That Back-to-School Feeling
I’ve always liked “back to school”. As a young person, I enjoyed going back to school – fresh notebooks, new subjects, seeing friends I hadn’t seen over the summer. It always felt like a New Year and new beginning. When my kids were young, I had the same feelings of excitement and anticipation over the start of the school year. Now with JA, September brings similar feelings of excitement and anticipation as the JA South Western Ontario team gets ready to inspire and prepare tens of thousands of youth across the region, igniting their feelings of excitement and anticipation about their futures.
This school year, we have big plans to deliver JA programs to 30,000 students between September and end of June. Our financial health, work readiness and entrepreneurship programs are delivered free of charge to educators thanks to the generous support of many corporations and individuals. We’re also very fortunate to engage with many individuals who give their time to facilitate JA programs in classrooms. Without the support of volunteers and donors, we wouldn’t be able to fulfil our mission. THANK YOU ALL!
In addition to being free of charge, JA programs are designed to be inclusive and accessible, regardless of race, gender identification, religion or socio-economic background. We seek diverse backgrounds, perspectives and talents in our staff, volunteers and board members that reflect the communities we serve, so that youth can see themselves represented in our work. We believe in the boundless potential of young people and strive every day to empower them to unlock that potential!
We’d love for you to get involved with our work. To find out more about JA and how you can get involved, please contact me at kgallant@jaswo.org. I know you’ll come away fulfilled by your experience and excited about the future. You may even like going back to school!
Karen Gallant
President and CEO
JA South Western Ontario