Kitchener, ON, July 5th, 2021 – After a nine-month celebration and fundraising campaign, Junior Achievement of Waterloo Region has raised over 170% of their original campaign goal with a total of $170,451.
“We’re thrilled to see the community recognize the importance of Junior Achievement and the essential proactive education it brings to our students,” said Murray Flanagan, JA Waterloo Region Board Chair and 50th Campaign Committee Chair. “This support will go a long way to helping youth prepare for their financial futures, pursuing necessary education along the way, and staying out of the cycle of poverty.”
Since forming on September 22nd, 1970, JA Waterloo Region has provided 50 years of cost-free programming in financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship to students in Grades 3-12. In 2020, with the help of community volunteers, JA quickly pivoted to deliver programs in an online interactive format to ensure that no student missed this important training due to the global pandemic.
In the 2020-21 school year, JA Waterloo Region reached over 6400 students through a variety of virtual programs. Several programs ran in partnership with JA South Western Ontario, which provided exciting new collaboration and innovation opportunities to students and volunteers across the broader region.
“This outpouring of support through our campaign allows the innovation to continue,” said Karen Gallant, recently appointed President and CEO of JA Waterloo Region and JA South Western Ontario. “Keep an eye out for some exciting new growth in programming in the region over the next few years.”
Gallant wished to thank the members of the campaign committee Murray Flanagan, Ian Cook, and Darrin Snider, as well as retiring Interim President and CEO Bev Robinson for their hard work in bringing this campaign to fruition. She added, “It was wonderful seeing the stories coming in from JA Alumni and volunteers sharing the lasting impact JA has made on their lives. It really highlighted the importance of this work and how it ultimately lifts our community as a whole.”