 150 area eighth graders who participated this round, the program began with 14 hours of financial building blocks taught by their classroom teachers. Following the in-class experience, students got to put their financial skills to the test in a digital, interactive learning environment in which they became adults with careers, families, salaries, credit scores and financial obligations. They were asked to make decisions on topics like buying a home, purchasing and maintaining a vehicle, budgeting for student loans and health care expenses and choosing child care.

At the end of the experience, the kids visited the “Life Happens” exhibit. There, they received scenarios they hadn’t planned for in their budgets, like a broken arm or flat tire, and learned how these unexpected events can impact a budget.

More than 20 volunteers from UnitedHealthcare were on hand on February 16th to help throughout the day, guiding students through different scenarios and sharing their own life experiences to truly bring the program to life.

“I was interested in teaching students about life skills. Finance Park is a great interactive experience that helps students be an ‘adult for a day’ and make decisions based on their budget,” said Irene Myers-Thompson, Regional Wellness Director. “These decisions are real life examples focused on housing, investing, finance, day-to-day living and education.”

“I was lucky to get assigned a group of students who were also excited to be there. They were all engaged and got along well, and helped each other throughout the day,” said Marketing Manager and event organizer John Langbein. “I hope they got as much out of the day as I did. I am proud of our sponsorship with Junior Achievement and hope that we’re helping to inspire young students to dream big and reach their potential.”

Ninety percent of JA Finance Park graduates report that they feel significantly more confident in their ability to make the right choices in life after participating in the program.