Fox Cities, Oshkosh Junior Achievement operations to merge

The boards of directors of the Fox Cities and Oshkosh districts of Junior Achievement of Wisconsin have announced plans to merge the two operations into a single organization that will serve the greater Fox Cities, Oshkosh and Winnebago County.

When the merger is completed today, the new entity will be called Junior Achievement of Wisconsin, Inc. — Fox Cities & Oshkosh District. Marcia Cassiani will serve as the district’s director. Mary Christensen of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans will serve as chairman of the board of directors.

The merged organization will coordinate the efforts of nearly 800 volunteers from local businesses who taught JA programs in more than 900 area classrooms from the kindergarten through high school during the 2007/2008 school year. The new JA district will have an operating budget of more than $340,000, all of which is funded by contributions from local businesses, foundations and individuals.

According to Christensen, the merger will enable Junior Achievement staff and volunteers to be more effective and efficient in pursuing JA’s mission to educate and inspire young people to succeed in a global economy.

“The two boards believe a regional approach to operations and staffing, marketing, fund-raising and volunteer recruitment will result in a stronger and more visible JA district better positioned to support the growth of our programs,” said Christensen.

She added that the new district will benefit from the perspectives of an expanded board of directors, a more clearly defined service area, and a commitment to implement a management succession plan for the district director position.

The local JA organization has grown significantly since it was founded in 1970 by a group of Appleton business leaders. The office successfully merged with the Neenah–Menasha JA operation in 2003 to become the Fox Cities District. JA’s Oshkosh District was formed 20 years ago.

JA volunteers are local business people who help prepare students for continued academic growth or the working world by increasing their understanding of economics through business simulations and Internet experiences. Students receive direct instruction from the JA volunteers who use a nationally recognized curriculum to teach entrepreneurship, workforce readiness, personal financial literacy, and ethics.

For the past several years demand from area schools for the JA curriculum has outpaced the resources and funding the JA district office has available to provide its programs. During the most recent school year more than 30 classrooms were waiting to participate in JA. Christensen expects that merging the JA districts will provide better access to financial resources and volunteers that will enable JA to serve more students throughout the region.