JA launches campaign for new Inspiration Center

Zoe Perez loves Junior Achievement and the lessons she has learned from the group. “It’s fun; it showed me how to manage money. … It’s given me a business role model,” the 14-year-old Moline High School freshman said. Ms. Perez was one of the many people voicing praises for Junior Achievement of the Heartland on […]

Zoe Perez loves Junior Achievement and the lessons she has learned from the group. “It’s fun; it showed me how to manage money. … It’s given me a business role model,” the 14-year-old Moline High School freshman said.

1 of 9

Ms. Perez was one of the many people voicing praises for Junior Achievement of the Heartland on Tuesday, Sept. 19, when more than 100 people from the business community gathered as the organization launched a fundraising campaign for its new business education facility: the Junior Achievement Inspiration Center. The state-of-the-art learning center will take up a portion of the Vibrant Credit Union Corporate Center building at 6600 44th Ave., Moline. If all goes according to plan, a 13,000-square-foot area in the back of that building will open in October 2024, allowing JA to reach and educate an additional 3,000 students each year.  But before that happens, JA needs the funds to transform the currently empty space. Tuesday’s gathering was the official launch of a capital campaign, which aims to raise $3.25 million for the JA Inspiration Center project. To date, $2.3 million of that goal has been raised, JA officials announced at the event. "We are excited to embark on this journey toward the new inspiring and captivating facility, and we invite our supporters, partners and the entire community to join us in making a meaningful difference," JA of the Heartland President and CEO Dougal Nelson said in a news release before the event.  "The capital campaign is a testament to our dedication to prepare students for financial independence.” Several community and business leaders at the event said they are happy JA is expanding and looking to reach more young people. “I’m very excited about this. My daughters went to JA, so this is going to be great,” said Tom Fisher-King, executive director of Habitat for Humanity Quad Cities. Matt McCombs, CEO of Vibrant Credit Union, told the crowd in his opening remarks that JA is more vital today than ever because of the world’s changing and challenging business environment. He added that JA helps give young people the skills they need to get good jobs that will help drive the economy forward. During the gathering JA officials showed off the future home of the Inspirational Center — which once housed a Sam’s Club next to Menards off John Deere Road, Moline — as well as several renderings of the future space. One rendering showed the JA Biztown portion of the new center, while another showed a familiar arch serving as an entryway to a section of the center. “That arch is going to look like the new I-74 Bridge,” Mr. Nelson said. JA will leave its current BizTown, at 116 W. Second St., Davenport, next spring when its lease ends because the building owner is not interested in renewing it with JA, Mr. Nelson said. “It’s kind of a blessing; it gives us a chance to reimage,” he told the crowd. That “blessing” for JA will be its new Inspiration Center, which will provide a vital place of learning, discovery and empowerment, house its capstone programs — JA BizTown and JA Finance Park — and allow JA to serve more than 8,000 fourth- through ninth-grade students annually.  Together, JA’s programs fuse the physical and digital worlds to deliver innovative, practical and enriching learning experiences in financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and work and career readiness, JA officials said. JA learning experiences also include classroom‐based curriculum for students from kindergarten through high school. The elementary school learning experiences feature hands‐on activities that help students understand the basics of business and economics. Its topics also include community businesses and the importance of saving money. Classroom instruction for students culminates with a trip to JA BizTown, a daylong experience during which students apply learned concepts in a lifelike community. For example, students may take on the role of citizen, consumer and employee while participating in the on‐site simulation. They assume community roles of mayor, newspaper owner, reporter, bank manager, bank tellers, store owners, restaurant owners and others, going about their day working, shopping, and earning and saving money. They also will operate banks, store fronts and municipal agencies, manage a personal budget and vote.  Following participation in the simulation, students will be able to:

• Discuss the roles they play as citizens, workers and consumers in a community, and relate those roles to the free enterprise system.
• Discuss the importance of citizen rights and responsibilities within a community.
• Build money management skills through a practical knowledge of economic concepts and banking practices.
• Develop an understanding of basic business practices and responsibilities.
• Display the soft skills necessary for successful participation in the world of work.

“Investments in the JA Inspiration Center are investments for our future workforce and future leaders, both of which are essential for our region to thrive,” Brian Duffy, CEO, Per Mar Security Services, and Governing Board Chair of JA of the Heartland, said in a news release. To learn more about the JA Inspiration Center, or to donate to the capital campaign, visit the capital campaign website, which also will provide progress updates, success stories and ways to engage with JA’s mission.