For Christmas, I thought I would talk a little bit about gifts… and one that you might consider giving.  Give a kid a Junior Achievement experience.  For free…

Yes, I said FREE…

Sure, you can donate some cash to Junior Achievement, but what the kids REALLY need is adults that will come in to the classrooms and deliver the material.  Seriously… this takes an hour a week (plus commute time), or just one day if you do the “JA in a Day” program.

There are programs for kids from Kindergarten up through High School.  They cover topics ranging from where goods come from to business ethics.  For the last two school years I have been presenting a program to 5th graders.  It is an amazing amount of fun. And despite what you may hear, the kids are incredibly engaged and curious.  We talk about entrepreneurship and how businesses play to their strengths… and how businesses interact with each other.

We have talked about everything from Henry Ford to Phineas & Ferb.  The secret seems to be to find things that the kids can identify with (cartoons and cars work for me…) and then use those to bring the lessons home.

But there is another cool secret…  The kids will LOVE having you in the class because you are different. You aren’t the adults that they see every other day of the school year…

Sure, JA could use a monetary donation, but what the kids REALLY need is you.  Business people, entrepreneurs, creative folks.  The kids need you to introduce them to business, and show them how people like you make their lives better every single day.

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