Z Zurich Foundation Commits to Junior Achievement USA

Junior Achievement USA® announced today a four-year commitment from the Z Zurich Foundation to update its K-5 curriculum. Through this collaboration, the curriculum, which has a strong emphasis on financial literacy, will be redesigned with enhanced digital components and to be more reflective of the communities Junior Achievement (JA) serves. The announcement coincides with International Youth Day on August 12 in recognition of the Z Zurich Foundation’s commitment to JA programs around the world, including in Spain, Italy, the United States, Canada, Indonesia and several countries in Africa.

Research by educators in the K-5 grades has repeatedly demonstrated the cumulative value of introducing and reinforcing financial literacy, career and entrepreneurship topics to young students as a foundation for more focused and specific lessons in later years. Introducing learning opportunities with real-world topics and skills allows students to practice and apply creative thinking and problem solving at an early age, providing the building blocks for developing the self-esteem and self-sufficiency needed to pursue more rigorous academic and real-world challenges. The K-5 curriculum redesign focuses on prevention and intervention at the earliest stages and provides programming to address systemic challenges caused by a lack of financial literacy.

“Financial literacy education in elementary school establishes a basis for greater financial capability later in life,” said Jack E. Kosakowski, President and CEO of Junior Achievement USA. “With the Z Zurich Foundation’s support, our redesigned K-5 learning experiences will have even greater impact on millions of young people each year.”

The collaboration between the Z Zurich Foundation and Junior Achievement USA, supported by Zurich North America, will focus on the following objectives:

• Contribute to filling gaps in U.S. school system approaches to financial literacy education for young learners.
• Redesign K-5 curriculum to be more accessible and reflective of the communities Junior Achievement serves, including enhanced digital elements.
• Engage Zurich North America employees through in-person and virtual volunteerism in 8–10 geographic locations in the U.S.

“This four-year program with Junior Achievement USA is a significant opportunity to support proven and sustainable system change solutions in youth empowerment through financial literacy. The prevention aspect of this program enables us to equip young people with the tools and resources to thrive and reach their full potential. Our joint ambition with Junior Achievement USA and Zurich North America for this grant is to impact millions of American students, as well as thousands of educators and Zurich North America volunteers,” said Gregory Renand, Head of the Z Zurich Foundation. “We are very proud of this new collaboration, building on impactful programs we have already built with Junior Achievement around the world.”

Many Zurich North America employees are already active JA supporters, and this new collaboration will expand the organization’s volunteer efforts. “We are so pleased to be part of this commitment to Junior Achievement USA,” said Brian Winters, Head of U.S. National Accounts Broker Execution at Zurich North America. “Zurich North America employees are eager to volunteer and support JA efforts to foster work-readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy skills. This amazing organization inspires students to dream big and reach their potential, and we’re proud to support programming enhancements that will help make an even greater impact on students.”