St. Joseph County

Junior Achievement is a partnership between the business and education communities that prepare youth for economically independent futures based on strong economic knowledge and solid personal financial management skills. With the support of educators and community volunteers, JA programs serve thousands of students in St. Joseph County every year. JA experiences ignite the spark in young people to experience and realize the opportunities and realities of work in a 21st-century global marketplace.

Now more than ever, students need to be connected to positive role models that will help them to keep their eyes on their long-term potential, while weathering the short-term challenges of today. We want to thank all of the educators who believe in JA and are stepping up during these challenging times to make sure their students get to participate. Additionally, we thank our terrific volunteers who use their own experience and expertise to make the JA lessons come alive, especially those that are taking the time to record video messages for our educators to utilize. And none of this is possible without our generous contributors who provide the funding to help us open our students' minds to their full potential!

If you are interested in serving on the St. Joseph County Board of Directors, or providing funding for Junior Achievement programming in St. Joseph County K-12 classrooms, please email Dani Elgas or call (563) 676-6200. If you are interested in volunteering to teach JA programming in a local classroom or are a teacher in St. Joseph County who would like to know more about bringing JA programs into your classroom, please email Colleen Hahn or call (574) 252-6056.

Click below to ensure learning continues in St. Joe County!

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2019-2020 Year in Review

JA of Northern Indiana- St. Joseph County Events

At JA of Northern Indiana, we host several events throughout the year to raise money to support our programming. These events also engage the community in our efforts to reach students! Whether you'd like to get involved on an individual level or as a business through event sponsorship, we offer several ways for you to support our work while having a great time!

JA Wine and Beer Festival

When: Spring 2021

Where: Four Winds Field

Time: 6-9pm

Enjoy the spacious Four Winds Field where there will be over 75 different samples will be available for unlimited tasting.

Learn More

JA Fore Impact Golf Outing

When: Coming in August 2021

Where: Knollwood Country Club (Granger, IN)

Time: 11:30 am

Bring a foursome to the Fore Impact Golf Outing and help St. Joseph County empower more than 10,500 students to own their future economic success!

Learn More

JA St Joseph County Sponsors

$15,000 and Up

$10,000 and Up

$5,000 and Up

Gurley Leep logo MTC MTI logo Nipsco logo

$2,500 and Up

First Merchants Bank Tire Rack Peacock Co

JA of Northern Indiana Executive Members: St. Joseph County

Mike Miller — Chair

Business Development Associate

Weigand Construction Co., Inc.

Dan Asleson — Vice Chair

President

Peacock & Company

Tom Ross

Market President

First Merchants Bank

Rene Sanchez

COO

South Bend Community School Corporation

Scott Smith

Private Wealth Advisor

Smith & Associates

Stephen Varner — Treasurer

Senior Tax Manager

Kruggel Lawton CPAs

JA of Northern Indiana Board of Directors: St. Joseph County

David Blank — Member

Salesforce Administrator

Lippert Components

Alex Bowling — Member

Associate Attorney

Thorne Grodnik, LLP

Marnie Cornell — Member

Vice President & University Park Branch Manager

Key Bank

Joy Decker — Member

Human Resources Manager

Manufacturing Technology, Inc.

Kevin Fautz — Member

Service Manager

TCU

Michele Jurkaites — Member

Senior Director

RSM US LLP

Laurie Lawson — Member

Branch Manager

United Federal Credit Union

Russ Matthys — Member

Tax Partner

Crowe

Judd McNally — Member

Vice President

Lake City Bank

Steve Nilles — Member

Vice President/Investment Officer

Indiana Trust & Wealth Management

Josh Ortiz — Member

Branch Manager

Woodforest National Bank

Tasha Stepp — Member

Assistant Branch Manager

Centier Bank

Brandon Williamson — Member

Business Development Officer

First State Bank

Luis Zapata — Member

Vice President Financial Wellness

1st Source Bank

Heather Pond — Board Scribe

Sales Operations Coordinator

Harmony Healthcare, IT

GivingTuesday is a global generosity movement unleashing the power of people and organizations to transform their communities and the world.

GivingTuesday was created in 2012 as a simple idea: a day that encourages people to do good. Over the past eight years, it has grown into a global movement that inspires hundreds of millions of people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity.

Here at Junior Achievement, Giving Tuesday is about giving students inspiration for a better future.

Please consider making a donation to your local Junior Achievement of Northern Indiana region below, and help your local area students receive JA programming to learn the importance of financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and work readiness. Last year, JANI created virtual programming for teachers and students to use from home. Your donation will educate and inspire even more students this school year - wherever they are learning from.

"Junior Achievement has given me a sense of what adults go through with budget issues."

-Junior Achievement Student
"Junior Achievement reinforced concepts for me to remember later in life."

-Junior Achievement Student
"I thought the experience was amazing. The presentation was unlike anything I've seen."

-Junior Achievement Student
"I liked how the Junior Achievement volunteer explained his job to us."

-Junior Achievement Student