I volunteer with Junior Achievement at South High. While there a few weeks ago, I was reminded of how just getting one extra volunteer to spend one extra hour with the students is so impactful.

Over the six weeks – just one hour a week – I volunteered there, the students at South became really engaged with a lot of them thinking really critically about their future, what it means to start a business, and how they can be successful.

One of the girls came up with an idea to rent her cell phone hotspot out at lunch to make some extra money since the wifi at school is usually weak, and another came up with a really solid long-term plan to become a lawyer focused on social justice. One student put together a plan to start a business that comes to a person’s house to assemble big-box store furniture (where was he when I spent 6-hours building this dresser in the baby’s room…).

It was so fun to see them open up to talk about the ideas they have and what they can achieve.

Please consider volunteering with JA this year. There are plenty of opportunities to give a little bit of time and make a significant positive impact for young people in our community while getting a lot back in return.

If you’re a young professional in Colorado, please consider joining me and others who are helping JA at our next JA Engage Happy Hour. We’ll be at Infinite Monkey Theorem on March 2. This is a great way to connect with new people and learn about how easy it is to volunteer with JA.

To register for the March Happy Hour, click here, and to learn more about JA Engage, click here.