May 25, 2021 – London, ON. Junior Achievement South Western Ontario and Junior Achievement Waterloo Region are pleased to announce the appointment of Karen Gallant as President and CEO of both charters, effective May 17, 2021

Karen is taking the reins from Bev Robinson, who will be retiring after 14 years in the post at JA South Western Ontario after having successfully strengthened the organization while steering through significant change. Robinson has also been serving as Interim President of JA Waterloo Region since March 2019.

“We’re thrilled to have Karen joining us in this role,” said Mark Russell, Chair, JA South Western Ontario Board of Directors. “She has the perfect combination of leadership and non-profit experience to continue driving the organization forward. Her depth of knowledge about Junior Achievement on a national and global scale will be a tremendous asset to us as we strive to deliver essential JA education to more and more local students.”

“I am honoured to be able to continue my work with JA in this way,” says Karen. “I’ve seen firsthand the impact JA has on students—and right now supporting their education is more important than ever. I’m joining an incredible team of staff, volunteers, and partners—and I’m looking forward to working alongside them to build an even brighter future for students in our region.”

Karen comes to the JA charters from JA Canada where she was VP, Programs and Charter Services for more than three years. During that time Karen made many significant contributions including advancing the nationwide digital strategy, expanding program delivery methods through the launch of jacampus.org and the creation of digital programs, and implementing national student events including Innovation Day, the JA Youth Success Summit and Company of the Year Championship.

Prior to her work at JA Canada, Gallant was President and CEO of JA Waterloo Region.

Karen began her work in JA South Western Ontario and JA Waterloo Region last week, with Bev Robinson staying until July 1st.

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About Junior Achievement South Western Ontario & Junior Achievement Waterloo Region

JA South Western Ontario & JA Waterloo Region are members of JA Canada and part of JA Worldwide (JA), the world’s largest not-for-profit organization dedicated to educating young people about business. Through the delivery of hands-on, blended learning in entrepreneurship, financial literacy and work readiness, JA empowers young people to grow their entrepreneurial ideas, hone their work skills, manage their earnings, and secure better lives for themselves, their families, and their communities.

Since 1963, schools in South Western Ontario have relied on JA to prepare young people for success in an ever-changing global economy. JA South Western Ontario is responsible for the geographic area including the counties of Essex, Chatham-Kent, Lambton, Elgin, Middlesex, Oxford, Huron, Perth, Grey, and Bruce.

Since 1970, schools in Waterloo region and surrounding areas have relied on JA to prepare young people for success in an ever-changing global economy. JA Waterloo Region is responsible for the geographic area including Waterloo Region, Guelph, Wellington, Brantford, Brant, Hamilton, Haldimand, Norfolk, and Niagara Region.

About Junior Achievement Canada

As the largest youth business education organization in Canada, JA works in partnership with educators, volunteers and businesses to education students about financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship. Since 1955, JA has educated and inspired more than 5,000,000 Canadian youth, giving them the knowledge and confidence they need to succeed in school, business and life.

For more information or to arrange an interview, contact Jenne Wason, Director of Marketing & Communications at 519-352-0151 or jwason@jaswo.org

London, ON, May 11, 2020 – School may be cancelled, but the future certainly isn’t – in these uncertain times, financial management and business know-how are more important than ever.  That’s why JA South Western Ontario has pivoted quickly to offer free online courses in financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship to students affected by recent COVID-19 school closures.

JA South Western Ontario, is dedicated to helping young students learn key life skills that will help them thrive in work and life as they grow up. They are now offering free, online programs for students in grades 4  to 12, focusing on financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship. These interactive digital programs offer a fantastic opportunity for parents and teachers to make sure students don’t miss out on important education at this difficult time.

For over 55 years, JA South Western Ontario has offered in-class finance and business programs for local school students. The organization’s traditional teaching model involves working with corporate volunteers who go into schools and share their expert advice and experiences with students. Now, with school closures extended until the end of May, the charity is taking their expert programs online to offer young learners a chance to take part from the comfort of their own homes.

