Karen Brighton Visits Clearwater RotaryBELLEAIR - Karen Brighton, Community Involvement Liaison, spoke to Clearwater Rotary Club about the Stavros Institute and it's project Enterprise Village. Karen has been employed by Stavros for over 11 years. She is passionate about the uniqueness of Enterprise Village and the great benefit it provides public and private school students. In the Pinellas County School system it is a requirement that both 5th grade and 8th grade classes visit Enterprise Village for one full day, where they engage in a "real world adventure." Enterprise Village has become a prototype for economic learning in the United States. Every year, the village has 14,000 students participate. Students learn what it takes to run a business, how to apply for a job, how to write a check and how business interacts with other community functions like newspapers, television and radio shows. At "Finance Park" children learn how to provide for a family, pay bills, and balance a budget. Karen says, "it's an opportunity for teachers and parents to talk about real life with children." They learn about savings, credit cards, and giving to charities. At the end of the day, the student "Mayor" gives a speech summarizing the events of the day and awards are given to the most profitable businesses. Karen sighted the need for volunteers at the center especially when schools from lower-income areas visit. Children who have both parents work or who have a single parent raising them find it difficult to leave work and volunteer. To volunteer at the Stavros Institute contact Karen at (727) 588-3746 or email her at brightonk@pcsb.org. Tours are also available to the general public.
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