Kohl’s Department Stores Donates $3 million to Junior Achievement (JA) of Wisconsin for Kohl’s Education Center & JA Prog...
January 25 2010 - 8:00AM
Business Wire
Kohl’s Department Stores
(NYSE: KSS) is partnering with Junior Achievement of Wisconsin,
Inc. and donating $3 million over the next three years to create a
new interactive learning facility, the Kohl’s Education Center,
opening in late 2010. Programs that will be housed in the new
facility will provide approximately 45,000 Milwaukee-area fourth
through tenth grade students over the next three years with a
unique, hands-on opportunity to learn work readiness,
entrepreneurship and financial literacy. The donation comes from
the Kohl’s Cares for Kids® cause program, which sells special
merchandise, including plush toys and books, and donates 100
percent of the net profit to benefit children’s health and
education initiatives nationwide.
“The Milwaukee area is home for Kohl’s, and we are proud to be
able to give back and build health and education programs for kids
here in the local community,” said Julie Gardner, Kohl’s executive
vice president and chief marketing officer. “Junior Achievement is
a premier organization and these new programs create a fun,
interactive way for kids to learn about real-life financial
decisions, transactions and how to spend within a budget. They will
build practical tools and skills they need to succeed as tomorrow’s
workforce, consumers and leaders.”
The programs work with local schools and teachers to combine
classroom learning with real-world situations, providing hands-on
activities and full simulation experiences to engage different
learning styles and enhance what students learn in a classroom. The
goal is for students to learn practical skills around work
readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy.
Site locations for the Kohl’s Education Center are currently
being evaluated. When a site is determined, the Kohl’s Education
Center will house two age-specific learning labs:
- JA BizTown™: Created for
fourth through sixth grade - connects education to the workforce
when students run a “real” city economy as workers, consumers, and
government officials. Students start with classroom lessons and
then spend a full day at JA BizTown to put their learning into
action with a fully-interactive simulated town. Students operate
the town bank, manage restaurants and stores, write checks and vote
for the JA BizTown mayor. Students shop for what they need at
retail stores, including a Kohl’s branded store, and will act as
store associates and/or customers as part of their hands-on
learning experience.
- JA Finance Park™: Created
for seventh through tenth grade - is a financial literacy program
where students complete personal finance transactions and create
long term financial plans. First, students engage in a month-long
economics education program at their schools that introduces
personal financial planning and career exploration. After the
classroom lessons, students visit JA Finance Park with their
teachers and a staff of trained JA volunteers. Upon arrival at the
JA Finance Park, students are given a specific simulated life story
which includes age, family information, occupation and income. They
then must navigate through the park and its storefronts managing
their finances and constructing a workable household budget.
Similar JA programs are in 29 cities in the U.S. and this
donation will bring this proven-program to the Milwaukee-area. The
programs will primarily serve Milwaukee-, Ozaukee-, Washington-,
and Waukesha-county students. The Kohl’s Education Center will
facilitate 10,000 students in its first year, 15,000 students in
its second year and 20,000 thousand by the third year.
“We are thrilled that Kohl’s is supporting Junior Achievement.
This gift ensures students during the next school year will have
the opportunity to experience JA BizTown and JA Finance Park,” said
Tim Greinert, President of Junior Achievement of Wisconsin, Inc.
“We’ve seen the success of these programs and are thankful for the
generosity from Kohl’s. We know that students will benefit from
these programs and look forward to the grand opening.”
Since 2000, and with this most recent donation, Kohl’s expects
to give approximately $20 million to support charitable initiatives
in the metro-Milwaukee area. This latest donation is part of the
more than $126 million raised over the past ten years by the Kohl's
Cares for Kids cause program that benefits children’s health and
education initiatives nationwide. Most recently in Milwaukee,
Kohl’s announced a $1 million donation in December to Penfield
Children’s Center to create a new program delivering specialized
resources and services for children with developmental challenges.
Last fall, Kohl’s announced a $225,000 donation from the Kohl’s
Cares for Kids Program to Hunger Task Force to create a supper meal
program for students in Milwaukee. The one-year program will feed
2,775 students each day. Kohl’s has also given $1 million to the
Milwaukee Art Museum to fund the youth art education program,
Kohl’s Art Generation. For the past ten years, the Kohl’s Cares for
Kids program has supported Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. Last
year, the hospital received $725,000. For more information on
Kohl’s philanthropic efforts, visit www.kohlscorporation.com.
For more information on the Kohl’s Education Center and JA
Capstone Programs, visit www.ja.org. To purchase Kohl’s Cares for
Kids® merchandise, visit any Kohl’s store or shop online at
www.kohls.com.
About Kohl’s
Based in Menomonee Falls, Wis., Kohl’s (NYSE: KSS) is a
family-focused, value-oriented specialty department store offering
moderately priced, exclusive and national brand apparel, shoes,
accessories, beauty and home products in an exciting shopping
environment. Kohl’s operates 1,059 stores in 49 states. A company
committed to the communities it serves, Kohl’s has raised more than
$126 million for children’s initiatives nationwide through its
Kohl’s Cares for Kids® philanthropic program, which operates under
Kohl's Cares, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kohl's Department
Stores, Inc. For a list of store locations and information, or for
the added convenience of shopping online, visit www.kohls.com.
About Junior Achievement
JA Worldwide is the world’s largest organization dedicated to
educating students about workforce readiness, entrepreneurship and
financial literacy through experiential, hands-on programs. Junior
Achievement programs help prepare young people for the real world
by showing them how to generate wealth and effectively manage it,
how to create jobs which make their communities more robust, and
how to apply entrepreneurial thinking to the workplace. Students
put these lessons into action and learn the value of contributing
to their communities. JA’s unique approach allows volunteers from
the community to deliver our curriculum while sharing their
experiences with students. Embodying the heart of JA, our 384,925
classroom volunteers transform the key concepts of our lessons into
a message that inspires and empowers students to believe in
themselves, showing them they can make a difference in the world.
Junior Achievement of Wisconsin, Inc. has more than 155,000
students participating annually, is lead by a volunteer Board of
Directors and is privately funded with gifts from individuals,
corporations and foundations.
Kohls (NYSE:KSS)
Historical Stock Chart
From May 2024 to Jun 2024
Kohls (NYSE:KSS)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jun 2023 to Jun 2024