News Release: OSBC Grants $15,000 to JAG-K for Second Year
Topeka – Jobs for America’s Graduates-Kansas (JAG-K) will receive a $15,000 grant from the Office of the State Bank Commissioner (OSBC) to assist in its mission to help students prepare for successful futures.
JAG-K teaches young people career and leadership skills, provides work-based learning opportunities, and helps them earn credentials, gain employment, and enter postsecondary training and education.
One of the main tenets of JAG-K is financial literacy (money management skills). The organization teaches students about sound financial practices and offers participants an opportunity to engage in a financial literacy competition each spring.
The mission of the OSBC is to “ensure the integrity of regulated providers of financial services through responsible and proactive oversight, while protecting and educating consumers.” Although its primary role is regulatory, the OSBC protects and educates Kansans through its Consumer Education Grant Program. Each year, funds are provided to organizations that provide financial literacy training to Kansas consumers.
“Consumers are faced with many financial decisions beginning at a young age that affects their lives well into the future,” said Kristy Hanshaw, OSBC Manager of Consumer Affairs. “The OSBC is proud to support JAG-K in its mission to educate students on the importance of financial literacy.”
This is the second year that OSBC awarded JAG-K a $15,000 grant.
“We are grateful to the Office of the State Bank Commissioner for investing in JAG-K students for the second year,” said JAG-K president and CEO Chuck Knapp. “We share the OSBC’s recognition that financial literacy is an important element of success. We are pleased to partner with them to help students become wise and productive adults.”
Last year, OSBC was recognized at the JAG-K State Career Development Conference (CDC) in Great Bend for its support of the program. More than 200 students from JAG-K gathered at Barton Community College on April 5 and competed in events that showcase competencies – including financial literacy – attained in the JAG-K program. Each student in attendance received a t-shirt with the OSBC Kansas logo on the sleeve (pictured).
In the category of Financial Literacy, the top three finishers were: 1st Angel Diaz, Goodland HS; 2nd Phoenix Reisner, Shawnee Mission West HS; and 3rd Tristan Romero, Winfield HS. Those students qualified for the JAG National CDC Finals which were held in Dallas on May 5-7.
Liam Schooler, who went to Dallas as an alternate because Romero was unable to attend, placed 6th in the national financial literacy competition. Diaz came in 7th. Reisner placed 8th.
JAG-K is a multi-year, in-school program for students in grades 6-12 that offers tools to successfully transition students into post-secondary school, the military, or directly into the workforce with marketable skills. Participants in the program face multiple barriers to success that their JAG-K Career Specialist helps them overcome through a nationally accredited, evidence-based model.
The 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization is a state affiliate of the national JAG program network which operates in 39 different states and territories. It is primarily funded through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families block grant to the State of Kansas administered by the Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF). In addition to school districts and DCF, JAG-K partners with the Kansas Department of Education. Other JAG-K funding sources include ADM, AT&T, Evergy, Goldstein Charitable Trust, John Deere, the Kansas Health Foundation, the Kansas Insurance Department, the Kansas State Bank Commissioner, Stormont Vail Health, Synchrony Financial, the Taco Bell Foundation, the City of Topeka, United Way of the Plains and Walmart.
To learn more about JAG-K, visit www.jagkansas.org, ‘Jobs for America’s Graduates-Kansas’ on Facebook, and on Twitter at @JAG_Kansas.