Building a Financial Foundation

It’s rush hour on I-205 and I’m sitting in my car along with hundreds of other drivers. This is the 10th such trip I’ve made this week, from my home in Vancouver to Junior Achievement’s facility on Foster Road in Portland, or back again. But although the drive isn’t convenient, I’m not put out by the commute. It’s summer 2016, my kids are finishing their last day of JA BizTown Summer Camp and I’ll soon be hearing about their adventures of the day.

For three summers in a row, 2015-2017, one or both of my kids attended the weeklong camp that teaches kids ages 10-14 all about earning and managing money, running a business and interacting as a community, all within the environment of a simulated town. I’d first heard of the organization when my oldest daughter attended, and I chaperoned, a BizTown field trip during her 5th grade year. I was delighted with the design of the little town, complete with a City Hall, a bank, a café, a medical clinic, a TV station, a humane society and more—all run by kids who were trained as CEOs or CFOs or other workers to run the town for half a day. The kids earned paychecks, deposited money into accounts and spent their money at the café or the mini mart. On top of the money management, the students also elected a town mayor, broadcast their own TV news show, solved a (thankfully fake) crime, created a newspaper, shipped packages and made phone calls to and from the interconnected businesses and adopted (stuffed) pets from the humane society. I was so impressed by the entire process that the following year, I signed my daughter up to attend Junior Achievement’s BizTown Summer Camp, an expanded version of the half-day field trip format where the kids run the town for the entire week. Her sister joined her the following year, and my youngest daughter attended with a friend the third year. All told, I must have spent something like 20 hours driving them to and from that camp each day, but it was well worth it. Now that my kids are ages 17 and 20, their money management skills have moved from the simulated world of BizTown to the real world of vehicle- and college-related expenses and saving up for big things like snowboarding season passes and new phones.

As I drive south over the Glenn Jackson bridge in 2016, doing the work to lay the foundation of financial literacy in my kids, I have no idea that years from now, my kids will build quite capably on it as they enter their adult years. JA BizTown Summer Camp is certainly not the only way to teach kids about money, but I’m grateful to Junior Achievement for bringing financial literacy to life for countless kids, including mine, since 1950.

In this issue, check out our annual Summer Camp Guide with tons of local camp options for kids ages 3 through teen (page 16). Plus, now that spring has sprung, learn a master gardener’s top 10 tips for beginner gardeners (page 26) and meet the Dogs in Blue: Vancouver Police Department’s highly trained K-9 unit (page 10).

Volume 22, Issue 4

Publisher Julie Buchan

Julie@vancouverfamilymagazine.com

(360) 882-7762

Editor Nikki Klock Nikki@vancouverfamilymagazine.com (360) 882-7762

Associate Editor Sarah Mortensen Sarah@vancouverfamilymagazine.com

Graphic Designer I-Shüan Warr Ishuan@vancouverfamilymagazine.com

Contributing Writers Kristen Flowers, Sarah Mortensen

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Vancouver Family Magazine is published monthly by Vancouver Kidz Magazine, LLC

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Vancouver Kidz Magazine, LLC and staff do not recommend or endorse any service, product, or content represented in this magazine or on our website. The sole purpose of this publication is to provide information on available services and/or products. It is the consumer’s responsibility to verify the accuracy of information given. Vancouver Kidz Magazine, LLC, and/or Julie Buchan and Nikki Klock and staff do not assume and disclaim any liability to any party for any loss or damage caused by error or omission in this magazine or on our website. We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone.

On the Cover:

Gabby C. is a huge dog lover, which is why she loved getting this photo with Sherman the Therapy Dog, who sadly passed away last year. Gabby is now a sophomore in high school and plays on her school’s varsity softball team.

Nikki Klock, Editor nikki@vancouverfamilymagazine.com

April 2023

Northwest Children’s Theater has moved to Broadway!

The brand-new Judy Kafoury Center for Youth Arts, nicknamed The Judy, is located at 1000 Broadway in downtown Portland, across the street from Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. What was once a four-screen movie theater is now transformed into a multi-venue arts center for youth, including four unique spaces: The Stage, The Black Box, The Studios and The Cinema. With onsite maker space, extensive concessions, and