Junior Achievement’s mission is to educate and inspire young people to value free enterprise, business and economics to improve the quality of their lives.  As we carry out our mission, the result is often breaking a cycle of limited education in a family due to dropping out of school; breaking a cycle of low-earning (or no) jobs in a family by opening the door to new career opportunities; and breaking a cycle of poor job skills by providing both education and role models.  We achieve this by developing...

·        the desire in young people to value education and stay in school;

·        positive attitudes toward work and contributing to a diverse society;

·        business/education partnerships that create a bridge between the classroom and the

           workplace, and

·        Critical skills that produce positive change and success, in careers and in lives.

We now reach over 8,000 young people on an annual basis, but we are unable to reach the thousands of others who could benefit from our programs due to inadequate funding.  We are recognized by the IRS as a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization, and do not discriminate against any person on the basis of race, sex, national origin, religion, or for any other reason. 

Students participating in Junior Achievement programs receive information, guidance, education, and inspiration provided by volunteer role models.  They are encouraged to work toward an inadequate education. They aspire to higher morals thus enabling young people to break the cycles of welfare dependence, crime, hunger, drugs and alcohol problems.  Junior Achievement opens windows of opportunities that many young people would not have even recognized except for the programs they were presented through JA.

Mississippi experiences the problems and related costs of young people reaching adulthood without work-related skills and with lower goals than previous generations.  In addition to these gaps, a survey conducted by independent research groups and provided to the Federal Reserve in April 2000 showed that high school students receive a failing grade when it comes to being fluent in finance, paying taxes, handling credit, and saving for the future. Junior Achievement's programs are addressing these issues at a younger age, affecting change even before high school.

Many teens are working or seeking their first jobs.  They see clearly the advantages of earning money, and as a group, have considerable buying power.  Junior Achievement provides them knowledge and a sense of responsibility for their lives and careers.  Teens must realize the powerful connection between what they learn in school and what jobs will be available to them after their school years.  They must learn about budgeting, saving, and investing.  They confront consumer issues daily, but they may be unaware of how such issues influence their decisions to save or spend.  Traditional classroom activities do not offer students the opportunity to learn and experience the skills needed for them to succeed in managing their money.  Junior Achievement is successful in filling the gap between school and work. 

Our classroom volunteers make economic concepts relevant, fuel the entrepreneurial spirit and challenge the students to excel.  Volunteers encourage students to stay in school in order to improve the quality of their own lives.  Junior Achievement’s unique delivery system provides the training, materials and support necessary to ensure positive experiences—experiences that can result in not dropping out of school, and thus can break cycles of poor education, poverty, crime, etc. because students not only learn more, they see opportunities to improve their lives.

Every year, we survey our volunteer consultants (primarily from the business world), our teacher partners, and our students to verify the learning and attitudinal progress that is made.  In addition, our national organization utilizes an independent research group, the Western Institute for Research and Evaluation, to annually evaluate  programs for effectiveness.  Junior Achievement believes strongly in the continuous improvement of its programs.  

In summary, J A programs provide young people more choices and opportunities, thus improving the quality of their lives.