A New Energy in BizTown
CenterPoint Energy Foundation Digs Deep for Student Impact
We are thrilled to welcome the CenterPoint Energy shop to JA BizTown! The CenterPoint Energy shop helps highlight the diverse careers available at a utility company and how those careers help benefit local communities by providing essential services to residents and assuring safety in building and improvement projects.
On November 7th, Junior Achievement North and the CenterPoint Energy Foundation celebrated the opening of the CenterPoint Energy shop with a ribbon-cutting including a crew of vibrant volunteers from CenterPoint's Minnesota staff to help break in the new space.
This new shop supports student learning during our on-site interactive learning experience called JA BizTown, which provides students with hands-on opportunities to run a business, explore potential future career pathways, and practice personal finance and budgeting skills.
As part of this new partnership, we're thrilled to announce that CenterPoint Energy Foundation awarded a $150,000 grant to Junior Achievement North to help us deepen our impact together as we inspire the next generation of leaders to be thoughtful citizens and dedicated professionals in their chosen pathway.
While working in the CenterPoint Energy Shop at JA BizTown, students install and read meters to verify energy use, and work together to build a cost-effective energy system that prioritizes community benefit while evaluating opportunities for new infrastructure. They also inform citizens about future projects and share natural gas safety tips like calling 811 before any digging project.
We're unendingly grateful for this incredible partnership with the CenterPoint Energy Foundation and are assured that their shop will provide students with the ability to develop leadership skills and confidence by learning how to run a business, practice budgeting skills, and collaborate with each other in real-time.
“We're absolutely delighted to welcome CenterPoint to our family of shops at our experiential learning center in St. Paul! This wonderful partnership is essential to our mission of providing high-quality, immersive learning experiences for young people. Together, we're equipping them to lead empowered, fulfilling vocational and personal lives beyond the classroom" said Junior Achievement North Vice President of Partnerships Maryse Birr.
