Junior Achievement Enriches Students' Lives.

• Author: Burke, Sheila M.
• Position: Brief Article

SHEILA M. BURKE

Our children need to learn about free enterprise, business and economics to be successful. Who better to provide this education than the business community of Alaska?

Junior Achievement of Alaska helps young people recognize how their talents and abilities can create better lives for themselves and those around them. JA's sequential and integrated kindergarten through grade 12 programs help young people to apply basic interpersonal skills, think critically and solve complex problems.

Last year, Junior Achievement of Alaska celebrated its 27 anniversary of partnering with the business and education communities. These partnerships reach an ever increasing number of students across Alaska with volunteer-driven programs that help students understand opportunities in and responsibilities to the free enterprise system.

At the heart of JA programs are hundreds of classroom volunteers from all over Alaska. Business professionals can have an impact on JA's future by sharing their unique business and world perspectives with young people--tomorrow's consumers, employees and parents.

Junior Achievement has a role for everyone who wants to make a difference in the lives of Alaska's young people. Involvement could be as simple as investing time and talent as classroom volunteers. (Volunteering is easy! JA provides all the materials and information needed to be a successful volunteer.) Or individuals and businesses can help by funding programs.

Thanks to the overwhelming support of local businesses, educators, community leaders and hundreds of volunteers, Junior Achievement of Alaska was able to reach more than 12,000 students in 48 communities across Alaska during the 1999-2000 school year.

During the past year...