Junior Achievement of East TN

Our mission at JA is: To inspire and prepare young people to succeed in a global economy.

Junior Achievement of East Tennessee’s goal is to ensure that every child throughout East Tennessee has a fundamental understanding of the free enterprise system. More directly, JA’s purpose is to educate and inspire young people to value free enterprise, business, and economics in an effort to improve the quality of their lives.

JA Worldwide® is the world’s largest non-profit education organization dedicated to teaching young people about business, economics, and free enterprise. In 1919,  Junior Achievement was established to introduce young people to the American business system. JA founders established a “learning-by-doing” program that allowed students in organized groups to run small businesses under the guidance of experienced business owners/volunteers. These students graduated from high school with hands-on experience regarding business operations.

Today Junior Achievement is a partnership between the business community, educators and volunteers — all working together to inspire young people to dream big and reach their potential. JA’s hands-on, experiential programs teach the key concepts of work readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy to young people all over the world. Junior Achievement programs focus on seven key content areas: business, citizenship, economics, entrepreneurship, ethics/character, financial literacy, and career development.