Teaching Youth to 'Own Their Economic Success'

What can you teach a 2nd grader about entrepreneurship, mass production and taxes? Quite a bit, actually, as proven in programs coordinated by Junior Achievement of Southwest New England, with support from The Community Foundation.

Junior Achievement recruits business and community volunteers in Greater New Haven and matches them up with K -12 classrooms in Guilford, Hamden, Madison, New Haven, North Haven, Orange, Wallingford and West Haven. These volunteers help students understand money management, how to start a business and many other aspects of financial literacy and workforce readiness.

"Our mission is to empower young people to own their economic success," says Jeremy Race, Vice President of Development at Junior Achievement of Southwest New England. "Each year we reach more than 6,000 students in New Haven County, inspiring them to dream big about their futures and teaching them the skills they'll need to be successful in the real world. In future years, we hope to serve even more kids in more New Haven-area towns."

Many students – and their teachers – reported that the Junior Achievement programs made school more interesting. And students surveyed unanimously stated that what they learned through the programs would help them get jobs and be successful in life. Also, students surveyed after completing the Junior Achievement program said they understood the importance of staying in school.

Funding for Junior Achievement's programs is made possible through preference funds like the Lisl Karen Streett Fund and the Maude Smith Fund at The Community Foundation.

You can learn more about Junior Achievement of Southwest New England on their website.

Did You Know?

Less than 29% of students learn about money management before graduating high school.
Source: Junior Achievement USA^® and The Allstate Foundation 2013 Teens and Personal Finance Poll