Alpha alumnae, JN Bank partner to enrich ‘Alpharians’

The first day of school for first-formers at the Convent of Mercy Academy (Alpha) in Kingston was off to a good financial start, as the new high schoolers were gifted with JN Bank accounts. Some 90 accounts were established.

The initiative was part of the Alpha Academy Alumnae Association of Jamaica’s (AAAJ) mission to ‘Serve, Inspire and Transform’ ‘Alpharians’, who the AAAJ ‘sisterhood’ affably describe as their “younger sisters”.

The aim is to support the girls on their journey into adulthood.

AAAJ partnered with JN Bank to provide the new Alpha girls with fully funded savings accounts.

Tasha Manley, president of the AAAJ, said the partnership was initiated as part of the association’s 2024 objective to aid in the students’ self-development.

“As part of the AAAJ’s goal to improve confidence and support self-actualisation among the girls, we started off the new school year welcoming them with something that would encourage them to be independent and financially smart. So, we reached out to the institution we thought could best understand and align with our objective – that is, JN Bank. They agreed to provide $500 to the girls to open and fund the accounts, while the AAAJ provided an additional $500,” explained Manley, who is also general legal counsel for The JN Group of companies.

The initiative, she said, would not only introduce them at an early age to financial management, but support them with achieving financial independence.

Shanae Morris, assistant manager, partnership and engagements at JN Bank, said the collaboration was welcomed by the bank, as it fits naturally into the thrust by their JN Savers’ Programme (JNSSP) to help students grasp the importance of money management at an early age, and provide them with their first bank accounts.

“We believe that financial literacy and understanding how to use money efficiently from an early stage is crucial to the development of our youths. Saving is an excellent habit to inculcate to help young people achieve various life goals when they become adults. If we instil these values at this stage of their development, then they will know how to handle their money early and especially when they begin to earn an income,” she said.

Morris also described the initiative as timely, as JN Bank prepares to kick off its annual ‘Way2Save JN Bank School Savers’ Tour in October, which is geared towards encouraging children to save.

The initiative by the Alpha alumnae in partnership with JN Bank was also commended by Kali McMorris, principal of Alpha, who added that an important part of schooling is preparing children for the world of work. It is important, she said, that students leave educational institutions with the appropriate skills and assets they need to acquire employment or matriculate to higher education.

“One of the goals of the school’s improvement plan, therefore, is to ensure all students have the opportunity to open a bank account, a passport, and their TRN and NIS by 2025. Our primary goal is for sixth-formers [to achieve this]; but, in fact, this is something that we are aggressively pursuing for students at all levels,” she outlined. “A partnership with Jamaica National at this time to ensure that all students open a bank account will put us a step closer to achieving that goal and ensure that all our students and their parents are able to manage the cost of continued education and even the cost associated with education at the high-school level.”

Overjoyed by what the partnership has already contributed to the school’s objectives, McMorris expressed a wish for JN Bank’s support of the ‘Alpha Girls’ to be strengthened.

“It is an amazing accomplishment to have even half our students in first form have an account and we look forward to continuing our partnership to ensure the students can regularly put money into [their accounts] and learn how to save and later on, invest their money wisely.”