Naval Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP) and NAVSUP Weapon Systems Support (NAVSUP WSS) civilian and military employees participated in a Financial Literacy Forum for students at Red Land High School (RLHS), Jan. 7.

The forum, organized by Junior Achievement of South Central Pennsylvania (PA) and supported by NAVSUP WSS Mechanicsburg, in coordination with the NAVSUP enterprise, was a day-long program consisting of a series of activities intended to help students gain an appreciation for the importance that financial decisions will play in their lives as young adults.

"This is an important forum as it gives the students 'real life' situations they may encounter one day," said Heidi Potter, vice president of programs, Junior Achievement of South Central PA. "These types of activities help students gain a better understanding of the financial decisions and choices they may be confronted with in the near future. We want to shift the focus from 'how much' money they are making to understanding how to make sound decisions and choices with their financial resources."

NAVSUP WSS Mechanicsburg first partnered with Junior Achievement of South Central PA in October 2015, and organized volunteer support to actively engage in efforts to improve Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education in the United States. Civilian and military employees from NAVSUP and NAVSUP Business Systems Center (BSC) volunteered at the Cumberland Valley High School STEM Summit, while military employees from NAVSUP WSS volunteered at the Central Dauphin East High School STEM Summit.

The STEM Summit, developed by Junior Achievement of South Central PA, is a program held at local high schools that include science experiments; science, engineering, and math-related competitions; and two sets of career panel presentations.

Recently, participation was extended from the STEM Summit to the Financial Literacy Forum. During the forum, students participated in budget building activities, realistic financial and insurance scenarios, and price matching challenges, in an effort to simulate "real-life" financial decisions.

"Our 'Real Life' program helps high school juniors and seniors learn about personal finance with the goal of teaching them to be financially independent," said Kim Zech, director of STEM Summit, Junior Achievement of South Central PA. "During the 'Real Life' day, each student will create a personal budget and is introduced to a number of financial topics in a non-traditional way."

"Both events provide an opportunity to inspire students and positively represent career options in the Navy," said Cmdr. Mark Bowmer, NAVSUP WSS Mechanicsburg STEM coordinator. "Volunteers also find their participation to be personally highly rewarding and enjoy their time helping students in the community. Looking forward, NAVSUP WSS Mechanicsburg is organizing NAVSUP enterprise volunteer support for Junior Achievement of South Central PA events at several regional high schools, covering more than a dozen days of activities before the end of the school year."

Financial Literacy Forum participating organizations included NAVSUP, NAVSUP WSS, Susquehanna Bank, State Farm, AT&T, Vibra Healthcare, Post Acute Medical, Pennsylvania Credit Union Foundation, Insurance News Net, M&T Bank, Wells Fargo, RBC Wealth Management, First National Bank, Simons Foundation, TE Connectivity, Bunzl, Phoenix Contact, NM&CC, Integra, Penn Waste, Johnson Controls, Snyder's Lance, Xerox, and many more.

NAVSUP WSS plans to continue its partnership with Junior Achievement of South Central PA because of the organization's dedication to educating students about workforce readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy through experiential, hands-on programs. Both the Financial Literacy and STEM programs require more than 30 business volunteers per day. By working together on these two programs, naval volunteers will have the opportunity to share their real-world STEM, financial and military experience with area high school students.

The next event is scheduled Feb. 17 at Camp Hill High School. If you would like to learn more or volunteer, contact Cmdr. Mark Bowmer (mark.bowmer@navy.mil).

A field activity of the Naval Supply Systems Command, NAVSUP WSS is the U.S. Navy's supply chain manager providing worldwide support to the aviation, surface ship, and submarine communities. NAVSUP WSS provides Navy, Marine Corps, joint and allied forces with products and services that deliver combat capability through logistics. There are more than 2,000 civilian and military personnel employed at its two Pennsylvania sites. The NAVSUP WSS Philadelphia site supports aircraft, while its Mechanicsburg site supports ships and submarines.

For more news from Naval Supply Systems Command, visit http://www.navy.mil/.