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Neenah, Wisconsin, area Kimberly-Clark employees volunteer in classrooms for Junior Achievement
Neenah-based Kimberly-Clark employees are putting their mouths where their money is and helping bring financial literacy education to students in the Fox Valley area of Wisconsin. Kimberly-Clark recently made a US$20,000 contribution to Junior Achievement of Wisconsin to become a title sponsor of Junior Achievement’s Annual Business Challenge, an event in which high school students compete in an all-day business simulation designed to give them a taste of what running a business is really like.
 Kimberly-Clark employee Andrew Hintz (third from left) serves as an advisor for the Oshkosh Business Challenge event.
This grant is the most recent in a series of financial contributions that Kimberly-Clark has made to Junior Achievement of Wisconsin over the past 15 years. The grant recently was increased in recognition of Kimberly-Clark’s significant volunteer involvement and the value of the financial and business education the program provides. Several Kimberly-Clark employees also make personal contributions to Junior Achievement.
The financial support shores up an additional 20 years of volunteer service by Kimberly-Clark employees for Junior Achievement programs in the Fox Valley area of Wisconsin. For the past three years, Kimberly-Clark has supplied between 100 and 125 active employee volunteers for Junior Achievement programs. Each volunteer commits to conduct a minimum of five classroom sessions – roughly five hours plus preparation time, but many volunteer much more than that.
This past year, Kimberly-Clark provided 122 volunteers who filled 134 classes in the classroom program. Additional volunteers supported the Junior Achievement Annual Business Challenge events in Oshkosh and Appleton, Wisconsin.
 Kimberly-Clark employee Adam Mangum leads a JA class at St. Mary’s Central High School in Neenah, Wisconsin.
Kimberly-Clark also provides product donations to Junior Achievement, including bath tissue, facial tissue and paper towels for the office facility, as well as marketing premiums for giveaways at events and in the classrooms. Kimberly-Clark also has provided merchandise for silent auction fundraising events benefiting Junior Achievement.
“Junior Achievement relies exclusively on local businesses to supply employee volunteers to go into classrooms and share their experiences,” says Julia Smith, a vice president in Kimberly-Clark’s North American Consumer Products business and a member of the Senior Advisory Board of the local Junior Achievement district. “Kimberly-Clark is a natural fit because employees have a relevant set of experiences that relate to personal economics, career preparation and business.”
Steve Erb, marketing director for Kimberly-Clark’s Family Care Corporate Brands, also is an active volunteer and represents Kimberly-Clark as vice president and president-elect on the local Junior Achievement Board of Directors.
The purpose of Junior Achievement is to ensure that every child has a fundamental understanding of the free enterprise system so that they are equipped to succeed in a global economy. The organization was founded in 1919, began operation in Wisconsin in 1941 and was expanded to the Fox Cities are in 1970. All Junior Achievement Programs focus on Entrepreneurship, Work Readiness or Financial Literacy.
“Kimberly-Clark’s support of Junior Achievement programming is crucial to our success,” said Marcia Cassiani, director of Junior Achievement of Wisconsin, Fox Cities and Oshkosh District. “The current economic crisis has highlighted troubling trends, including huge personal debt levels, soaring home foreclosures and bankruptcies, personal and corporate fraud and ethics violations, and low personal accountability. Students generally are unprepared to enter the workforce. School systems have been asked to help address some of these issues, but they have limited resources.”
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