Junior Achievement is the world’s largest organization dedicated to educating students about work readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy through experiential, hands-on programs. Junior Achievement programs help prepare young people for the real world by showing them how to generate wealth and effectively manage it, how to create jobs which make their communities more robust, and how to apply entrepreneurial thinking to the workplace. Students put these lessons into action, and help strengthen their communities. VOLUNTEERS: JA of South Texas’ 3,447 classroom volunteers come from all walks of life and include business people, college students, parents, and retirees. These dedicated individuals are the backbone of the organization. STUDENTS: During the 2018/2019 school year, JAST used hands-on experiences to help 91,542 students understand the economics of life. HISTORY: Junior Achievement was founded in 1919 by Theodore Vail, president of American Telephone & Telegraph; Horace Moses, president of Strathmore Paper Co.; and Senator Murray Crane of Massachusetts. Its first program, JA Company Program, was offered to high school students on an after-school basis. In 1975, the organization entered the classroom with the introduction of Project Business for the middle grades. Founded locally in 1979, Junior Achievement of South Texas has offices in San Antonio, Corpus Christi, and Laredo.