The world is in desperate need of more CPAs, and leaders throughout the profession have set out to find them.

But here’s the dirty little secret about stocking our profession’s talent pipeline: You can’t find new CPAs. You have to make them. And making them means getting in front of elementary and middle-school students and planting the seeds of a career in accounting while they’re young.

That’s why the MACPA is an official sponsor of Junior Achievement of Central Maryland’s “Biztown” initiative.

“JA BizTown combines in-class learning with a day-long visit to a simulated town,” the folks at Junior Achievement of Central Maryland explain. “This popular learning experience allows elementary school students to operate banks, manage restaurants, write checks, and vote for mayor. Students are able to connect the dots between what they learn in school and the real world.”

Hopefully, that will lead to more students seeing themselves in these crucial financial roles and aspiring to be CPAs.

To make that happen, we need the help of real-world CPAs like you.

One in five Junior Achievement students follows the career path of their JA mentors or volunteers. As a JA volunteer, that means you can have significant influence over the career choices these students eventually make — just by spending a few hours with them and sharing with them what life as a CPA looks like.

JA of Central Maryland has posted volunteer opportunities through the end of January. Take a look at the schedule and choose a school, date and time that work best for you.

You’ll be making a huge difference in the lives of Maryland students — and helping to build a stronger profession at the same time.