Junior Achievement Receives $25,000 Grant from Fairfield County's Community Foundation

Junior Achievement of Western CT and Southwest CT received a $25,000 joint grant from Fairfield County's Community Foundation to support its programs that deliver financial literacy, career/work readiness and entrepreneurship information to local students.

The grant helped Junior Achievement provide programs to over 600 middle school students (grades 6-8) in Bridgeport, Norwalk and Stamford schools including Curiale and Wilbur Cross Schools in Bridgeport.

This Spring Junior Achievement delivered its JA Economics for Success, JA Global Marketplace and JA It's My Future programs to students which included age-appropriate interactive activities focused on economic empowerment skills, the global workforce and careers.

“This grant helped us expand our programs for middle school students, which is a time when the gap between highest and lowest performing students widens considerably," said Bernadine Venditto, President, Junior Achievement of Western CT. “Access to our programs, made possible in part by the Fairfield County's Community Foundation, is vital to helping students in Bridgeport build a foundation of college/career skills to be competitive in the classroom, connect their education to future success and 'Thrive by 25'."

The Fairfield County's Community Foundation grant was given in conjunction with their "Thrive by 25" initiative. The goal of "Thrive by 25" is to give all Fairfield County youth the opportunity to thrive by age 25- no matter their family income, school district or zip code. This includes reaching self-sufficiency, securing a meaningful job, earning an income, finding housing and being solely responsible for daily tasks of living.

About Junior Achievement of Western CT

Junior Achievement is the world’s largest organization dedicated to empower young people with the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for their future, and make smart academic and economic choices. JA programs are delivered by corporate and commu­nity volunteers, and provide relevant, hands-on experiences that give students from kindergarten through high school knowledge and skills in financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship. For more information about JAWCT, please visit www.jawct.org or call 203.382.0180.

About Fairfield County's Community Foundation

Fairfield's County's Community Foundation promotes philanthropy as a means to create change in Fairfield County, focusing on innovative and collaborative solutions to critical issues impacting the community. Individuals, families, corporations and organizations can establish charitable funds or contribute to existing funds. The Community Foundation is in compliance with the Council on Foundations' national standards and has awarded $180 million in grants to nonprofits in Fairfield County and beyond. For more information, visit http://www.fsscoundation.org.