Business Professionals Donate Funds to Support Local Junior Achievement Financial Literacy Programs

BURLINGTON, Wash. - Oct. 20, 2014 - PRLog -- A discussion of strategies to address the labor shortage in our state, along with inspirational personal stories from local school children, were on the agenda at a breakfast held in support of Junior Achievement this past week in Burlington. Junior Achievement is a nonprofit organization that teaches financial literacy, entrepreneurship and work-readiness classes to 10,000 school children in more than 30 schools in Skagit, Whatcom and Island counties. Statewide, the nonprofit organization serves 108,000 children.  Funds raised at the event will provide the JA program to more than 300 students this year.  The event also drew a crowd of local business owners, community members, parents  and volunteers. In all, 128 people attended—a new local record for Junior Achievement.

In his keynote speech, Kris Johnson, president & CEO of the Association of Washington Business, said, “The ability to find skilled employees is our greatest challenge” to business owners in Washington state. Programs like the ones taught by JA, he said, helps to prepare the next generation of workers and addresses what he called “the talent war,” referring to the competition among businesses to find qualified workers. Johnson said, “If we don’t solve the talent war, we will find ourselves importing our workforce” from other regions or other countries. He added, “Our job is to make sure you can find a trained, educated workforce,” emphasizing that the programs that JA brings to school children, from elementary school through high school, can make a difference in the labor shortage in our state. By financially supporting Junior Achievement, either through donations to help run the programs, or by volunteering in a local school to teach the curriculum, area business professionals can “connect together to empower the future,” Johnson said.

A poignant moment came when Daniela Murguia, a high school senior at Lynwood High School, shared her immigrant family’s story. She told how at age 11, her family emigrated from Mexico to the United States. They lived in a two-bedroom apartment with another family, slept on the floor and, with no furniture, dishes or silverware, ate off of cardboard boxes. Even when the family’s financial difficulties seemed overwhelming and she wanted to quit school and go to work to contribute, her parent’s guidance and the skills she learned through JA convinced her that staying in school was the best course for her. Murguia recently was awarded a $5,000 scholarship from Taco Bell Foundation and already attends college classes through the Running Start program that allows high school seniors to take college classes. She called her education through Junior Achievement “life changing.”

Junior Achievement currently seeks additional volunteers to go into classrooms to teach their curriculum, as well as donations to continue funding of programs. For more information, contact Julie Speck at JulieS@jawashington.org or at 206-226-6756.

About Junior Achievement

Junior Achievement is a nonprofit organization providing a series of business, economics and life-skills programs to enhance the education of young people. In 2013-2014 Junior Achievement USA reached more than 4.5 million students through the help of over 200,000 inspiring community volunteers. In Washington state, more than 103,000 students experience JA programs last year, of which 8,000 were from Whatcom, Skagit & Island Counties.

Media Contact:

Julie Speck

Regional Director

Junior Achievement of Washington

Whatcom, Skagit & Island Region

1700 Westlake AVE N, Suite 400

Seattle, WA 98109
206-226-6756 mobile

www.JAWashington.org

JulieS@jawashington.org