JA is Really Newsworthy!

Who’s making your venti soy latte?

Meet 26-year old Washington Starbucks store manager, Steven Perez. Not only is he the store manager for the South Hill Starbucks in Washington and the coach for the Emerald Ridge High School’s football team, but he is also an advocate for Junior Achievement.

His community involvement was acknowledged earlier this year when Starbucks’ executive vice president, president U.S. Retail, Kris Engskov and company leaders applauded his hard work to establish community connections throughout the Washington Puyallup area.

Perez responded, “Wherever we are, our mission is to be involved in the community. We don’t want to just be a coffee company, we want to be a people company.”

Coach Perez became even more involved with his community when he volunteered in the Puyallup School District’s “Ignite the Future” program which teaches students in junior high basic skills for the working world. His involvement in the local high school aligns with Starbucks avocation for Junior Achievement’s ability to teach students skills for the working world. Topics taught in this school program range from balancing a checkbook to practicing interviewing skills, the soft skills that are highly important in today’s workforce.

To honor Perez’ impact on the Puyallup region’s youth, Perez was recognized by the Puyallup School District’s chief operations officer for his success in helping teach students life skills and being awarded the honorary Starbucks Pacific Northwest coin by the Starbucks executive vice president.

From managing a community-focused Starbucks to teaching high school student’s football and skills for the working world one thing is for certain, Perez has made his mark on the future of Puyallup community.

Want more uplifting community impact stories? Click HERE

Needles, A. (2017, July 18). Starbucks shines spotlight on Puyallup store manager. Retrieved August 08, 2017, from http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/community/puyallup-herald/ph-news/article162266563.html

Sometimes the sweetest things in life come with hard work.

Earlier this summer that’s exactly what the 2nd graders at Lost River Elementary realized as they dove into Junior Achievement’s lesson program, “JA Our Community.”

Students received a hands-on approach with this lesson taught by JA volunteer Les Stevens, Senior Resource Supply Chain Leader at Country Oven Bakery. The program captivated the students with engaging topics ranging from work-readiness, how local businesses work to how to contribute to a community’s success.

Stevens stated, “This is not about me, it is about giving back to make a positive change. If we all pick up our corner in the community we will see a positive change.”

To explore the fundamentals of production methods, business decision making,  and the way money flows through an economy Stevens had the students “work” in the donut shop during the third session of their JA Our Community program.

 From the hair nets to the gloves, the authentic donut experience changed the community of Bowling Green Kentucky for the sweeter.

Check Out The Original Story Here

W. (2017, May 31). Kayleigh Embry's 2nd grade class. Retrieved August 07, 2017, from http://www.wbko.com/content/news/Kayleigh-Embrys-2nd-grade-class-425547744.html

As eighth-grade students prepared for their College and Career Readiness course final exam, Junior Achievement volunteers rallied to provide help to Ben Franklin Junior High students with the seven-week course of “ JA It’s My Future.”

During this Junior Achievement course, students experience the importance of presenting themselves in a professional manner in various business settings such as exploring potential careers, the factors to consider when choosing a career, job hunting tactics and how to interview for a job.

Junior Achievement district director, Serena Sblendorio, commented, “Many business owners tell us they can teach the technical aspects of the job but it is the soft skills they see as missing in their new employees.”

By the end of the seven-week course, local business volunteers noticed a remarkable difference among the students. Kayla Rombalski, one of the observers and director of talent development at the Portage County Business Council, stated, “Many of the interviewers were impressed by the professionalism and caliber of these eighth-grade students.”

Click Here To Find Out More About Ja It’s My Future Program!

City Times Staff. “Ben Franklin Teams Up With Local Professionals for Mock Interviews.”Stevens Point City-Times, 30 May 2017, www.spcitytimes.com/2017/05/30/ben-franklin-teams-up-with-local-professionals-for-mock-interviews/# 

This note was sent from the President of Junior Achievement of Northeastern New York (Albany, NY) to their Board of Directors

“Today just epitomized our JA mission and the Proof of Impact. I genuinely left inspired after National Grid hosted a tremendous Job Shadow to over 20 Freshman students from Watervliet HS.

This is what JA is all about… Giving Kids a Sense of Purpose. Our dedicated volunteers and passionate community leaders are truly demonstrating “mission in movement” and opening these kids’ eyes to their boundless potential.

A very special thank you to Laurie Poltynski and JA Board member Renee Devine for making this great day possible for these kids.

We appreciate you more than you know.”

Original Story from Junior Achievement of Greater Washington

             “Life-enriching experience!”

When asked to choose two or three words to describe Junior Achievement (JA), these are the words Piyush Arora came up with, based on his experience volunteering in a 6th grade classroom with JA at Westland Middle School in Bethesda on November 18, 2016.

Arora works for PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), where he helps government agencies improve their organizational and accounting business processes. Luckily for Arora, at PwC, volunteering and giving back to the community is at the core of the company’s corporate culture and PwC is also a longstanding partner of Junior Achievement.

“I’ve always wanted to participate in programs like Teach for America, but couldn’t find the right mix of time and courage,” said Arora. “Junior Achievement makes this opportunity to teach kids accessible for all adults.  And because it breaks this opportunity into bite sized pieces -- a one-day commitment and a choice of teaming up with a partner -- it was the perfect way for me to test the waters and determine if the skills and personality needed to teach and teach kids is right for me.”

And test the waters he did. He quickly learned what it takes to command a classroom for an entire day and gained a new respect for teachers everywhere.

“What I found the most challenging about this experience was just the skillset and energy it takes to teach 6th graders,” said Arora. “I felt pretty helpless a few times, especially towards the second half of the day, when the class was getting tired and I could see some students slipping away.  But with that said, these challenges provided me with thoughts and ideas that will help me be better next time.”

Challenges of the day aside, Arora said that his favorite part of the day were “the moments where the lesson, the students, and I connected.”

“The questions they asked that tied their personal experiences with the lessons were so fascinating,” said Arora.  “And perhaps more importantly, the excitement that they portrayed when engaging in even the most simple of activities like the choice game – whereby, I offered them two choices: Twix or M&Ms, and they would stand or sit to vote for their favorite chocolate, was really great.”

Arora claims that the structure of the JA lessons and the materials offered to volunteers took some of the pressure off of him as he led the classroom and helped to calm his nerves. Read more...