Young Americans Center for Financial Education

I took a bus load of 6th graders to Young Americans Center to participate in the International Towne activity. It was an incredible for them. They have a passport, cash and a credit card and divide into groups and have a country. While some travel the others stay home and welcome other travelers ans then switch. They learned about other countries, customs, following rules and finances. They could purchase items while traveling and toward the end would get their credit card statement and have to pay off their debts. They also learned how countries are dependent on each other when a natural disaster shut a region and how it affected everyone in the world. It was interesting to observe as an adult and wondered why they didn't have this when I was a kid. The staff did a wonderful job with this activity and were very good working with and explaining things to the kids. Everyone was super. Thanks for doing this to help our kids.

The concept of "Ameritown" is so cool without even having seen it, and something that everyone says that is lacking in education, teaching kids about financial literacy and " things they will need in real life." But to go there and experience a day with a classroom full of kids role playing learning how to run a business and pay off your business loan, get a paycheck, and manage your money is really more than I ever expected. The facility is super super clean, the staff is really friendly and it was just a really fun time. The kids all had a blast and I really think did learn something. I would love to go back, and even when my kids are older, would love to volunteer there because it's just a really fun experience. Another really cool thing is how they work with the schools well before the day of the field trip, to help them prepare the kids for their day at AmeriTown , so it's not just a day of fun playtime, it's something they learn lessons about before and after. And they get to see if their business was a success, and whether they managed to stay out of the red with their money.

Great experience for kids; would have been nice to have something like this growing up. Staff is very friendly. Kids get the opportunity fill various jobs in "Ameritown", as well receiving wages, a debit card, and cash from the bank, to learn how to keep track of their spending, pay off a bank loan from their business, and in addition to the their business' duties, nearly every shop has to advertise and sell a couple products, to include raising and lower prices for their products based on supply and demand. This all takes place over a 4-hour period, of which , kids get a 20-min lunch break in the middle, and a 25-min break before and after lunch. Nearly every business is assigned a role as "manager", "accountant", or other specific role unique to their assigned business. At the end of the event, if kids have any "Ameritown" cash left over, they can donate the play money to any number of a handful of known charities like YMCA or Casa, and sponsors will match those donations. The only thing that would have made this event better was advanced notice on what duties each kid would perform, as well as what duties each parent/adult volunteer would be overseeing. There was substantial time wasted during the first half of the event figuring out everyone's duties and the 25-min breaks made it challenging to teach all the kids their specific roles. Otherwise, this was a great experience and I'd encourage any children's group to reach out and try to book a day at Ameritown. It seems like the desired count of kids for an event was roughly 50-60 and we ended only having maybe 35-40 due to many kids not showing up, but it was still successful even with many vacant positions.

By 5th grade daughter and I had a blast! Great experience to teach kids about the global economy

I brought both my kids here to open accounts and Andrea was incredibly helpful. She made sure they both understood everything pertaining to their new accounts. She was also very personable and bubbly! It was a great experience! 10/10 reccommend!