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Toronto High School Students Win 2010 JA Banks in Action North American Competition

 

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release:
July 8, 2010

Toronto High School Students Win
2010 JA Banks in Action North American Competition
in New York

Financial skills contest sponsored by Citi Foundation and Junior Achievement

Tornoto, ON — Junior Achievement students from Marc Garneau C.I. in Toronto won the 2010 JA Banks in Action North American Competition in New York City. The winning team received a check for $1,500. The participating students were Michelle Brooks, Claire Browne, and Patrick Lung. The event was sponsored by the Citi Foundation.

The Toronto students were among 10 teams from across the U.S and Canada to qualify to face off in the final round of a competition of financial know-how in New York City on June 27- 30, 2010. The participating teams represented the cities of Louisville, Ky.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Ponte Vedra, Fla.; Newark, Del.; Layton, Utah; Austin, Texas; Helotes, Texas; and Toronto and Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.

The First-Place Team receiving their $1,500 cash award during the Awards Luncheon of the JA Banks in Action competition in New York City.
The First-Place Team receiving their $1,500 cash award during the Awards Breakfast of the JA Banks in Action competition in New York City.

Geared to high school students, JA Banks in Action™ demystifies finance by explaining how a bank works. While exposing students to banking basics, operations, and history, students learn about various career paths they can take in the financial services industry. A computer simulation allows student competitors to role-play as bank managers, challenging them to successfully operate a bank in a dynamic environment where their decisions will impact the bottom line of “their” bank.

In 2007, JA Banks in Action expanded from its roots in Latin America to become a global program. Today, with Citi Foundation support, the program reaches over 70,000 students from 33 countries annually. In the U.S, more than 3,000 students in 14 markets participated in the program during the 2009-2010 school year.

The Citi Foundation is one of largest contributors to Junior Achievement globally. Since 2004, the Foundation has invested over $10 million in the growth and development of JA Banks in Action. Citi Foundation’s support for the program is part of Citi and Citi Foundation’s 10-year, $200 million commitment to financial capability, which began in 2004. Citi employees also invest in students’ futures by volunteering to teach financial education and responsible business skills to young people in the classroom.

About Citi
Citi, the leading global financial services company, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 140 countries. Through its two operating units, Citicorp and Citi Holdings, Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, and wealth management. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com or www.citi.com.

About Citi Foundation
The Citi Foundation is committed to the economic empowerment of individuals and families, particularly those in need, in the communities where we work so that they can improve their standard of living. Globally, the Citi Foundation targets its strategic giving to priority focus areas: Microfinance and Microenterprise, Small and Growing Businesses, College and Careers, and Financial Capability and Asset Building. In the United States, the Citi Foundation also supports Neighborhood Revitalization programs. The Citi Foundation works with its partners in Microfinance and Microenterprise, Small and Growing Businesses, and Neighborhood Revitalization to support environmental programs and innovations. Additional information can be found at www.citifoundation.com.

About JA Worldwide® (Junior Achievement)
Junior Achievement is the world's largest organization dedicated to inspiring and preparing young people to succeed in a global economy. Through a dedicated volunteer network, Junior Achievement provides in-school and after-school programs for students which focus on three key content areas: work readiness, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy. Today, 126 individual area operations reach more than four million students in the United States, with an additional 5.7 million students served by operations in 122 other countries worldwide. For more information, visit www.ja.org.

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