Back in high school I was exposed to a great program called Junior Achievement. We met in the evening after school, maybe once a week, and we were taught by a GE volunteer about how business works. It was awesome. I had a ton of fun, I learned a lot, and I still even remember the name of the volunteer who taught our class.

Five years ago, I was asked by a friend and colleague to get involved in volunteering for Junior Achievement and I jumped at the opportunity no questions asked. I really wanted to work at my old high school, Schenectady, but was willing to take whatever they needed covered in the meantime, so I taught elementary school a bit too (which is very fun). After not too long a spot opened at SHS and I have been there ever since.

I lo​ve being able to talk to students about the three pillars of JA - Entrepreneurship, Financial Literacy, and Workforce Readiness. Through assorted exercises and some great discussions, we cover a wide range of topics that fall under these categories. A strong foundation of these three concepts is severely lacking in our education system, and JA does a phenomenal job of filling this gap. The money that you donate, the money that is raised by this bowling effort, directly supports the efforts of volunteers by subsidizing educational materials and staff time (and trust me, they do the work of twice as many people as they are, so the money is well spent!). $500 covers the assorted costs of teaching one class, so I want our team to at least raise triple that.

Help me support the financial literacy, entrepreneurial spirit, and workforce readiness of Capital Region kids. In doing so, you support not just them, but our region's economic vitality.

Also if you yourself are interested in volunteering, LET ME KNOW! Email me at chris@pinnaclerecruiters.com

Thank you!!!

Chris