JA SPONSORS JOB SHADOW DAY

January 30, 2008

[Springfield, MA] On Friday, February 1, 2008, almost 1500 high school students throughout Western Massachusetts will participate in National Groundhog Job Shadow Day. JA Job Shadow introduces students to careers through one-day, on-site workplace orientations. Local business people throughout western Massachusetts will host the students for four hours, helping them to discover how each person and department plays an important role in the production or service delivery process, allowing the students to observe how English, math, problem-solving, and other basic skills are used each day on the job and helping students understand that a good education is key to getting a job. The businesses will also provide students with a lunch and an opportunity to discuss what they learned during the morning.

This year JA is piloting a program with Springfield Central High School in conjunction with the School-to-Career program. This year 350 freshmen from Central High have already completed a Shadow Day Seminar in preparation for the event and prepared their resumes. JA Job Shadow is generously sponsored by grants from The Davis Foundation and The Massachusetts Department of Education.

Among the business hosts this year are: Best Buy, Cambridge Credit Counseling Corp., American international College, Elms College, Springfield Technical College, Western New England College, Lenox American Saw, The United States Post Office, The Marriott, The Springfield Improvement District, Savage Arms, Big Y, WWLP TV 22, OMG, Inc., Baystate Medical Center, The MassMutual Center, The Mullen Center, and the Holiday Inn Springfield. Tower Square is hosting students in conjunction with several of their tenants including Robinson & Donovan, Garvey Communications, Tower Square Management, Standard Parking, Fini’s Plant Farm, Tower Square Security, Westfield Bank and Smith Barney.

About Junior Achievement
Junior Achievement is the world's largest organization dedicated to educating young people about business, economics and free enterprise. Through a dedicated volunteer network, JA provides in-school and after-school programs for students in grades K-12. JA offers educational programs that focus on seven key content areas: business, citizenship, economics, entrepreneurship, ethics/character, financial literacy, and career development. Today more than Junior Achievement Worldwide reaches almost seven million students in 98 countries. For more information, visit www.jawm.org.