Junior Achievement of WNY

Junior Achievement inspires and prepares young people to succeed in a global economy.

Our volunteer-delivered, kindergarten-12th grade programs foster work-readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy skills, and use experiential learning to inspire students to dream big and reach their potential.

Junior Achievement of WNY serves the eight counties of Western New York: Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Niagara, Orleans, and Wyoming- and has volunteer opportunities in schools in each county.

Volunteers present Junior Achievement’s professionally developed curriculum which provides students in grades K-12 the knowledge and skills in financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship that they need to own their economic success, plan for their future and make smart choices.

As a Junior Achievement (JA) volunteer, you are provided with a one hour training and all of the necessary teaching materials including scripted lesson plans and tools to be successful in the classroom. JA volunteers are encouraged to share their own “real world” experiences with students.

Time commitment varies from five-seven lessons, each about 40 minutes in length. Volunteers can select an opportunity that is most convenient for them from a list of available schools. Schedules are determined directly between the volunteer and teacher they are paired with.