Page 11 - LRCC July 2020 Focus

#LOVELANSING

Junior Achievement Stays Strong in Mid-Michigan

BY: JENNIFER ROSTAR, DISTRICT DIRECTOR, JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF MID MICHIGAN

WE HAVE SEEN A THING OR TWO OVER THE LAST
CENTURY of developing young people into business
owners, high-value workers, and smart money
managers. We have seen challenges, business
disruptions, and natural disasters, which have only
made us stronger. And now, once again, we have
A Reputation Worth Supporting the opportunity to soar, as we continue to connect
the education and business communities in new
ways for new times.
BY: ANDY ZARKOVICH
When the pandemic first closed schools, Junior
Achievement (JA) responded by moving existing
education resources to a virtual setting, making
them available to parents, educators, and school
districts in a time of uncertainty. The JA Career
Speaker Series quickly followed, continuing to
connect students to area professionals and the
industries they represent. JA is committed to
delivering youth development, whether on-line or
in a classroom setting, with the end goal of building
strong citizens resulting in a strong economic
community. Ipsos’ latest study of JA Alumni
reveals that over half of JA Alumni have started
or own their own business. Eighty-four percent

of those businesses have employees, and 26% of
them have 100 employees or more. These kinds of
results only come through continued refining of our
program and delivery methods to meet the various
implementation models of local area schools, so
kids continue to learn about financial literacy,
entrepreneurship, and workplace readiness.

Why is this critical to our business community?
The world of work across our region is changing
rapidly, and to fill the skills gap businesses are
seeing, students must be well-prepared and connect
the dots between what they learn in school and
how it’s applied in the real world. JA does just that,
preparing kids to be financially independent and
career-minded, to be successful in the workplace.
Our local volunteers and partner businesses are
seeing the benefit. “Students are more aware than
ever that they need life skills to navigate an ever
more complex world, and business leaders are
uniquely positioned to help them do that. The more students. The business community can
connections I’ve seen students make through strengthen their future job force by sharing their
Junior Achievement to ways they can be useful and time with a classroom, participating in events,
successful is something I cherish. I want to make and become a funding champion. There are many
sure JA has the reach to be able to continue to serve ways to support the efforts of Junior Achievement
students and teachers through this change,” said JA and make a lasting investment in our business
volunteer, Rahim S. Patel, Fifth Third Securities. community’s economic health.

How can the business community impact lasting For more information about Junior Achievement of
change? JA is continually looking to expand the Mid Michigan, please contact Jennifer.rostar@ja.org
breadth of our business partnerships to impact or call (517) 371-5437. n

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