What's Happening in Winston-Salem, NC…

Budding entrepreneurs got advice on what it takes to succeed in business when Junior Achievement (JA) volunteers, along with Paradigm 360 (a group that helps young people develop leadership skills), spent a day at Kimberley Park Elementary School in Winston-Salem earlier this month.

The event was thanks to locals Warren and Yolanda Belin. Yolanda works at Paradigm 360, which was looking for an opportunity to help the community. It was suggested to the company that it should arrange to bring volunteers to Kimberley.

Junior Achievement tells children what they need to know to succeed as adults in the business world. Normally, a JA curriculum takes five weeks, with a volunteer giving one class a week for 30-45 minutes. At Kimberley, volunteers gave the entire program in a single day, in a package known as ‘JA in a Day’.

Kimberley Park's principal, Amber Baker, said most of her students are from low-income families, so the information they received on finances and business was vital. Equally important, though, was the opportunity to spend an entire day with an adult professional, giving them a glimpse of an entirely different life—one to which they can aspire.

School officials might work with a flyer printing company to create a handout about the day. They could distribute it to other schools that have students who would benefit from meeting the JA/Paradigm 360 volunteers.