New Britain herald., 1927-05-21
OVER LOGO ENROL IN JR. ACHIEVEMENT
Children Taught to Be Useful
 During Spare Hours

The encouragement of boys and girls to spend their time in produc- Tive activity is the aim of what is perhaps New Brtans least known welfare organzation. the Junior Achievement Foundation. Inc. AL though more than 1000 children between the ages of 9 and 16 years are now enrolled in its 75 clubs un- der the guidance of 45 leaders, the general public remains largely un- familiar with it's work.
 ''The aim of the foundation. ac- cording to Director William w. T. Squire lis to cooperate with vari- ous institutions working with boys and girls to provide industrial and homemaking programs wherever boys and girls are assembled to en- courage them to put in their time rrofitabIy at productive enterprise"
 The Junior Achievement differs materially from other organizations for youngsters in the elasticity of it's program, enabling it to siege upon any new ideas without dis ruption of previous plans. There arc no dues and no rules except the re- quirement of an inclination to work.
 In some cities the movement is highly organized, but in New Britan the members are taught to make smple things from salvage and other inexpensive materials; the greatest venture was a class in willow fur Liture, but the expense involved was too great and it was given up. The "club" idea is taking hold out side the foundations own limits. and printing, dancing. stamp. and other clubs are being organized in the public schools.
 Among the organizations with operates are the playground com mission, fresh air camp, Boys club. American Legion. '. M. c. A., '. w. C. A., Day Nursery, and Junior Sunshine society. On the plays grounds the greatest good is per haps done. for here the leaders arc frequently able to fulfill the chill dren's most immediate needs. For example. girl frequently comes to the playground in a wornout dress: the leader shows her how to make a dress and she sits down then and there and completes it.
 The girls clubs arc of four va rieties. The mothers helper" groups learn housekeeping. The head to foot" clubs provide in struction in self-clothing, the "doll to mother organizations take ad- vantage of the maternal instinct which leads all girls to cherish dolls and teach them through their play things, the proper care of children. There are home improvement clubs which furnish instruction in the making of lampshades, dresser scarves, window curtains, and such articles. One food club is being con- ducted by Mrs. Albert Johnson. An other is in charge of the Boys club library.
 The most popular boys clubs are those in, woodworking, of which there are several. including one at the Y. M. C. 4. The making from odds and ends comes in for it's share of attention. There is a class in radio construction at the Bays club. where Harold Sandstrom also conducts a printing club. Sign writ ing clubs have been formed both there and at the Y. NJ. C. A.. and there are also groups dealing with reed work and with postage stamp collecting The Junior Achievement and Boys club co-opcrated to spon- sor the Boys club fife and drum corps, the foundation considering this q music project: the club won third prize in the Eastern States exposition in 1924 and second in 1925. an epidemic in Springfield leading 10 it's withdrawal from com petition last summer. A club spon- sorcd by the American Legion was for a while the largest in the coun- try. having 4l members. A novel club is that under Emil Helm; il raises pigeons for homing competi- lions.
 In conjunction with the Herald. the Junior Achievement conducts the annual city marble champion ship tournament. For the past two years, the local winners have gone 10 the national finals in Atlantic City. and the third struggle for local honors is now going on.
 Part of the work consists in dc vclopins domonst ration teams, nsl- ally of three boys or girls: thesc teams work in their particular fields at various public gatherings and explain what they do and how they