Junior Achievement receives grant

Junior Achievement of Mahoning Valley has received a $20,000 grant and a $5,000 challenge grant from the Burton D. Morgan Foundation.

Junior Achievement of Mahoning Valley recently announced that The Burton D. Morgan Foundation, a supporter of Junior Achievement programs in Northeast Ohio, has committed to matching dollars donated to Junior Achievement of Mahoning Valley between now and May 1.

Donations received will help Junior Achievement reach 9,000 local K-12 students with JA programs this year, taught in four counties, including Mahoning, Trumbull, Ashtabula and Columbiana.

The mission of the Hudson-based Burton D. Morgan Foundation is to promote entrepreneurship and the free enterprise system.

“This grant will allow us to reach youth here in the Mahoning Valley to help them develop entrepreneurial skills needed to succeed in our global economy,” said Michele Merkel, president Junior Achievement of Mahoning Valley.

“JA brings the concepts of entrepreneurship and innovation into the classroom and creates meaningful experiences that will give youth a head start on success,” said Merkel,

A new Junior Achievement survey found that more than half of teen respondents (51 percent) would like to own their own business someday. However, in the face of a prolonged economic recovery, many teens fear the risk of starting a business venture.

Of those polled, 74 percent identified risk (39 percent) and failure (35 percent) as the biggest discouragements from starting their own business, compared to 56 percent who cited lack of money to fund their ideas.

The Junior Achievement 2010 Teens and Entrepreneurship Survey was sponsored by Sam’s Club.

“With so many teens fearing the risk associated with starting a business, the time is now to teach them those skills to overcome that fear, so our young people can be successful in the 21st-century global marketplace,” said Merkel. “Junior Achievement teaches students to overcome fears and own their economic success by bringing relevancy to classroom education.”