Junior Achievement, a private, non-profit program that empowers young people to own their economic success, is expanding its services in Georgetown and Horry county schools.

Briana Carr, the new Waccamaw Regional Program Manager for Junior Achievement of Coastal South Carolina, has been hired to make the expansion a reality.

“I play matchmaker between schools and volunteers,” Carr said. “I help train volunteers and meet with teachers to let them know about the program.”

A partnership with the Waccamaw Community Foundation has made her position possible and the program has gained support of school districts in Georgetown and Horry counties.

Carr said Junior Achievement is always looking for volunteers who would like to go into the classroom and teach the ready-to-teach lessons with all materials provided. Last year, Junior Achievement served students in Kensington Elementary and Waccamaw High in this area, and this year Carr is working with Georgetown High.

Junior Achievement’s volunteer-delivered, K-12 programs foster work-readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy skills, and use experiential learning to inspire kids to dream big and reach their potential.

The Coastal Carolina division, which covers nine counties along the coast, served more than 8,000 students in 350 classrooms last school year.

Chad Vail, president of Junior Achievement of Coastal South Carolina, said the goal for this year is to serve at least 3,000 students in the Waccamaw Region which covers Georgetown and Horry counties.

“We want to empower kids to own their economic success,” Vail said.

“Briana has really hit the ground running and we want to exceed our goals this year. I think we are on track to do that.”

Carr said she feels these lessons are very valuable to local students.

“We need folks in our workforce who understand ideals to become quality workers,” Carr said. “We realize that kids are following different paths including two-year or four-year college programs, military careers and apprenticeships.”

Upcoming golf tournament

On October 15, Junior Achievement will host the JA Waccamaw Golf Classic at The DeBordieu Club in Georgetown, presented by First Federal Bank.

It will be a Texas Scramble with registration at 8 a.m. and a shotgun start at 9 a.m. Lunch will be provided.

For more information, or to become a Junior Achievement volunteer, visit jacoastalsc.org, contact Briana Carr at briana.carr@ja.org, or call Junior Achievement of Coastal South Carolina at 843-745-7070.

By Clayton Stairs

cstairs@gtowntimes.com