Wows & Nows December 2024 Articles

Image caption: Junior Achievement of Wisconsin team members accept donations at Lambeau Stadium with ex-Packer, Dorsey Levens.

Green Bay Packers Foundation Teams Up on Education  (Download Article)

The Green Bay Packer Foundation announced in November it has selected Junior Achievement of Wisconsin as one of the state’s civic and charitable groups it will support in the coming year. Wilson Jones, chairperson of the Foundation, made the announcement, honoring and recognizing the outstanding efforts and services performed by each of the organizations.

"We are incredibly grateful for the work the recipient organizations carry out each and every day,” said Packers President/CEO Mark Murphy. “The Packers are honored to recognize and support their dedication to positively impacting their communities." This year, the Foundation directed its funding toward organizations that support Wisconsin’s needs in the areas of arts and culture, athletics and education.

JA was selected as one of the Foundation’s grant recipients out of hundreds of organizations that applied,following a rigorous application process and review by the Foundation’s Trustees. The grants awarded by the Foundation are not recurring and must be used for the specific program or initiative for which the organizations applied. To receive the Foundation’s support, JA was required to demonstrate how our work perpetuates a community environment that promotes families and ensures the safety and education of children.

All of us working with and for JA across the state are excited for the opportunity to “team up on education” with the Green Bay Packers Foundation for K-12 hands-on learning and lifelong success. To learn more, visit Packers Foundation | Green Bay Packers – packers.com

Image caption: Michelle Klein, Education Manager for Junior Achievement of Wisconsin presenting to FBLA student members.

Future Business Leaders of America Take on the
Titan Business Challenge (Download Article)

This year, the annual Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) Wisconsin Fall Leadership Conference was held in Stevens Point where over 150 Wisconsin students signed up to compete against one another in Junior Achievement’s Titan Business Challenge. The Titan events held across the state throughout the year award scholarships to winners as well as the possibility of advancement to the national level competition.

The Titan Business Challenge is one of Junior Achievement’s (JA) highly anticipated annual events that offers an opportunity to integrate our programming, mission, and hands-on approach to learning. The events also engage students, families, educators, volunteers, and the community at large in JA’s work to impact young minds in new ways.

JA team members from the Portage & Wood Counties Area ran the competition and awarded prizes to the top three teams. JA’s local team worked closely with Todd Williams, High School Business and Marketing Teacher and FBLA advisor from Plymouth, Wisconsin, to plan and coordinate the Titan competition.

Junior Achievement of Wisconsin partners with numerous school and community groups to provide unique educational opportunities. Like Junior Achievement, FBLA inspires and prepares students to become community leaders.

Image caption: Students pose at grand opening event

Walmart Comes to Jim’s JA BizTown in Milwaukee (Download Article)

Junior Achievement of Wisconsin hosted a festive ribbon-cutting and grand opening of a Walmart Storefront at the JA BizTown simulation lab in Milwaukee.

Members of the media were there to experience the JA BizTown simulation in action as it buzzed with 5th grade students from Menomonee Falls’ Riverside Elementary school on November 14. Shane Bourk, Vice President and Senior General Manager of Walmart USA, and Julie Granger, President of Junior Achievement of Wisconsin, fielded questions and discussed the impact of the
experiential learning on Wisconsin’s young people.

As one of a dozen local, state, and national sponsors of JA BizTown storefronts, Walmart supports a popular JA learning experience that allows students to operate a kid-sized town, including running a business, making and selling products, earning and spending money and even electing a mayor.

How You Can Support Wisconsin’s Youth  (Download Article)

At Junior Achievement, we work with young people every day to help them discover what’s possible in their lives. JA helps them invest in their future, gain a better understanding of how the world works and pursue their dreams.

At this time of year, lots of organizations are reaching out for help and it can be hard to know which causes are most worthy of your support. You want to be sure the groups you support are well-established and have a proven record of positive results.

In Wisconsin, no other state organization is better positioned to impact students with financial education, career readiness and the entrepreneurial spark, which contributes to the vitality of our community and a well-prepared workforce.

