"JA's purpose is to inspire and prepare young people to succeed in a global economy."

For nearly 90 years, Junior Achievement has been doing just that.

As the world's largest and fastest-growing non-profit economic education organization, our programs are taught by classroom volunteers from the business community in communities across America and in 116 other countries.

Junior Achievement is a volunteer-driven, non-profit organization. This year, nearly 250,000 business professionals, parents, retirees and college students will enter our schools to teach Junior Achievement programs. These volunteers use their personal experiences to make the Junior Achievement curricula practical and realistic. Providing children with positive adult role models, who illustrate ways to build self-confidence, develop skills and find avenues of success in our free enterprise system, is a hallmark of Junior Achievement.

Through age-appropriate curricula, JA programs begin at the elementary school level, teaching children how they can impact the world around them as individuals, workers and consumers.  JA programs continue through the middle and high school grades, preparing students for additional key economic and workforce issues they will face in the future. 

Today JA reaches nearly four million students through more than 140 offices nationwide and 2.5 million students in 116 countries worldwide.  Locally, Junior Achievement of Rock River Valley reaches 5,500 students throughout Winnebago, Boone, Ogle and Stephenson Counties.  More than 250 volunteers make Junior Achievement possible in the Rock River Valley.  In addition to the in-school programs, Junior Achievement also gives students the opportunity to see careers in action through its Groundhog Job Shadow program.