Junior Achievement of North Florida has announced a $1-million cumulative investment from EverBank in support of the future JA Experiential Learning Center (ELC), the largest commitment to the project to date and a defining step forward as Junior Achievement of North Florida builds momentum toward construction.
Through this leadership investment, EverBank will serve as the presenting sponsor of JA BizTown within the ELC and will be featured through a dedicated storefront experience inside the simulation.
EverBank’s investment reflects a deep alignment with its EverBank Builds platform, which focuses on expanding access to financial education, strengthening communities and helping individuals build long-term financial futures.
The JA Experiential Learning Center – planned for downtown Jacksonville – will bring together JA BizTown and JA Finance Park to deliver immersive, real-world learning experiences for students across Northeast Florida. At full scale, the center is expected to serve approximately 30,000 students annually.
Within JA BizTown, students step into the roles of employees, business leaders and consumers, making decisions, managing finances and experiencing how a local economy operates. In JA Finance Park, students are challenged to make financial decisions based on a simulated life scenario that includes a job, income and family responsibilities. The program emphasizes budgeting, saving, credit management and career exploration.
“EverBank’s investment represents a pivotal moment for this project,” said Shannon Italia, president for Junior Achievement of North Florida. “As our largest investor to date, their leadership accelerates our path to groundbreaking and reflects a broader movement of organizations coming together to invest in the future of our community.
Italia added, “This partnership is especially meaningful because it builds on a shared commitment to financial education. Through EverBank Builds, they are already investing in stronger financial futures, and the Experiential Learning Center allows that impact to scale in a powerful and lasting way.”
Junior Achievement of North Florida is working to move the project into the construction phase by the end of the year, supported by growing engagement from corporate partners and the organization’s Groundbreakers initiative.
“At EverBank, we are committed to building stronger communities by expanding access to financial education and opportunity,” said Renuka Patel, executive vice president and chief administrative officer of EverBank. “We’re proud to support the development of Junior Achievement’s Experiential Learning Center to give young people the tools, confidence and real-world perspective to build long-term financial wellbeing.”
Through JA BizTown and JA Finance Park, students gain confidence by doing – not just learning,” said Italia. “EverBank’s presence will help bring that experience to life in a way that is relevant, tangible and impactful.”
The ELC is part of a broader $15-million capital campaign to expand Junior Achievement’s reach and deepen its impact across Northeast Florida. With momentum continuing to build, Junior Achievement of North Florida is actively engaging additional partners who want to help shape a project designed to serve tens of thousands of students each year – and strengthen the region’s future workforce.
EverBank is a longstanding champion of Junior Achievement. Beyond this commitment, EverBank supports Junior Achievement of North Florida through its Touchdowns for Tomorrow program. Touchdowns for Tomorrow was launched through a partnership with the Jacksonville Jaguars to bring early financial education to schools across the First Coast. For every regular season Jaguars touchdown, both home and away, EverBank pledges $500 to Junior Achievement of North Florida. Since its inception in 2022, more than 10,000 local students have received vital financial education lessons through the program.
For more information about Junior Achievement of North Florida and the Experiential Learning Center, go to htts://www.janflelc.org.
