Junior Achievement of Southwest Florida wrapped up the 2018-19 academic year with record numbers, a fitting way to celebrate its 25th year of experiential learning programs for kindergarten-12th grade students in Collier, Lee and Charlotte counties.
During the 2018-19 school year, Junior Achievement of Southwest Florida served 12,498 students, a 7% increase in overall participation. A total of 70,196 instruction hours were completed within 520 classrooms, after-school and private programs in the tri-county region, bringing hands-on lessons on financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship to area students.
In addition to the standard classroom setting, Junior Achievement also partners with organizations that provide similar services, supplementing their programming and helping to fill the gaps year-round with an emphasis on summer months when school is out of session. This summer, volunteers delivered 66 hours of Junior Achievement programming to 282 young adults through partnerships with Boys & Girls Club of Collier County, Grace Place Community Center, Pace Center for Girls in Immokalee, and Youth Haven, as well as ESOL (English Speakers of Other Languages) programs in Bonita Springs High School and Dunbar High School. Junior Achievement also partnered with Collier Juvenile Detention Center, Lee Adolescent Mothers Program (LAMP) and Pace Center for Girls, Lee County for additional programs throughout the year.
Junior Achievement programs and job shadowing opportunities are delivered by local business leaders and community volunteers. For the 2018-19 school year, 273 volunteers participated, up 92% from the previous school year.
“Our record-breaking anniversary year demonstrates the community’s continued support of our programs, and the tremendous impact of our business and community leaders who are providing real-life instruction and serving as role models for Southwest Florida’s budding young professionals,” said Angela Fisher, president and CEO of Junior Achievement of Southwest Florida. “Junior Achievement’s valuable lessons on work readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy are so important to preparing young people for success, and we’re thankful for the partnership of our schools, teachers, after-school and specialty programs and volunteers that allow us to bring these programs to the region’s next generation of business leaders. We look forward to continuing to grow our impact and reaching more and more students in the years to come.”
To learn more about Junior Achievement of Southwest Florida and its programs, visit www.JASWFL.org or call the Junior Achievement office at 239-225-2590.
About Junior Achievement:
Junior Achievement is the world’s largest organization dedicated to giving young people the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for their future, and make smart academic and economic choices. Junior Achievement programs are delivered by corporate and community volunteers, and provide relevant, hands-on experiences that give students from kindergarten through high school knowledge and skills in financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship. Today, JA reaches more than 4.8 million students per year in more than 107 markets across the United States, with an additional 5.2 million students served by operations over 100 other countries worldwide. Locally, Junior Achievement of Southwest Florida partnered with more than 270 classroom business volunteers during the 2018-2019 school year to provide nearly 70,200 hours of instruction to nearly 12,500 students in 520 classes throughout Collier, Lee and Charlotte counties. For more information on Junior Achievement of Southwest Florida, visit www.JASWFL.org, call 239-225-2590 or email info@jaswfl.org.
