Alma Center-Humbird-Merrillan Teacher and Co-op Credit Union Honored for Dedication to Junior Achievement

Monday, January 22nd, 2024 -- 12:00 PM

Alma Center-Humbird-Merrillan’s Middle/High School business teacher Bridgett Raine and Co-op Credit Union (CCU) were recently honored for their dedication to Junior Achievement (JA), a program that fosters financial literacy, work-readiness and entrepreneurship in youth.

CCU nominated Raine for the JA Educator Hero Award because of her passion for financial literacy and finding opportunities for hands-on learning experiences for her students. She works diligently to develop a unique schedule that works for her classroom and the volunteers, ensuring JA continues in her classroom.

“Our CCU volunteers love being in Mrs. Raine’s classroom. It is clear she commands the classroom and elicits respect from her students,” said Rachel Risberg, CCU member experience specialist and JA of Northwest Wisconsin board member. “Her support of JA shines through, and we see that transfer to her students.”

CCU received the Volunteer Hero Award because of their ability to present the curriculum well to students, while being dependable and flexible with scheduling. The volunteers at CCU work as a team to bring energy and their own life experiences into the classroom to help the students understand the curriculum.

“I enjoy volunteering for JA because I believe it is so important to teach our youth about the real world prior to them graduating,” said Abby Nelson, CCU’s ACH specialist. “We are setting them up for success and shaping our future leaders.”

CCU employees volunteer to teach the JA program to the middle school students every quarter for four weeks through six sessions. The curriculum gets students thinking about their potential career paths and prepares them to find and maintain jobs, while also teaching about economics, budgeting, the value of a credit score and types of insurance.

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