March 21, 2012- Over 60 students, staff and faculty from the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management will be heading back to the classroom today to teach a day-long business program to grade eight students in schools across Toronto. The Junior Achievement program, Economics for Success, encourages students to take a closer look at the advantages of staying in school and at how the choices they make can positively impact their future dreams, aspirations and outcomes. Junior Achievement (JA), the largest not-for-profit educational organization in Canada dedicated to inspiring and preparing youth to succeed in the global economy, has been proven to make an impact on Canada. A recent study by The Boston Consulting Group found:
• There is an annual impact of $105 million on the Canadian economy, directly attributed to the work of JA;
• JA creates an annual return of $45 for every one dollar spent, in terms of societal prosperity by helping youth stay in business; encouraging new businesses; and providing today’s youth with valuable skills they will need to participate in a global economy; and
• Junior Achievers earn salaries 50% higher than non-participants.
"This is one of the unique opportunities for Rotman students to contribute their business education to children, in the hopes that they will grow up to be responsible with money, pursue higher education and have successful careers," says Sabrina Sdao, MBA'12, Vice President, Student Life, of the Graduate Business Council at the Rotman School. "The skills we have learned are valuable and we view sharing them as a way to give back to the community."
"It's important to give back to the community," says Kevin Stolarick, research director at the Rotman School's Martin Prosperity Institute. “This Is an opportunity for us at Rotman to work with Junior Achievement to teach some basic business skills to younger students."
Junior Achievement inspires and prepares young people to succeed in the global economy. JA programs reach 10.6 million students per year in 406,000 classrooms and afterschool locations in 118 countries. Since 1955, over 3.7 million students in Canada have participated in a JA program. Junior Achievement of Central Ontario partners with educators, donors and volunteers to bring a real world experience into the classroom.
The Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto is redesigning business education for the 21st century with a curriculum based on Integrative Thinking. Located in the world’s most diverse city, the Rotman School fosters a new way to think that enables the design of creative business solutions. The School is currently raising $200 million to ensure Canada has the world-class business school it deserves. For more information, visit http://www.rotman.utoronto.ca.