In 1919, Theodore Vail, president of American Telephone & Telegraph, Horace Moses, president of Strathmore Paper Co., and Senator Murray Crane of Massachusetts thought students would benefit from learning about business at an early age. And so Junior Achievement was founded. Its first program, The Company Program, was offered to high school students as an extracurricular activity. In 1975, JA became part of the regular school day, with the introduction of Project Business for middle grade students.
Since its founding, JA Worldwide has become the world's largest organization dedicated to educating young people about business, economics, and entrepreneurship. It has grown to provide in-school, after-school, and workplace programs to students all over the world. Today, it spans grades K—12 and reaches 4 million students annually through 142 local area offices in the United States, with 3 million students served by affiliates in 97 countries.
JA New York is the local affiliate of JA Worldwide and has been providing its programs to students in New York City and Long Island for over 75 years, fulfilling its mission to inspire and prepare young people to succeed in a global economy. Last year, Junior Achievement of New York reached nearly 100,000 students through traditional in-class volunteering, after-school programs, and workplace experiences.
