House Speaker Joe Shekarchi and Rep. Joseph Solomon, Jr. interrupted an meeting of the meeting of Junior Achievement of Rhode Island’s board of directors Tuesday to present a $5,000 legislative grant. Janet Raymond, JA’s Chairwoman and Senior VP of Operations & Economic Development for the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce, and Lee Lewis, JA’s President, accepted the grant check on behalf of the organization. The grant will be used to provide supplemental learning experiences, at no cost to schools, to help young people understand “the economics of life.” Junior Achievement is the nation's largest organization dedicated to giving young people the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for their futures, and make smart academic and economic choices. In its more than 100 years in Rhode Island, JA has reached more than 400,000 K-12 students. During the 2021-2022 year, JA programs reached more than 5,500 students in 17 different school districts around Rhode Island. (Submitted photo)