Junior Achievement of Southwest Florida has partnered with Fort Myers Miracle to bring a day of education and baseball to Southwest Florida students on Tuesday, May 24. The day will include a “JA in a Day” program for students of Franklin Park Elementary School and a job shadow opportunity for a select 40 students to receive a behind the scenes look into the Fort Myers Miracle’s game-day operations. The experience will conclude with complimentary tickets for the students to attend Junior Achievement Night, hosted by Fort Myers Miracle during its game at 7 p.m. at the Hammond Stadium at CenturyLink Sports Complex when the Fort Myers Miracle take on the Palm Beach Cardinals. In addition to complimentary tickets, discounted adult game tickets will be offered for $7.50 per person with mention of Junior Achievement during purchase. For this game only, the Fort Myers Miracle will also donate $2 of each adult ticket sale to Junior Achievement of Southwest Florida to help fund local programs.
For the in-class portion of the “JA in a Day” program, volunteers from the Fort Myers Miracle baseball organization will visit Franklin Park Elementary School in Fort Myers to host a half-day program for third, fourth and fifth grade students, focusing on Junior Achievement’s teaching pillars of entrepreneurship and work-readiness. The Fort Myers Miracle staff will share their experiences on operating a minor-league business franchise and managing stadium staff and operations.
The 40 students selected to participate in the Fort Myers Miracle job shadow program will have the opportunity to take a tour of the Fort Myers Miracle’s Hammond Stadium at the CenturyLink Sports Complex at 5:30 p.m., prior to the game. Staff will share their expertise on what it takes to host a game at the stadium, including steps to monitor game-day operations, food and beverage services, and merchandise and retail operations.
To celebrate Junior Achievement Night during the May 24 game, Fort Myers Miracle has provided Junior Achievement complimentary student tickets, which were distributed to participating schools to be awarded to students. The students selected to attend the baseball game will be honored as special guests during a pre-game ceremony. A few of these students will also have the opportunity to share with the audience why they were chosen to represent their schools. Students will also be invited to meet a few Fort Myers Miracle baseball players, and one lucky student will be selected to throw out the ceremonial first pitch.
“We are thrilled to partner with Fort Myers Miracle to bring a special day of baseball to local students,” said Angela Fisher, president and CEO of Junior Achievement of Southwest Florida. “We are inspired by the generosity of Fort Myers Miracle for investing in these students by sharing their time and talents to provide insight into the world of business and even offering game tickets at no cost to our students.”
The Fort Myers Miracle’s general manager, Andrew Seymour, believes that partnering with Junior Achievement will not only bring a day of fun to Lee County students, but also a unique opportunity for students to learn the ins and outs of the business of baseball.
“As members of the sports industry, we have the opportunity to help students succeed as future business leaders by using our connection to sports as a way to help students relate to what is being taught and have fun while learning,” Seymour said. “We are pleased to have an ongoing partnership with Junior Achievement and are honored to celebrate and educate these bright students as they prepare to be our future business leaders.”
For more information, please contact Lysa Kennedy at LKennedy@jaswfl.org or call 239-225-2590.
About Junior Achievement USA® (JA):
Junior Achievement is the world’s largest organization dedicated to giving young people the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for their future, and make smart academic and economic choices. JA of Southwest Florida programs are delivered to students in Collier, Lee and Charlotte counties by corporate and community volunteers, and provide relevant, hands-on experiences that give students from kindergarten through high school knowledge and skills in financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship. Today, JA reaches more than 4.6 million students per year in 113 markets across the United States, with an additional 5.6 million students served by operations in 118 other countries worldwide. Junior Achievement USA is a member of JA Worldwide. Visit www.JA.org for more information. For more information about JA of Southwest Florida visit www.JASWFL.org, call 239-225-2590 or info@jaswfl.org.
