Our History.
Founded in 1919 nationally, 1955 locally.
Junior Achievement of South Central PA
The first JA evening company in York was JABCO Specialties. The company was sponsored by P.H. Glatfelter. Pictured are the Board of Directors of JABCO Specialties 1962-1963.
The first full-scale organizational meeting was held in June 1961. Henry D. Schmidt was elected Chairman of the Board and Loren Shinneman became the first President of the local Chapter.
By October of 1961, 325 students from 6 local high schools were able to meet and form the first JA companies.
On July 1, 2016, Junior Achievement of Central PA joined with Junior Achievement of South Central PA. This consolidation brings together two JA organizations with sixty years of history.
Originally, JA was an after-school high school program designed to teach young adults how businesses are organized and operated. By providing students with positive role models and hands-on experience in running their own small businesses, JA volunteers helped prepare young people for successful careers.
The after-school program typically provided training for students to build a product and sell it in the community. This exposure to business gave a small number of students a wonderful exposure to the free enterprise system.
Students of evening companies were involved in all aspects of creating, manufacturing, and selling a product. Here, students of one of the first JA companies work with power equipment to produce their product 1962.
Students had the opportunity to experience first-hand the real world of work and careers. Here at the JA Bank, a student takes a deposit.
Evening company students had JA days at the York Mall. The mall would be full of JA company stores selling their unique products.
Beginning in 1983, JA shifted its focus from after-school programs to in-school programs, and embarked on an ambitious plan to dramatically expand the scope and variety of programs offered. New educational materials were developed for grade levels K-12, and JA programs were made available to all students as part of their regular daily classroom curriculum.
Project Business was the first "in- class" program offered by JA. The number of students reached began to dramatically increase as more volunteers began to participate.
Junior Achievement of
South Central PA
Historical Highlights
1983 – Junior Achievement of York County reached over 1,000 students in a school year for the first time.
1984 – Junior Achievement of York County’s request to expand its chartered area to include Adams, Cumberland, and Perry counties and a portion of Dauphin County was approved by the national office of Junior Achievement.
1985 – Junior Achievement of York County officially became Junior Achievement of South Central Pennsylvania (JASCPA).
Student impact milestone
Early 1990s – Junior Achievement expanded its programs into elementary grades classrooms.
1992 – JASCPA’s impact surpassed 5,000 students per school year.
1998 – JASCPA’s impact surpassed 10,000 students per school year.
2001 – JASCPA’s impact surpassed 25,000 students per school year.
2002 – JASCPA signed a lease for its new headquarters at 610 South George Street in York and began renovations and construction of new office space, a conference and training space, and an Exchange City® (today’s BizTown) program facility.
2008 – JASCPA launched JA Finance Park, a financial literacy program for middle school and early high school grades students.
2012 – JASCPA developed and launched the STEM Summit, a one-day program designed to help 9th and 10th grade students explore science, technology, engineering, and math skills and careers.
2014 – JASCPA developed and launched the REAL Life program to replace JA Finance Park and provide financial literacy education to 11th and 12th grade students.
2015 – JASCPA’s impact surpassed 50,000 students per school year.
2015 – JASCPA developed and launched the YES! program as a one-day program for middle school students.
2016 – Junior Achievement of Central Pennsylvania merged with Junior Achievement of South Central Pennsylvania. The merged area now included 14 counties and 95 school districts.
2017 – JASCPA served its one-millionth student.
2019 – JASCPA’s impact surpasses 100,000 students per school year.
2020 – JASCPA launches JA Inspire. JA Inspire wins the Central Penn Business Journal’s Program Innovation Award.
2022 - JASCPA launches Pre-K Programming because generational change cannot start early enough.
TODAY – JASCPA serves over 108,000 students annually with the help of over 8,000 business and community volunteers.