Junior Achievement

Junior Achievement USA® and Voya Foundation launch “JA Influencer,” a free resource for educators, school counselors, parents and students

A signature partner with Voya since 2001, Junior Achievement (JA) is the world’s largest organization dedicated to educating students about workforce readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy. As part of our partnership, Voya employees from most of our major office locations volunteered over 5,000 hours mentoring students in 2015. To acknowledge this extraordinary commitment, Voya earned a bronze President’s Volunteer Service Award bestowed from the White House.

Building on our history of support for JA, Voya Financial and JA USA created an innovative, online resource called “JA Influencer” to help students better understand the economics of topics including workforce readiness, college, careers, entrepreneurship and more. Accessed through JA’s website, the resource includes articles and practical lessons that introduce current events to students in ways that make them relevant to their daily lives.

One of the lessons, “Understanding the Student Loan Explosion: Implications for Students and Their Families,” helps students better understand the issues around student loans and debt and provides insight on how to make informed decisions when paying for higher education.

Focusing on the impact of global economics on our daily lives, “Crude Facts: The Winners and Losers of Low Oil Prices” is a discussion guide available that explains how the laws of supply and demand impact energy prices in terms teens can understand.

“JA Influencer allows students to explore these real-life issues and current events in ways that show them how to better prepare themselves for their own futures and careers,” said Jack Kosakowski, president and CEO of Junior Achievement USA. “It also opens their eyes to new perspectives and gives them practical strategies to succeed.”