JA programs provide relevant, hands-on experiences that give students from kindergarten through high school knowledge and skills in financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship. Their mission is to inspire and prepare young people to succeed in a global economy.

Back in February, several of my Univision colleagues and I signed up as Junior Achievement volunteers for a day of mentoring at a local Bronx junior high school. Honestly, as nervous as I was to teach a class of 8th graders for an entire day, it was the most rewarding experience of my life being able to talk to those teens about careers, following their dreams and passions, creating paths to success, and opening their eyes to opportunities they didn't even know existed.

A couple of months later, we hosted them at our Univision corporate offices for “JA Day at UCI.” It was amazing to see how genuinely interested and empowered they were by what we do here and how many of us got to where we are regardless of where we came from.

A Bronx native myself, I witnessed firsthand how so many of my classmates weren’t as fortunate as I was to grow up with the childhood and household I was blessed with…

Think about all the kids without positive role models in their lives, those without supportive parents, those who only see the corruption and destruction of the hood around them. They need more positivity, more exposure, and more people who believe in them and encourage them. They need more examples of people who have walked in their shoes, who fought the odds and made something of themselves.

I encourage you to do more for your community. Volunteer or donate, or both! 100% of your donation today goes towards keeping Junior Achievement of New York funded.

Do your part in showing these kids something different – because when they know better, they do better.