By Lindsay Allward-Theimer, Vice President, Volunteer Partnerships & Strategy, Junior Achievement of Georgia

When I was between jobs and transitioning out of the corporate sector, a friend of mine suggested that I volunteer in the community. He advised me that where I spend my free time may give me insights into what could be next. I volunteered for JA of Georgia, a business-integrated education non-profit, in late 2015 and never left.  In my role, I lead the team that has the opportunity to recruit and steward over 10,000 volunteers a year. Every day, 70-100 volunteers across Georgia coach our middle and high school students to prepare them for the future of work and the “real world” of adulthood.

Over the last seven years, I have witnessed tens of thousands of community members give their most valued asset – their time. I still find myself wondering why. Why would they choose to volunteer with JA of Georgia? There are so many essential needs in our community, from animals to food security, and ecological sustainability to our elderly. Here is what I hear from the volunteers themselves as to why they choose JA: 1) impacting young students; 2) the power of in-person connection; 3) and continuous learning.

Impacting Young Students

Even a few hours of volunteer attention, encouragement, and support lasts a lifetime for our students. Many students recall their volunteers’ names and look to them as role models. What we all know applies here: a parent may tell their child something ad nauseam, but it is not until someone outside the family system says the same thing that it connects. An assistant principal shared that a student with significant behavioral challenges presented his hard work in front of a team of business volunteers. In the process, his team ended up winning, with the student applying himself more than before. Through the volunteer experience, the student’s potential became unlocked! JA impacts over 80,000 students a year across Georgia. That is 80,000+ new connections that we get to help facilitate.

Power of In-Person Connection  

Whether you step into one of our JA Discovery Centers or one of our 3DE high schools, you could be volunteering alongside a college student at Georgia State University, a parent of one of the students, a marketing manager at Chick-fil-A, a retired teacher, a VP of Truist Bank, an entrepreneur, or a local chamber member, just to name a few examples. There is nothing more powerful than a multiplicity of backgrounds, ages, diversity, and cultures from our communities uniting around our youth. Likewise, corporate groups use volunteer days as a team building day, anywhere from a group size of 5 to 60. Coming off the pandemic crisis of disconnection for adults and stunted socio-emotional learning for youth, our mission is more important than ever. Several studies reveal that selfless acts of continual volunteering decrease feelings of loneliness and increase physical and mental health well-being. Every day, the JA staff feels the power of in-person connection. 

Continuous Learning

Volunteers are often surprised at what they themselves learn, even after a few hours. They remark on how much the students teach them. 

In JA BizTown, sixth graders spend the day interacting within a simulated economy and take on the challenge of starting and running a business. A volunteer shared that they come back every year to “brush up on their team management skills,” as they learn from the students who work in small teams to launch a business and make a profit by the end of the day. In addition, college professors from the business, education, and social work schools use the volunteer experience as a core part of their service-learning curriculum to enhance college students’ professionalism and leadership skills. 

In JA Finance Park, seventh- or eighth-grade students manage a household budget and learn about personal finance. Students are assigned a random ‘life situation’ with an education level, salary, and family scenario in our simulation. Volunteers have shared that by guiding the students, they started budgeting differently or for the first time ever, saving themselves hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars! 

In 3DE, JA partners with existing high schools to create a new learning environment that integrates learning through case challenges and project-based learning with local businesses. At the end of some five-week case challenges, students present their solutions to company professionals. Many companies remark that students present their findings more aesthetically pleasingly than some of their own. It is not uncommon for companies to bring the students’ solutions to higher management as another data point to consider!

Easy to Engage 

We make it simple and easy for organizations or individuals to work with us. Most of our volunteer engagements are either a few hours or one day. We are grateful for the tens of thousands of people who have and will coach middle school or high school students in their learning. Volunteers recognize that in order to shape the next generation, they choose to use their most valued resource—their presence.