We’re proud to say:

• JA of Wisconsin continues to be one of the most successful aƯiliates of JA USA, ranked third among 99 U.S. aƯiliates.
• Operating as a 50(c)(3) nonprofit since 1941 JA of Wisconsin has been a consistent positive influence in the state by focusing on education, economic and youth development.
• JA of Wisconsin was honored with the Wisconsin Financial Literacy Award by Governors Walker and Evers for its financial literacy education eƯorts with Wisconsin youth.
• JA USA has received Guidestar’s highest Platinum level Seal of Transparency.
• JA USA has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for a third consecutive year.

For communities, educators, and families in Wisconsin, the need for Junior Achievement programming is at an all-time high. This is your last chance in 2024 to add your support to our “Boundless Possibilities” fundraising campaign, wrapping up December 31.
Raise your hand to do your part to help Wisconsin’s young people on their path to success! We can’t do it alone. Please show your support today.

Entrepreneurs Invited to
Compete for $5,000 Scholarship  (Download Article)

Teen entrepreneurs from across Wisconsin are invited to compete for a $5,000 scholarship prize as part of the annual JA of Wisconsin Young Entrepreneur (YE) Competition to be held February 21, 2025, in Milwaukee. Wisconsin teens in grades 9-12 who have run their business since January 2024 or earlier are eligible to apply.

In this “Shark Tank” style competition, four finalists are selected to pitch their businesses to a panel of celebrity judges for a chance to win the $5,000 top prize. This year’s competition will be judged by Craig Culver of Wisconsin’s own Culvers chain of restaurants, Jim Popp of Johnson Financial Group, Denise Thomas of The EƯective Communications Coach, and Wes Saber of Haribo. Three other finalists will be awarded $1,500 scholarship awards.

The annual competition spotlights Wisconsin youth who have successfully turned a business idea into a fully operational commercial enterprise. The YE competition winner will be chosen based on business success, growth potential, and social involvement. Other considerations will be the entrepreneur’s age when the business was started, strategic direction, innovation, personal integrity, leadership, and any special challenges the young entrepreneur had to overcome.

If you are a teen in grades 9-12, or know of one, who started their own business, visit or share the Junior Achievement of Wisconsin website to learn more or sign up to compete. To be considered for the 2024 competition, students must submit a completed application, head shot, video pitching the student’s business, a signed media release, and permission slip signed by a parent or guardian if the entrepreneur is under 18 years of age. The application deadline is midnight on Monday, January 6, 2025, at 11:59 PM CST.

Image caption: O'Neal Sims, Junior Achievement Alumnus

Where Are They Now?
Alumni Spotlight on O'Neal Sims  (Download Article)

Growing up on Chicago's South Side, O'Neal Sims could never have imagined the journey Junior Achievement (JA) would set in motion for him. Sims, a first-generation college student, credits JA with broadening his horizons and helping him see beyond the limitations of his immediate environment.

Throughout his sophomore through senior years at Englewood High School, JA was instrumental in preparing Sims and his peers for academic competitions. One of his proudest moments was when his team, often considered underdogs, placed second in the district—a feat akin to winning the Super Bowl, as Sims recalls. The excitement and pride of that victory remain a cornerstone of his JA experience.

But JA's impact didn't end there. Sims received the Cornell Henry Crown Foundation Scholarship, a $20,000 award that supported him through Purdue University. This opportunity, he says, was transformative, providing him with the resources and confidence to excel.

Today, Sims serves as Director of Quality for Snap-on Tools' Tools Division, overseeing operations at four manufacturing plants and managing a portfolio of over 85,000 products distributed in more than 130 countries. His career is a testament to the doors that JA opened for him.

Now based in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Sims is eager to give back. He sees JA's programs, such as the JA Career Center, as invaluable tools for exposing young people to career possibilities they might never have considered. "JA shows kids they can be CEOs, managers, or innovators—it's all about expanding their world and potential," he says.

O'Neal Sims exemplifies how JA inspires and equips young people for success, and his story
underscores the enduring power of community investment in future generations.