Walmart Donates $100,000 to Junior Achievement at Haine Middle School

When Walmart donated $100,000 to Pennsylvania’s six Junior Achievement chapters earlier this month, was chosen as the check presentation site.

“Haine has a lot of programs with us at the middle-school level, and they are mostly going to be benefiting from the donation from Walmart,” said Lauren O’Leary of Junior Achievement of Western Pennsylvania.

Dedicated to educating students about workforce readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy through hands-on programs, Junior Achievement is a national nonprofit.

The $100,000 will be used to support the organization’s “Graduation Pathways” program, which encourages students to stay in school and graduate. Middle school is a key time to reach out to students who might be at risk of dropping out, according to Junior Achievement research.

Jeffrey Fuller, assistant superintendent at , said the district’s elementary schools work with Junior Achievement. Each school has a “JA Day” in the spring.

“During JA Day, students participate in a set of activities related to the concepts of business, economics and the relationship between education and work,” he said. “Topics related to the student and how they play an active role in their community are presented by volunteers to each kindergarten through sixth-grade class.”

Fuller said Haine Middle School has had JA Days for several years. Junior Achievement of Western Pennsylvania selected Haine Middle School principal Steven Smith as its Educator of the Year in the 2010-2011 school year.

The grant was awarded to Junior Achievement through the Walmart Foundation’s State Giving Program.