Junior Achievement (JA) is celebrating its centennial in 2019. JA was started in 1919 in Springfield, Massachusetts by Strathmore Paper Founder Horace Moses, AT&T Chairman Theodore Vail and U.S. Senator from Massachusetts Murray Crane. JA's founding was in response to families moving from farms to the growing industrial cities. The goal was to provide young people with the skills they would need to be successful adults in their new communities.

During the course of the past 100 years, JA has evolved from an organization operating primarily in the Northeastern United States and teaching teens how to start a business into a multinational organization reaching more than 10 million students in 100 countries with programs that promote entrepreneurship, career and work readiness and financial literacy. In the United States, JA reaches nearly 5 million students in grades K-12.

JA empowers young people to own their future economic success by delivering volunteer-led, in-class programs to K-12 students in three critical areas: work readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy. JA of Oregon & SW Washington has been serving local students since 1950.

For over 69 years, JA has been collaborating with volunteers from the business community and local schools to teach students how business works. Thanks to more than 4,500 volunteers in Oregon & SW Washington, over 44,600 students will benefit from JA programs this year. These programs are largely funded by the Bowl-a-Thon!

In partnership with the education and business communities, JA is transforming the student experience by bringing relevance, authenticity and application into everyday learning to energize students around academics and their future possibilities. Through integrated learning models focused on work readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy, we will empower the next generation with the knowledge, capacity and motivation to thrive; to build a better future for themselves and their community. 

Our programs have helped tens of thousands of students master essential academic and workplace skills and concepts, while developing critical thinking, problem-solving skills and teamwork.

The annual Bowl-a-Thon is the largest source of funding for JA programs. Each year, companies throughout our community form teams of bowlers to participate. Each bowler raises money from friends, family and colleagues and celebrates their fundraising efforts at a fun, interactive bowling event hosted by Junior Achievement. It is an exciting day and a great chance for co-workers and friends to get together in support of a great cause!