Finance Park is a fun and engaging blended-learning programme, aimed at empowering students to align the realities of life and personal choices at different life stages to live their dreams. On the Finance Park online simulation platform, students will leave behind their lives as students and take on different life scenarios: avatars with a career, salary, credit card, a family, and financial obligations, where they learn about all aspects of personal finance including budget planning, saving and expenses. The avatars range from fresh graduate, young adult at early career stage, to married adult with kids. At the same time, students will be guided by business volunteers who share their experience on personal finance management and strategies to strive for a fulfilling life.
This year’s Programme was launched at the workshop recently (8 Nov 2024), where more than 80 students were guided by 40 DBS volunteers to develop a strong foundation of financial concepts and skills, understand how education and finance decision affect their earning potential and future, and create a successful budget using hypothetical life situations.
Ms. Alphae Chen, Head of Group Strategic Marketing and Communications, DBS Bank (Hong Kong) Limited shared, “We are thrilled to partner with Junior Achievement Hong Kong on the Finance Park initiative. This program not only empowers students with essential financial literacy skills and knowledge. By engaging with real-life financial scenarios through interactive simulations, students can develop the confidence to make informed choices, paving the way for a secure and successful financial future.”
Ms. Vivian Choi, CEO, Junior Achievement Hong Kong shared, “Having the first experience with managing finances as adults when getting something wrong can have life-changing implications. With Finance Park, youths can try, potentially fail, and learn in a safe environment that highlights important lessons on money management. We greatly appreciate the support from DBS Foundation and DBS volunteers in making this learning possible for Hong Kong youth.”
Guiding students throughout the activities, Mr. Cyril Mak, a DBS volunteer, stated, "I am very happy to have the opportunity to engage with young people, helping them understand the importance of financial management and sharing my own experiences to teach them the financial decisions they should make at each stage of life, so that they can avoid making the wrong decision."
“Financial management is an essential life skill for students.” said Mr. Lau Sai-Chong, Principal, Yan Chai Hospital Lan Chi Pat Memorial Secondary School. “Through hands-on activities and discussions guided by business volunteers, students gained knowledge and experience in managing personal finances. By using an engaging gaming platform, students can better understand and connect to the real world.”
Lam Sum Yin, Form 4 Student of Yan Chai Hospital Lan Chi Pat Memorial Secondary School shared that “In the simulation, I was married and had a cat, had a stable income and fixed expenses, while planning to save and invest. I realised that while everyone's financial budget can be different, managing one’s finances carefully and responsibly is essential to meet his or her needs and life goals."
Law Tsz Fung, Form 4 student shared, “I will have a job in a few years. This experience helps me understand that I cannot spend recklessly on things I like to eat or wear, even if I have an income. I need to invest in continuing education to increase my future potential earnings."Finance Park curriculum and simulation are provided for free to schools. For more details, please visit www.jahk.org/fp
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DBS Foundation
DBS Foundation is committed to uplifting lives and livelihoods of those in need.Since 2014, it has been championing innovative businesses for impact – businesses that are focused on addressing key societal issues, and achieve profit through purpose. Through philanthropic funding, capacity-building, mentorship and other support measures, DBS Foundation catalyses the growth and impact of these purpose-driven businesses.
It also seeks to ignite positive change by helping the underserved and underprivileged to build towards better circumstances. This includes providing essential needs to those without and fostering inclusion by equipping them with financial and digital literacy skills.
DBS Foundation also works with other like-minded partners to ignite enduring change. Its vision is to spark collective action to help build a better world; to make every day better and every tomorrow brighter.
For more information, please visit: http://www.dbs.com/dbsfoundation
Finance Park
Finance Park is an innovative blended-learning program that aims to inspire students to build a foundation for making informed, lifelong personal finance decisions, by empowering them to align the realities of life and personal choices at different life stages to live their dreams.
Junior Achievement Hong Kong (JA HK)
Junior Achievement Hong Kong is a registered not-for-profit charity. One of the 100+ members of JA Worldwide, JA HK is a leading provider of Other Learning Experiences in Hong Kong. Our programs enable young people to learn the world of work from the first-hand experience of business volunteers. JA delivers hands-on, experiential learning in entrepreneurship, work readiness and financial literacy, inspiring and preparing young people to succeed in a global economy. Since our establishment in 2001, we have engaged the support of over 32,000 business volunteers to serve more than 480,000 students from over 600 schools. Find out more at www.jahk.org.
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