Junior Achievement welcomed over 70 volunteers, advisors and corporate sponsors to its annual reception held at Government House this past Wednesday to thank them for their support.

“This year we wanted to highlight briefly our 23 years of success which would not have been possible without the support of teachers, parents, sponsors and the wider community”, said JA President Mr. Paul Byles.

“It’s a remarkable achievement that this youth program has increased student participation by over 50% in its Company programme over the past three years and has gone from approximately 445 students in 2008 to now 1,000 in our Classroom based programmes”, he added.

In his brief remarks at the event, Mr. Byles remarked that the JA Company programme was about much more than teaching students how to run a company. “With the help of our dozens of advisors and volunteers we are also providing positive mentorship to the students to improve their soft skills and develop them as productive citizens” said Mr. Byles.

“On behalf of the JA Board, I wish to say to huge thank you especially to our volunteers and corporate sponsors for their contribution to the program’s success and the ability to provide programmes in many of the schools ”

Her Excellency, the Governor Mrs. Helen Kilpatrick hosted the event and was very impressed in her first year as Patron of the program, a position that the Governor’s office has held since JA’s early days in the Cayman Islands.

“I was particularly impressed with the products and professionalism displayed by the students at the JA Trade Fair which was recently held at Governors House” said Mrs. Kilpatrick.

“The breadth of experience ranging from decision making on key company matters to dealing with operational challenges along the way and finally to the company reports contributes greatly to the value of this important program”, added Mrs. Kilpatrick.

JA’s annual reception is held to formally thank the various sponsors and volunteers. The JA ends its year with an Awards Banquet in May, that is attended by over 300 students, parents and volunteers. At the Awards Banquet, Junior Achievers are recognized for their accomplishments. In addition, 8 students are selected to attend a major youth leadership event held in Canada every summer.

About Junior Achievement of the Cayman Islands

Junior Achievement of the Cayman Islands is a not-for-profit association and is funded through the generous contributions from the business community and is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors comprising representatives appointed by Rotary Central, the Chamber of Commerce and elected associate members. JA offers a number of programs aimed at Cayman’s youth. Together these programs impact over 1,200 students each year. These include: the Company Program, JA Career Success and Job Shadow for high school students, Economics for Success for Middle School students and Ourselves for Kindergarten students. Rotary Central introduced Junior Achievement to the Cayman Islands in 1991 and partnered with the Chamber of Commerce on the popular program that focuses on youth.