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Junior Achievement in Southwest Florida: Why it’s Important!

Oct 28, 2020 | Education

Junior Achievement of Southwest Florida and The ECCL Hosted First-Ever Virtual Gala earlier this year at The Club at Grandezza.

JA FORT MYERS, Fla. (October 28, 2020) – Junior Achievement of Southwest Florida and The Estero Council of Community Leaders (ECCL) hosted a Virtual Gala event earlier this year on April 24 in place of its annual in-person Gala Celebration at The Club at Grandezza. The Virtual Gala, titled, “Now More Than Ever,” was hosted by NBC-2 News Anchor Rachel Pierce and well-known auctioneer Scott Robertson, and featured a live auction, fund-a-need, and student testimonials. The outcome was more than $63,000 raised in net proceeds to support educational programs for Junior Achievement of Southwest Florida students.

JA

Since 1919, Junior Achievement (JA) ‘s mission has been to empower young people to own their economic success, plan for their futures, and make smart academic and financial choices. For more than 100 years, JA has relied on dedicated volunteers and fundraising to carry out that mission. Over the past eight years, the “Breaking Par at Grandezza” event proceeds have contributed more than $445,000 in funding to support Junior Achievement of Southwest Florida’s CEO Academy as well as its educational in-class and after-class programs at schools throughout Southwest Florida.
The Breaking Par fundraiser is made possible thanks to the generosity of sponsors, including The Club at Grandezza, The ECCL, IBERIABANK, Jaguar Landrover Fort Myers, Juniper Landscaping, Leading Edge Benefit Advisors LLC, Lee Health, ProGraphx, TECO Peoples Gas, and Tijuana Flats Foundation.
About Junior Achievement:
Junior Achievement is the world’s largest organization dedicated to giving young people the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for their future, and make smart academic and economic choices.
Junior Achievement programs are delivered by corporate and community volunteers providing relevant, hands-on experiences. That experience gives students from kindergarten through high school knowledge and skills in financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship. Today, JA reaches more than 4.8 million students per year in more than 107 markets across the United States, with an additional 5.2 million students served by operations over 100 other countries worldwide.
Locally, Junior Achievement of Southwest Florida partnered with classroom business volunteers during the 2019-2020 school year to provide nearly 70,000 hours of instruction to almost 10,500 students in 453 classes throughout Collier, Lee, and Charlotte counties. For more information on Junior Achievement of Southwest Florida, visit www.JASWFL.org, call 239-225-2590, or email info@jaswfl.org.