Investing in Education = Strengthening Our Communities

By Candace Higginbotham | February 6, 2025

On a crisp January morning, an intrepid team of Birmingham associates walked two blocks east from Regions Center to take part in a city-wide event to honor a valuable community partnership and celebrate new opportunities for local children.

Junior Achievement (JA) of Alabama recently hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for construction of the new McWane Economic Education Center, a 30,000-square-foot experiential learning facility that will serve more than 20,000 Alabama middle school students annually.

JA is a community organization whose mission is to inspire and prepare young people to succeed in a global economy. The nonprofit delivers programs that deal with real issues such as career exploration and workforce readiness, financial literacy and business and entrepreneurship.

Regions Bank pledged $1 million in financial support for the new center, which will be built on the site of a former downtown parking lot owned by the bank for many years before being sold to JA.

Regions has a longstanding relationship with JA, both in Birmingham and across the bank’s footprint, with associates participating in classroom instruction, fundraising events and serving on boards. JA’s objectives align closely with the bank’s Community Engagement strategy focusing on financial wellness, education, economic development and workforce readiness.

Regions attendees at the groundbreaking event included Chairman, President and CEO John Turner, who serves as honorary co-chair for the education center’s capital campaign and provided remarks at the groundbreaking. Chief Financial Officer David Turner, a longtime member of JA of Alabama’s board of directors, also took part in the event, along with Leroy Abrahams, head of Community Engagement.

"We’re excited to be an investor in this really important project that Junior Achievement is building."

John Turner, Regions Chairman, President and CEO

The Regions leaders were joined by Chip Reed, president of JA of Alabama, along with Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin and other corporate and community leaders and members of local media outlets.

“We’re excited to be an investor in this really important project that Junior Achievement is building,” Turner said. “This experiential learning facility will help children throughout the Birmingham community learn more about how to better manage their finances. At Regions, our mission is to make life better, and we believe that financial education is an important part of making life better. This project will help us achieve that.”

The McWane Economic Education Center will house two key JA programs – JA BizTown; and JA Finance Park, which will be sponsored by Regions. The facility will also serve as headquarters for JA of Alabama.

"This time next year, this facility will be giving 200 children a day – 20,000 a year – the opportunity to imagine and experience a future that they wouldn’t otherwise be able to envision."

Chip Reed, president of JA of Alabama

JA Finance Park Presented by Regions will provide older middle-school students first-hand experience with financial planning and career exploration in a realistic onsite facility. Students will put classroom learning about budgeting, managing expenses, the importance of saving and the role of credit to practical use. They will work with volunteers to develop a personal budget, explore career interests, learn about investing and the basics of insurance, taxes, credit cards and other financial topics.

JA BizTown is a simulated town that allows sixth-grade students to perform real-life activities, such as operating banks, managing restaurants, writing checks and voting for mayor.

“This time next year, this facility will be giving 200 children a day – 20,000 a year – the opportunity to imagine and experience a future that they wouldn’t otherwise be able to envision,” Reed said. “These students will be able to explore and put into practice real-life activities involving jobs, careers, money, finance, budgets – all those ‘rules of life’ that can be intimidating for those without experience but are so important for building financial success.

“We’re very excited to provide this experience for our local students.”

The center will also provide opportunities for adults in the community, as 4,000 volunteers will be needed to deliver and facilitate the programs each year. Regions will play a big role in those efforts, as well.

In his remarks, Turner said the January event was more than just breaking ground on a building, it’s the first step in building a stronger financial foundation for young people – which will have far-reaching impacts.

“Financial education leads to financial empowerment,” Turner said. “And when more people have greater access to essential skills, training, and employment opportunities they can pursue over time, we make our community stronger.”