AmeriTowne: A Summer Camp that Educates and Excites – The Denver North Star
By Monty Krajnik, sixth-grade student at Skinner Middle School Did you know you can learn about finances and economics while having fun? My favori... AmeriTowne: A Summer Camp that teaches students about finances and economics, is held each summer by Young Americans Center for Financial Education. The camp, which offers real-life activities and knowledge on economics, allows students to keep the items they purchase with their AmeriTowned money. There are two locations in Denver and Belmar, with rising third- through fifth-graders attending the week-long camps during June and July. The typical weekly schedule includes an introduction to the program, classes on checking accounts and business ethics, and a job interview. Campers can purchase items from stores with AmeriHote debit cards and cash. Trevor Mayo, director of marketing and communications at YACenter, expressed his love for the camp and its preparation for future financial decisions.
Published : 11 months ago by Monty Krajnik, Jamie Cato in
Did you know you can learn about finances and economics while having fun? My favorite summer camp does just that. It’s called AmeriTowne and is put on each summer by Young Americans Center for Financial Education.
The camp offers real-life activities, a ton of knowledge on economics, and you are able to keep the items you purchase with your AmeriTowne money! There are two locations, Denver and Belmar. Rising third- through fifth-graders may attend the week-long camps during June and July. The camp hosts 835 children across 15 different camps!
Here is what a typical weekly schedule looks like:
Day 1: Introduction to the program; opportunity to run in an election for mayor, police officer or banker; apply for first job; classes on checking accounts and business ethics.
Day 2: Learn results of elections and first AmeriTowne job; spend half day working at job and the other half writing a cover letter.
Day 3: Half day work at a second job while completing challenging tasks; spend half day learning how to write a resume.
Day 4: Half day working at a third job while completing different tasks; spend half day participating in a “real” job interview. During the interview, campers talk about why they want the job and why they are qualified.
Day 5: Campers work at their fourth job at the highest position available. They can purchase items from stores with AmeriTowne debit cards and cash. The second half day includes a debrief of AmeriTowne and a letter of recommendation activity.
Each day campers get opportunities to build experience by working in different types of jobs, e.g., photographer, mail person, radio DJ and banker. You cannot do a job twice, and you want to save your favorite job for Friday because that’s when you’ll actually be selling stuff and completing the most tasks.
When Merit Brown, a fourth-grade student at Academia Ana Marie Sandoval, was asked for his opinion of the job system, he replied, “It’s good because my dad owns his own business so I knew what to do, so they gave me a good job.”
Brown’s favorite thing about the camp was buying snacks with the money he had earned there.
When Trevor Mayo, director of marketing and communications at Young Americans Center for Financial Education was interviewed, he said his favorite part of AmeriTowne is “witnessing the sheer excitement and wonder on the faces of the children as they step through the AmeriTowne doors for the first time.”
“It’s a magical moment when they realize that all the knowledge they’ve acquired in the classroom about financial literacy is about to come to life in this immersive experience,” Mayo continued, noting also that kids will gain invaluable skills and knowledge that will prepare them for managing money and making informed financial decisions in the future.
There are tons of options for day camps in Denver, but if you want a camp that is educational, interactive and enjoyable you should consider AmeriTowne. This impactful camp is special because it teaches campers, simply, the basics of real-life business scenarios. AmeriTowne has helped me understand how economic processes work through exciting hands-on activities. I love this camp and I encourage you to learn more about it on their website at yacenter.org/summer-camps/.