SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — MacKenzie Scott, the world's richest woman and the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has donated $1.1 million to the Junior Achievement of San Diego County.
According to officials, JA San Diego is one of 26 local programs that received a direct donation from Scott, who invested more than $38.8 million overall in the national organization and offices.
“We’re so grateful to Ms. Scott and her team for this investment in San Diego youth,” said JA San Diego Board Co-Chair and CEO of Mission Fed Credit Union, Debra Schwartz.
“This gift will allow JA San Diego to expand our services to serve more youth, in more ways, across more of San Diego County.”
The program says it has worked through school districts, community partners, and directly with families across the county for more than 70 years. Focusing on three pillars - financial literacy, career readiness, and entrepreneurship – JA San Diego has been synonymous with unique opportunities like The McGrath Family JA BizTown, Mission Fed JA Finance Park, and the JA Fellows at Lincoln High School.
Through multiple programs, they are empowering more than 20,000 students annually through tangible skill development, access to social capital, and direct connections to careers.
“Learning about money and business, while leveraging mentors and social capital, is how organizations like JA San Diego are helping to break cycles of poverty, empowering underserved communities, and create diverse talent pipelines,” said JA San Diego President & CEO Sidd Vivek.
“This gift is affirmation that our work is critical... and motivation that we have much more work to do."
