Junior Achievement of Arizona recently announced that Marcia Wepfer of Mesa has been chosen from among tens of thousands of U.S. volunteers as one of 10 recipients of the organization’s most prestigious national award for volunteerism, the Gold Leadership Award.

The Gold Leadership Award honors volunteer excellence, presented in recognition of leadership in supporting and expanding JA’s student impact, resources, operational excellence and sustainability. The Gold Leadership Awards honor the recipients’ JA volunteer service during the 2020-21 school year, according to a release.

“Our local business community’s support of JA is critical to achieving our mission, to inspire and prepare young people to succeed in the global economy,” Katherine Cecala, president of Junior Achievement of Arizona, said in the release. “Marcia Wepfer at Principal Financial Group is a remarkable example of that spirit of dedication and service to others. In a very real way, she helps Phoenix area JA students get the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for their future, and make smart academic and economic choices.”

For the past 20 years, Wepfer has been on the JA board of directors and has fundamentally impacted JA’s strategic direction around programming and impact in Arizona, the release states.

She has volunteered in the classroom nearly every year since 1996 and is shaping the future of hundreds of Arizona students. Most recently and notably, she helped lead JA’s efforts to transform to digital during the pandemic. She is one of JAAZ’s top five individual donors over the last 20 years, the release states.

Junior Achievement’s entrepreneurship, financial literacy and work readiness programs are delivered nationwide — typically in classrooms during the school day, by volunteer role models from the local business community.

About Junior Achievement USA

Junior Achievement is an organization dedicated to giving young people the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for their future, and make smart academic and economic choices.

JA programs are delivered by corporate and community volunteers, and provide relevant, hands-on experiences that give students from kindergarten through high school knowledge and skills in financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship.

Today, JA reaches more than 2.5 million students per year in 104 markets across the U.S., with an additional 5.2 million students served by operations in 100 other countries worldwide.

Junior Achievement USA is a member of JA Worldwide. Go to ja.org  for more information.

About Junior Achievement of Arizona

Junior Achievement of Arizona is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that equips Arizona students to succeed in work and life by giving them the knowledge and skills they need to manage their money, plan for their future, and make smart academic, career and economic choices.

Since 1957, JA has taught kids — kindergarten through high school — about financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship.

The organization’s hands-on, age-appropriate programs are delivered by more than 8,000 corporate and community volunteers.

Despite educational obstacles during the pandemic, JA reached more than 65,000 students in the 2020-21 school year. Follow @JAArizona on social media or visit jaaz.org/resources for free online educational tools.