Help Junior Achievement

Last Sunday, I learned that Junior Achievement of the Palm Beaches and Treasure Coast, Inc. needed some golfers to participate in their annual Play4JA Golf Tourney that was held yesterday.  With such short notice, I was not sure how many of my students would be available.  Some were already committed to playing in tournaments, while others had had personal commitments.  In the end, several of my students decided to skip their weekly lesson and take advantage of this great opportunity to play the Palm Beach Par 3 to practice their short game, meet some new people and have some fun.  

The tournament format was a scramble where a junior golfer was paired with three adults.  Those adults represented Gulfstream Goodwill Industries, Woerner Holdings, Keller Williams, Keiser University, Fifth Third Bank, and Bank of America.  It was my honor to have nine of my junior students participate and even more rewarding to learn that one of them, Thomas Nevico, led his foursome to the best score, shooting a 35. Thomas also won a closest to the pin contest. The other students were: Kirk Barto, Annika Collado, Spencer Shapiro, Vivian Sterijevski, Danny Tadeo, Troy Tharitimanont, Nathan Vertes and Sydney Rogers who won two closest to the pin contests.

This was a unique opportunity for my junior students and I am proud of each of them for having the courage to step outside of their comfort zone to help Junior Achievement raise almost $30,000 to cover the cost of Junior Achievement curriculum kits.  Each kit contains enough supplies for one volunteer to teach up to 30 kids. 

Thank you again for this opportunity to golf at the Junior Achievement tournament today! Vivian had a lovely time golfing & the weather could not have been better. It was a beautiful  course & she played with a Keiser University team. It was a scramble format and she held her own with these three gentlemen. She was best ball several times, had some great putts, & struck up conversations when appropriate. The men cheered her on & tried to help her with her short game. Overall a really great day!  - Vivian's Mom

Thank you so much for inviting me to play in the golf tournament. It was tons of fun and the people I was with were awesome. I won a yeti in a putting contest. It was a good experience. -Nathan

I had a really great time today, met some nice people. Thank you for thinking of me and inviting me to play.  I represented Team Beaver well! - Annika

Since 1981 Junior Achievement of the Palm Beaches & Treasure Coast has delivered financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and workforce readiness programs to over 738,000 youth across our five county area.
Too many kids do not have access to education crucial for their future success: personal financial responsibility, budgeting, critical thinking, & career readiness. Junior Achievement exists so that all kids, regardless of background, receive the tools they need to build a future for themselves in which they are optimistic, economically self-sufficient, and determined, with a belief in the power of free enterprise. Junior Achievement prepares students to develop successful financial management habits, empowers them to explore the potential of becoming an aspiring entrepreneur, and provides them with the skills necessary to succeed in a global workforce.