The JA Discovery Center design and construction process has officially started. Gensler has assembled a team of specialists, including mechanical, electrical and structural engineers, to begin drawings. The next milestone will be securing a construction company to bring the building up to code, complete the historic preservation work, construct the auditorium, and build out the interior. We're making progress but there is still a lot more work to do.

Amanda Meter’s (VP, Individual Giving and Donor Relations) last day with JAGW was Tuesday April 27th. Amanda has left JA to return to the independent school fundraising environment for an opportunity she couldn’t turn down.

Please redirect any inquiries regarding our campaign, Exponential Tomorrows, to Jennifer Bodensiek (Jennifer.bodensiek@ja.org).

Washington Business Hall of Fame (HOF) - Tuesday, December 5, 2023

The Washington Business Hall of Fame website has been updated with the ‘Save the Date’ which introduces this year’s Chairs – JAGW Board Director Kevin Smith and his wife Beth Smithson. A dynamic duo, this year’s Chairs stand beside JA as they say that our work is at the core of their values: family-centered, giving back to our community, and helping create opportunities for people where none or limited resources may exist.

The website has also been updated with the sponsorship one-pager outlining this year’s sponsorship opportunities. The initial wave of sponsorship outreach begins this week.

The efforts continue to strengthen and increase the number of JA Finance Park storefront and Kiosk sponsors. We are reaching out to donors whose support has lapsed and to increase support from current sponsors. If you receive any interest in sponsoring JA Finance Park from anyone, please email LaDreeya and let her know.

Building Public Good and Support: Our efforts to gain visibility and support from the State of Maryland were recently rewarded. JAGW has been identified as a recipient of $300,000 to support technology and other renovations needed at our JA Finance Park locations in Prince George’s and Montgomery Counties.

Grants (Elevate)

JA Finance Park

On April 24th the Acting Comptroller of the Currency of the United States Department of Treasury Michael Hsu and members of his office volunteered with JA students from William Wirt MS at JA Finance Park Prince George's County. Read more here..

We have six more weeks of simulations and will continue to work with our county partners. JA Finance Parks in Montgomery and Prince George’s County will welcome schools from DCPS in May! If you would like a list of schools and dates please email Lauren.

The Education teams will be training within the new onsite Finance Park 2.0 simulation. If you have any interest in learning the simulation please email Lauren.

A huge shout-out to our JA Finance Park team members who have been traveling around the DMV to fill in for some of our volunteer needs during the month of April!

Last month, Ballou STAY and Potomac High Schools held their annual 3DE Market Day events where students had the opportunity to sell their products and services to the general public. The events were well attended and the students had a great time showcasing their wonderful businesses. 3DE Market Day is a culminating activity for the 11th grade 3DE students' yearlong project of creating and running their own business. More pictures are located in the Communications & Marketing folder in the shared drive -"T:\Communications & Marketing\Photos + Videos\All Photos\Photos by Year\2023\3DE".

Our JA Company Program is gearing up to complete the application for the Junior Achievement's National Student Leadership Summit (NSLS). Both our South Lakes team, “Ink Children’s Books,” and Maryland team, “Alleviate,” are working to finalize their applications and create commercials that showcases the benefits of each company’s product and their innovative approach to meeting their customers’ needs. Applications are due Friday May 5th. 

The JA Entrepreneurship Summit takes place Monday, July 24th – Friday, July 28th. Applications are now open to high school students grades 9th– 12th in the Greater Washington area. Rising 9th graders (students entering their 9th grade year) will be interviewed before being admitted into the program. We are currently looking to fill 100 slots. Applications close Friday, June 30th at 5:00pm. Email Jamil with any questions.

There are several upcoming 3DE culminating events and volunteer partners visits for the month of May. View the complete list here and feel free to reach out to Caitlin with any questions.

April 27^th was National Bring Your Child To Work day. The Education Team invited their kids to JA Finance Park and shared the experience of running a simulation for the day. More pictures are located in the Communications & Marketing folder in the shared drive - "T:\Communications & Marketing\Photos + Videos\All Photos\Photos by Year\2023\National Bring Your Child To Work Day."

Second quarter GOOD documents were due on March 31. If you haven’t completed them yet, please do ASAP.

The JA Summer Fun Day is scheduled for Thursday, August 17! This is for staff and their families. More info coming soon.

If you know anyone who enjoys a fast-paced, ever changing environment, and likes to meet some amazing people along the way - please share the following link. Current open positions are located here: www.myja.org/careers.

The next Coffee Break is Friday, May 19th at 2:30pm. May is National Mental Health Awareness Month – let’s explore well-being together. Are you using your Calm app subscription from JA? Have you ever explored Dr. Sonia Lyubomirsky’s 12 Happiness Enhancing Strategies? What is your go-to for caring for yourself?

JA’s monthly, all-staff, virtual Coffee Break is a time for fellowship and celebration among colleagues. A new general conversation or celebration topic is selected each month and all staff are invited. Email Sarah to submit topic ideas.

Rescheduled: Our discussion of “The Personal Librarian”, will be held on Tuesday, May 9^th at 3:00pm. A calendar invite has been sent to the full staff.

The Personal Librarian is “a remarkable novel about J. P. Morgan’s personal librarian, Belle da Costa Greene, the Black American woman who was forced to hide her true identity and pass as white in order to leave a lasting legacy that enriched our nation, from New York Times bestselling authors Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray.”

There’s still time to read the book! It should be readily available in libraries but, should you choose to purchase the book, consider purchasing at a local, Black-owned bookstore such as Loyalty Bookstores or Mahogany Books, or in support of any locally-owned bookstore across the country via bookshop.org.

Whether it’s for a single ad-hoc meeting or as a regular committee member, we’d love your contributions to the DEI Committee. The standing monthly meeting is held on the third Wednesday of each month at 2:30pm (adjusted for holidays as necessary). Email Sarah for an invite. 

JA USA JEDI Network - If you would like to join the JA USA JEDI Network, which meets once a quarter, please email JEDINetwork@ja.org requesting to join and you will be added to the email distribution list.

New Survey - Teens and Future Jobs: According to new research from Junior Achievement and Citizens, more than three-fourths of teens (76%) agree that a two-year or technical certification is enough to get a good job, and only 41% of respondents agree that one must have a four-year degree to have a good job. Read more here.

Explore the New JA Intranet: The new JA Intranet is now active at intranet.ja.org. To log in, use your BCRM credentials plus @JA.org at the end. Use your email firstname.lastname@ja.org plus your BCRM password. If you have trouble signing in, contact helpdesk@ja.org. 

Free Calm Subscription: In partnership with United Healthcare, JA USA will offer a free premium subscription to Calm through October 2023 to Junior Achievement associates!

Do you have content for the next issue? Please contact LeAnn with your content for an upcoming issue.