With a shortened school year, many students will miss the opportunity to learn about basic money management, career planning, and the business world. Thanks to JA South Western Ontario’s programs, this information is now available online at no charge. Students can learn on their own with our self-directed courses, or teachers and parents can engage in the learning process with them through the teacher-led option.

“It’s been really powerful seeing how everyone in the community is working together to make sure our students don’t fall behind during these unprecedented times,” says Bev Robinson, President and CEO of JA South Western Ontario. “JA is thrilled to be able to do our part with this new online programming that provides students with proactive solutions for their future.”

Real-world learning and a unique approach

These student-led digital programs teach learners from grades 3 to 12 the key tools they need to become financially savvy and unlock their inner entrepreneur. Courses range from the introductory ‘More than Money’ program – aimed at introducing grades 3 to 6  to the world of money management – to the higher level ‘Economics for Success’ program, which prepares middle school students for the world of work, learning to budget, and giving them the tools they need to thrive.

There’s a program for students of all levels, and each course has been tailored to reflect the curriculum and add to learners’ day-to-day educational journey by exploring real-life situations and challenges.

These programs are offered through an online learning management system (LMS), hosted by JA South Western Ontario’s parent charity, JA Canada. Students register through the LMS and can access the program that corresponds to their grade. Each course includes a mixture of videos, slides and interactive elements. Courses provide expert information and gives learners the chance to get hands-on with the concepts they’re exploring.

All JA South Western Ontario’s programs – online and in-person – are generously supported by our local business community. It’s thanks to this expert support that the charity is able to offer its unique programs to so many young people across the region.

To find out more about the programs and to enroll students, visit jacampus.org.

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About Junior Achievement South Western Ontario

JA South Western Ontario is a member of JA Canada and part of JA Worldwide (JA), the world’s largest not-for-profit organization dedicated to educating young people about business.  Through the delivery of hands-on, blended learning in entrepreneurship, financial literacy and work readiness JA empowers young people to grow their entrepreneurial ideas, hone their work skills, manage their earnings, and secure better lives for themselves, their families, and their communities.  Since 1963, schools in South Western Ontario have relied on JA to prepare young people for success in an ever-changing global economy. JA South Western Ontario is responsible for the geographic area including the counties of Essex, Chatham-Kent, Lambton, Elgin, Middlesex, Oxford, Huron, Perth, Grey, and Bruce.

About Junior Achievement Worldwide

As one of the world’s largest youth-serving NGOs, JA Worldwide activates youth for the future of jobs. Through the delivery of cutting-edge, experiential learning in financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship, JA Worldwide creates pathways for employability and job creation. Each year, the JA network of over 465,000 volunteers serves more than 11 million students in over 100 countries.

For more information or to arrange an interview, contact Jenne Wason at 519-352-0151 or jwason@jaswo.org

September 4, 2019  LONDON, ON – As Junior Achievement (JA) worldwide celebrates its 100^th anniversary, two JA Charters in southwestern Ontario are joining together to serve more students.

JA is a not-for-profit charity that provides financial literacy programs free to the youth in the community, delivered by JA-trained volunteers and mentors.

Junior Achievement London and District and Junior Achievement South Western Ontario (JA SWO) have combined their operations, strengthened their team, and set a goal to reach 15,000 elementary and high school students in the next school year. JA SWO – the new entity – will serve: London and the counties of Middlesex, Elgin, Oxford, Huron, Perth, Grey and Bruce and Chatham-Kent, Sarnia-Lambton, Windsor-Essex.

“Junior Achievement will build on our established partnerships to grow our programs to reach more students,” said JA SWO president and CEO Bev Robinson. “We are excited about the opportunities to strengthen our team and expand delivery of JA programs to youth in our southwestern communities.”

The existing JA offices in Chatham and London will remain open, and JA SWO staff will be able to collaborate and work efficiently together to promote JA throughout the expanded region.

“The JA team has been collaborating over the past year on this amalgamation and is looking forward to this new organization,” said Robinson.

“There are many opportunities for JA volunteers, stakeholders and supporters with this amalgamation,” said Robinson, “including the opportunity for funders to make their brand known in a larger area.”

“We are committed to growing JA in every community we serve,” said Robinson.

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