Volunteer Spotlight: Kim Wall, Georgia United Credit Union

Kim Wall, bottom right, with her team at the JA Discovery Center at Gwinnett

What motivates you to volunteer? 

Georgia United Credit Union encourages community service and volunteerism as a priority for all team members. We receive several paid days off to support community programs like Junior Achievement, and our own Georgia United service projects.

Personally, I love volunteering and sharing my life experiences with the next generation, and seeing how much our team members enjoy working with the middle schoolers. As corporate volunteers, we also represent Georgia United as a positive and responsible business partner with our school systems.

Why JA of Georgia?

Junior Achievement is a great fit for credit unions because we are committed to improving financial literacy for students (and adults!) 

We understand solid money management practices and love to share real-life scenarios to facilitate those “ah-ha” moments.

What’s your best ah-ha moment or memory with JA of Georgia?

Our first-time JA volunteers usually seem a little nervous to work with middle schoolers but once the students receive their lifestyle simulations (“What, I have two kids?!”) and start the budgeting exercises (“How am I going to PAY for all these expenses?!”), things get “REAL” in a hurry!

Students are always surprised at how much things cost (taxes, insurance, etc.) and I suspect quite a few candid family dinner conversations about money take place AFTER a visit to JA. Don’t you?

Volunteer Spotlight: Tobias Bell, Sage Software

What motivates you to volunteer? As adults, we view the issues of our society every day. To volunteer with the kids Georgia is my way of molding a better future. If I can impact our youth in a positive way, they will then use those ideals to be a great contribution to society.  

Why JA of Georgia? As an Atlanta native, being able to impact my city directly by encouraging its residents has always been a dream of mine. The image of Georgia is viewed on a national scale and JA is a huge contributor to the prestige of the state of Georgia. 

What’s your best ah-ha moment or memory with JA of Georgia? Working in JA BizTown’s Bank of America I had a young man that seemed to have no drive, no ambitions as far as his future. Just so happens he was made CEO. This young man displayed one the best illustrations of leadership I’ve seen at JA. He managed, directed his peers, he didn’t even go shopping because he wanted to make sure his business was running sufficiently. Afterwards I spoke with him and he stated he wanted to become an entrepreneur -  just showing these kids a direction can impact their lives tremendously.

SunTrust awarded The President’s Volunteer Service Award (PVSA) for their volunteer effort to advance financial literacy

ATLANTA, GA-  SunTrust Banks, Inc. (NYSE: STI) announced today it has been awarded the top U.S. President's Volunteer Service Award at the Gold level for providing more than 15,000 volunteer hours to Junior Achievement (JA) during the 2015-2016 school year.

This marks the third time SunTrust has been awarded a U.S. President's Volunteer Award with JA.  JA's programs provide kindergarten through high school students innovative, hands-on work readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy education. The SunTrust Foundation has previously made a $1 million grant to JA's capital campaign, and SunTrust provided $400,000 in sponsorship of JA Finance Park in Atlanta. In addition, SunTrust has committed $1.7 million to Junior Achievement Tampa Bay to build a similar Finance Park in Florida. Further, SunTrust is leading the onUp Movement to advance financial confidence across America.

"Supporting Junior Achievement is one of many ways SunTrust teammates work with students and put our purpose of Lighting the Way to Financial Well-Being into action," said Allison Dukes, president and chief executive officer of the Atlanta Division of SunTrust. "Receiving the President's Volunteer Service Award underscores our commitment to building financial confidence, and we look forward to ongoing volunteer opportunities with Junior Achievement to promote financial literacy."

In 2003, President George W. Bush established the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation (the Council) to recognize the valuable contributions volunteers make in communities and encourage more people to serve. The Council created the President's Volunteer Service Award program as a way to thank and honor individuals who, by their demonstrated commitment and example, inspire others to engage in volunteer service. In 2006, Junior Achievement became an official certifying organization for this award, which recognizes corporations with a U.S. presence that provide volunteers to teach JA programs anywhere in the world.

"SunTrust is a transformational partner of JA, and ultimately our entire community," said Jack Harris, president and chief executive officer of Junior Achievement of Georgia. "Fifteen thousand hours of mentoring and empowering children is an astonishing feat, and a testament to their unyielding commitment to advance financial well-being for all. We are proud to be a partner of SunTrust and together will continue to build more pipelines to economic opportunity for all."

About SunTrust Banks, Inc.
SunTrust Banks, Inc. is a purpose-driven company dedicated to Lighting the Way to Financial Well-Being for the people, businesses, and communities it serves. Headquartered in Atlanta, the Company has three business segments: Consumer Banking and Private Wealth Management, Wholesale Banking, and Mortgage Banking. Its flagship subsidiary, SunTrust Bank, operates an extensive branch and ATM network throughout the high-growth Southeast and Mid-Atlantic states, along with 24-hour digital access. Certain business lines serve consumer, commercial, corporate, and institutional clients nationally. As of September 30, 2016, SunTrust had total assets of $205 billion and total deposits of $159 billion. The Company provides deposit, credit, trust, investment, mortgage, asset management, securities brokerage, and capital market services. SunTrust leads onUp, a national movement inspiring Americans to build financial confidence. Join the movement at onUp.com.

About Junior Achievement USA® (JA)
Junior Achievement is the world's largest organization dedicated to giving young people the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for their future, and make smart academic and economic choices. JA programs are delivered by corporate and community volunteers, and provide relevant, hands-on experiences that give students from kindergarten through high school knowledge and skills in financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship. Today, JA reaches 4.8 million students per year in more than 100 markets across the United States, with an additional 5.6 million students served by operations over 100 other countries worldwide. Visit www.ja.org for more information.