Why Junior Achievement Is A Win-Win-Win for Businesses, Teachers and Students

Are you looking for ways to build your business' brand and community rapport?

Are you ready to strengthen the morale of your employees, and their speaking skills? Are you concerned about the state of education, wishing you could make a practical, relevant difference in the lives of today's students, which will be tomorrow's workforce?

Junior Achievement (JA) will soon be reaching nearly 500 classrooms across 50 schools in five central Illinois counties - that's 10,000 students. From July 2004 to July 2006, JA is poised to more than double in classroom size.

Junior Achievement presents the "economics of life" to K-12 students from those that know it best -business professionals - just like you.

Why do business professionals (and their employees) value Junior Achievement?

• Your public speaking skills are improved.
• 5 to 7 sessions of less than one hour each - per year.
• Public relations for your company and your profession.
• Do something different - not part of your everyday routine.
• Increased knowledge on educational issues.
• Interact with youth in a way you rarely (if ever) do.
• The contentment of acting on your values and beliefs.
• Develop, grow and inspire future workforce and business leaders.
• Give back to the community.
• Financial contributions are tax deductible.
• Create business and personal relationships.
• Team-building and employee bonding is a by-product of the JA experience.
• JA's 30-minute on-site training will have Classroom Consultants (that's you and your employees) feeling confident, and the "real" teacher is always in the classroom, too.

Why would a school want to partner with Junior Achievement and the business community?

JA offers a product and a service that seeks to bridge education and business. Schools enjoy a non-traditional, innovative, interactive, practical, non-lecture-based, clever way to educate our youth. The actual teacher gets a "break" while a new face teaches important skills in a different way. And did I mention that JA is free to the schools?

The business community reaps the benefits above when paying for the JA experience rather than the schools.

What is the benefit to today's students, which is tomorrow's workforce?

With the Classroom Consultant presenting, the student says "what I see in front of me is what I want to be." When a business person mixes their own life experience with the training on the JA program materials that they receive, they provide a layer of validity to the student that is irrefutable. They are demonstrating selflessness by being in the classroom, and they answer a student's common question: "why do I gotta learn this stuff?"

Many business leaders know they should be partnering with schools and educators, but they simply don't know how. Junior Achievement is a viable avenue that strengthens not only education, but your business as well.

Please allow me to answer your questions in person, on the phone, or via a 15-minute, no obligation "Lunch & Learn" presentation to your employees (or to a school group) that will outline the JA experience.

The return on investment for your business or school is too great, and JA's role in equipping tomorrow's workforce is too vital to not investigate further. I look forward to hearing from you.