Business
Young People Embrace Financial Literacy
Learn Ins and Outs of Adult Responsibilities

Students learn about managing their finances in an innovative program in the District. (Courtesy photo)
Camiya Penny walked around a “mall” at the Junior Achievement Finance Park with almost 80 of her classmates, looking for bargains. For an allotted amount of time, she and the other teens went shopping for vehicles, homes, loans, child care, mortgages and other household-related items.
Prior to her “shopping expedition,” Penny sat around a table with fellow seventh- and eighth-graders from Friendship Blow Pierce Public Charter School in Southeast staring intently – frowning at times – at a Samsung Galaxy tablet trying to figure out how to make her modest salary stretch. The students, divided into several smaller groups, received instructions, researched a family budget and then wrestled with how best to spend their money.
One instruction adult volunteers gave the group was to spend or save all of their income.
Penny, a 13-year-old eighth-grader, said after participating in a four-hour financial literacy simulation that the experience gave her a better appreciation for the sacrifices and challenges her parents make in caring for her and her siblings.
For this exercise, Penny played a butcher with no children, making $30,000 a year before taxes and operating with a $2,500-a-month budget. She, unlike several others, didn’t have a spouse to share the financial load.
“I’m budgeting and saving, and I have to stick to the budget. I have to stay within my budget or end up with a small amount of money,” she said with a smile. “The first time I came, I didn’t apply what I learned, but now I will because it has an impact on your life.”
Ed Grenier III, president and CEO of Junior Achievement of Greater Washington, said that that’s his organization’s goal. In a society that has seen widespread economic and financial turmoil not seen in decades, Grenier explained, financial literacy has gained added currency.
“Junior Achievement was founded in 1919 to teach kids how business works,” he said. “It evolved into financial literacy, entrepreneurship and work readiness for middle and high school kids. “We’ve broadened the focus. We give them the fundamental basis to be successful in a global economy.
“We recruit adult volunteers from companies or individuals. We teach our program through adult role models who bring their own experiences. The kids learn personal budgeting, lessons on transportation, health care, recreation, dining out. Teaching and training is a big part of what we do.”
About 53,000 teens in the Washington metropolitan region have gone through the Junior Achievement program, and 4 million young people in total have been served. The financial literacy program is available in 125 countries, where 10 million children enjoy the program. In the U.S., 120 chapters are devoted to teaching young people to become comfortable and proficient with budgeting and finance, debit and credit, compound interest, taxes and investment portfolios.
After the welcome and introductions by Junior Achievement staff in the auditorium, the big reveal turned out to be opening two large wooden sliding doors to the mall populated with storefronts of some of the region and country’s most recognized businesses. Some of them include Clark Construction, CVS, Omega World Travel, Volkswagen, Goodwill, Dominion Light, Northern Virginia Community College and Monumental Sports Entertainment.
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Oakland Post: Week of February 5 – 11, 2025
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of February 5 – 11, 2025

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Oakland Post: Week of January 29 – February 4, 2025
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of January 29 – February 4, 2025

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Oakland Poll: Tell Us What You Think About the Cost of Groceries in Oakland
Food banks and grocery giveaways are a large part of the resources nonprofits in Oakland prioritize, particularly in areas like East and West Oakland where low-income families of color tend to reside. These neighborhoods are often labeled as “food deserts” or communities that have limited access to affordable and nutritious foods.

By Magaly Muñoz
In 2023, the average spending on groceries increased by nearly $30 each month from the year before;people are spending over $500 a month to put food on the table.
Through previous reporting by the Post, we’ve learned that families in Oakland are depending more and more on free or low cost groceries from food banks because they can no longer afford the rising costs of food at the store.
Food banks and grocery giveaways are a large part of the resources nonprofits in Oakland prioritize, particularly in areas like East and West Oakland where low-income families of color tend to reside. These neighborhoods are often labeled as “food deserts” or communities that have limited access to affordable and nutritious foods.
We’ve recently spoken to families across these two areas of Oakland and have heard several stories that all point to one problem: food is expensive. Some individuals are spending upwards of $150 a week for themselves or double if they have teens or small children in the family.
We’ve also heard stories of people with chronic illnesses like diabetes and high blood pressure struggling to maintain their diets because they’re having a hard time affording the food that helps them stay healthy.
Do these experiences sound similar to what you or your family are dealing with every month? Are you struggling to afford your basic groceries every week? Do you depend on food banks to help you get by? Are there any chronic illnesses in your household that need to be managed by a special diet?
We want to hear about your experiences and ideas for solutions!
The Oakland Post is investigating food access in Oakland and how residents are surviving as the cost of living continues to increase. Your experiences will help shape our reporting and show local leaders the need to invest in our communities.
In order to get as much feedback as possible, we ask that you click this link to fill out a brief questionnaire or visit tinyurl.com/Oakland-Post-food-survey. You can also scan the QR code above to reach the survey. After you fill it out, please consider sharing the link with your friends and family in Oakland.
If you have questions, please reach out to our Oakland reporter Magaly Muñoz at mmunoz@postnewsgroup or text/call her at (510) 905-5286.
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