Whether they’re throwing strikes at Junior Achievement (JA) Bowl-A-Thon, hosting thousands high school students at the JA Stock Market Challenge, sharing their resources, or volunteering in schools, the Charles Schwab team brings enthusiasm to all their JA activities. “Schwabbies” aren’t just financial investors – they’re investors in our community.

Schwab has been a valued JA partner since 1998 and continues to innovate new ways to support the organization. For instance, in 2016 they helped expand JA Stock Market Challenge to reach more than 1,000 additional high school students each year. This week 50 JA volunteers from the Charles Schwab Lone Tree campus will help run this high-impact event.

Schwabbies also give their time to K-12 classrooms, bonding with their coworkers and teaching kids about the business of life. Volunteering at JA in a Day with Schwab offered Fergie Alvarez, a Schwab employee, the opportunity to give back what his JA volunteer had taught him 18 years prior.

“I was in their shoes, in these same halls of Kaiser Elementary, where another volunteer inspired me enough to want to join the finance industry,” Alvarez says. “Never in my life did I think I would actually fulfill that dream and become a stockbroker, and I definitely never imagined I’d be back in this school doing the same thing for other students. It makes my heart happy.”

Fundraising through JA Bowl-A-Thon is yet another way that Schwabbies pay it forward. “It brings together nearly 200 Schwabbies from all aspects and ranks of our business,” says Eric Bates, the JA Bowl-A-Thon coordinator for Schwab. “It fosters team-building, networking and socializing, and highlights just how much our employees want to support community efforts. It shows how Schwab’s ‘Through Our Clients’ Eyes’ ethos extends beyond the investments services we provide.”

“Schwab is committed to actively promoting and supporting financial literacy in Colorado,” says Rahul Magan, Senior Vice President of Client Service and Support at Schwab. Magan is one of the newest members of the JA-Rocky Mountain Board of Directors. “I joined the board because it aligns with my professional and personal values around promoting financial literacy, entrepreneurship and work readiness.”

He adds, “Through our partnership with JA, Schwab aims to support the vision of JA through financial investment and passionate volunteers who teach and inspire young people.”