WHAT IS JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT?
Junior Achievement is the world’s largest organization dedicated to educating students about work readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy through experiential, hands-on programs. Junior Achievement programs help prepare young people for the real world by showing them how to generate wealth and effectively manage it, how to create jobs which make their communities more robust, and how to apply entrepreneurial thinking to the workplace. Students put these lessons into action, and help strengthen their communities.
BRIEF HISTORY
Junior Achievement was founded in 1919 by Theodore Vail president of American Telephone & Telegraph; Horace Moses, president of Strathmore Paper Co.; and Senator Murray Crane of Massachusetts. Its first program, JA Company Program, was offered to high school students on an after-school basis. In 1975, the organization entered the classroom with the introduction of Project Business for the middle grades. Over the last 30 years, JA has expanded its activities and broadened its scope to include in-school and after school students. Junior Achievement now has programs in over 123 countries worldwide, and began operations in Thailand in 2008.
JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT THAILAND
Junior Achievement Thailand (www.jathailand.org) is a partnership between the business community, educators and volunteers – all working together to inspire young people to dream big and reach their potential. JA’s hands-on, experiential programs teach the key concepts of work readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy to young people all over the world. JA Thailand has been helping students in the Kingdom since 2008.
ABOUT JA THAILAND
Financial Literacy, Entrepreneurship, Work Readiness
Junior Achievement Thailand is a registered charitable organization dedicated to inspiring and preparing young people to succeed in a global economy. JA Thailand is part of the worldwide Junior Achievement organization (www.jaworldwide.org) that reaches over 9.3 million young people in 123 countries each year. JA Thailand will help students in Thailand optimize their leadership, entrepreneurial and workforce readiness skills so they can achieve their highest potential as leaders in our global community.
Junior Achievement is building a connected world of young people, business volunteers and educators, inspiring each other to succeed through responsible enterprise.
Each year, our business volunteers inspire young people throughout the Kingdom aged 5 to 19 years. Our programs empower the next generation with the confidence, ability and ambition to succeed in a rapidly changing global economy.
PURPOSE
JA Thailand’s purpose is to inspire and prepare young people to succeed in a global economy.
PROGRAM REACH
Since 2008, JA Thailand has reached over 38,350 students in-class sessions and after school locations. JA programs are taught by volunteers in inner cities, suburbs, and rural areas throughout Thailand.
FUNDING
Junior Achievement is funded primarily through local corporations, foundations and private donations.
VOLUNTEERS
JA Thailand’s volunteers come from all walks of life and include business people, college students, parents and retirees. These dedicated individuals are the backbone of the organization.
PROVEN SUCCESS
JA is one of a few global non-profits organization to use independent, third-party evaluators to gauge the impact of its programs. Since 1993, independent evaluators have conducted studies on JA’s effectiveness. Findings prove that JA has a positive impact in a number of critical areas. These results are available free upon request.
LEADERSHIP
Francesco Vanni d’Archirafi, Vice Chairman, Institutional Clients Group, EMEA, Citi, is chairman of the JA Worldwide board of directors. Asheesh Advani
President & CEO, JA Worldwide. A total of 30 JA Worldwide board members represent a wide range of businesses and academic institutions around the world.
ORGANIZATION OVERVIEW
JA Worldwide is headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA. The Headquarters office provides strategic direction, leadership, and support to approximately 3,200 employees worldwide. Local volunteer boards of directors – comprised of business, education, and civic leaders – set the policy and direction for each local office.