BGE Celebrates the Opening of a New Storefront at JA Biztown

BGE partnered with Junior Achievement of Central Maryland to open a second storefront in their Baltimore area facility, JA Biztown!

JA Biztown combines in-class learning with a visit to the simulated town to explore innovative “real world” programming. Students move throughout the various storefronts in JA Biztown to experience hands-on workplace, business and personal finance scenarios.

“Students come here to learn how a city works. They have jobs, they pay their bills, they cash their paychecks, and they really understand their role as an individual consumer and employees in an economy,” said Paul Kappel Jr., president/CEO of Junior Achievement of Central Maryland.

JA BizTown has 15 storefronts where students are assigned a role and “work” within simulated job experiences with volunteer instructors to learn real world applications, such as operating a bank, managing a restaurant, writing checks, and even voting for Mayor of JA Biztown.

In early December, BGE President & CEO Carim Khouzami welcomed the new Mayor of JA Biztown and nearly 100 students from City Springs Elementary School to their new jobs for the day. More than 30 BGE employees volunteered at the different JA Biztown storefronts and aided with the various simulated career roles and responsibilities.

This partnership is made possible through the BGE Corporate Community Impact (CCI) department, which is committed to achieving equitable and sustainable outcomes in the communities we serve.

“By making investments like this with Junior Achievement, BGE is creating intentional programming for students to become energy-saving consumers and discover real-world experiences for career awareness and exploration. Our workforce development strategy focuses on advancing economic equity within historically underserved communities,” stated Kristen Bucher, BGE’s workforce development manager. “To achieve this, our work centers around four key priorities: Igniting STEM in young minds, eliminating barriers to economic empowerment, equipping work-ready adults and youth for family-supporting careers and engineering new ideas in workforce development.”

For more information on the Junior Achievement Biztown learning experience, please visit the Junior Achievement of Central Maryland Biztown Program.