Best Practices, Volume VI, 2004

We all know that the future of our society rests in the hands of today’s children and youth. We also know that our society is driven and funded through commerce. In order for our world to thrive and prosper for generations to come, we need today’s children prepared to take their places in the world of business.

As with nearly everything today, how we do business changes constantly. Our children’s educators are trained to teach the reading, writing, arithmetic and so on. They are focused on teaching and won’t be aware of all the changes in markets and ways of doing business. We, as businessmen and women, are trained in the world of work and involved with the constant change. When business gets involved in education, when business enters the class room in cooperation with teachers and students, our children learn to apply what they are learning in school to their futures. Such cooperation will yield both college and high school graduates who are grounded in business and ready to contribute. A high quality work force will help ensure our continued success.

The Anchorage School Business Partnership is an ideal mechanism for promoting this level of achievement. When Anchorage’s schools and business work together to prepare our youth for the future, we all win.

For 31 years, Junior Achievement of Alaska has been in partnership with businesses around the state to provide economic programs for our children. Because of these partnerships, thousands of children learn to value free enterprise, the basics of entrepreneurship and how to use economics to improve the quality of their lives.

Businesses help JA in a variety of ways. First, we rely upon business for the funding which provides the support and materials for the classroom. Our annual bowl-a-thon, golf tournament and Business Hall of Fame bring support from the community as well as the businesses in our state.

Volunteers from business make an impact on our children by sharing their unique business and world perspective with our young people - tomorrow’s consumers, employees, and parents. The volunteers help students to understand and value our free enterprise system. Each of our volunteers receives training and is provided with a complete set of materials and lesson plan before going into the classroom. Volunteers return year after year because they receive such positive feedback from students and teachers.

These partnerships strengthen the curriculum and give students information they do not receive from textbooks. Partners receive a sense of accomplishment and purpose and in many cases personal growth.

The smile from a child and a thank you makes the time and effort worth it.