FedEx and Junior Achievement: Empowering the next generation of entrepreneurs

In recognition of World Youth Skills Day and Chronic Illness Awareness Month, FedEx celebrates Calm Canvas, a team of young entrepreneurs from Ohio who earned the 2025 Global Possibilities Award, presented by FedEx during Future Bound™ by Junior Achievement. Calm Canvas offers a unique color-by-number experience that combines creative expression with proven coping strategies for stress and anxiety. 

The Calm Canvas team understands what living with chronic illnesses is like. Their goal, through their product, is to help ensure that people with chronic illnesses don’t battle alone and that others have compassion for those living with chronic illnesses.  

For over 40 years, FedEx and JA Worldwide have worked together to cultivate the entrepreneurial spirit in tomorrow's global business leaders. Junior Achievement (JA) is the world's largest 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.

Every June, JA USA hosts Future Bound™ by Junior Achievement and this year’s event, held at Georgia State University in Atlanta, brought together over 300 high school students from across the country. These future leaders competed in four dynamic competitions—JA Company of the Year® Competition, JA Social Innovation Challenge®, JA Stock Market Challenge®, and JA Titan Challenge® - vying for awards, scholarships, and national recognition.  

FedEx awards one student company with the FedEx Global Possibilities Award during the Company of the Year competition. The award recognizes JA student-run businesses that best exhibit the principles of global connectivity – Driven by Innovation, Connecting to New Markets, Fueling Community Development, and Sustainability and Social Responsibility.

Calm Canvas captures the 2025 Global Possibilities Award Presented by FedEx

Calm Canvas, a team of seven from Hoover High School in North Canton, Ohio, has a simple mission: to create a movement that empowers individuals to take proactive steps toward emotional resilience and self-care.   

Each year, more than 800,000 people die by suicide, with stress and anxiety being significant contributing factors, especially among teens and young adults. Calm Canvas is determined to change this. 

To do this, the team created Calm Canvas, a unique paint-by-number experience designed to promote emotional well-being. Each color is paired with a specific coping strategy, such as deep breathing, gratitude listing, and self-reflection, among others, all important techniques for managing stress and anxiety. 

What separates Calm Canvas from many other JA companies is that they created and assembled the products by hand.  From the COO and resident artist Peyton Craig | Calm Canvas drawing the designs for the canvas, to printing the designs on the canvas, all steps in the process were done in-house. 

The team adeptly handled partnerships, community collaborations, and marketing to raise awareness of its mission and product. Through its marketing efforts, Calm Canvas reached audiences in more than 25 different countries, with their social media content amassing over 25 million views worldwide. 

The team strives to make a difference in mental health awareness and support by donating a portion of their proceeds to local organizations that promote mental health education, provide resources for emotional well-being, and support individuals navigating life’s challenges. For example, 10% of the company’s profits go to Akron Children's Inpatient Psychiatric Center. 

“Junior Achievement of North Central Ohio is incredibly proud of Calm Canvas and all they’ve accomplished through the JA Company Program. Their innovation, teamwork, and entrepreneurial spirit exemplify the power of hands-on learning. Winning the FedEx Global Possibilities award is not just a recognition of their hard work — it’s a launchpad for their future success. It’s because of partners like FedEx and their passion for supporting youth entrepreneurship that students like those at Calm Canvas have opportunities like this. Their investment not only empowers today’s young innovators but also inspires future generations of entrepreneurs to dream big and achieve more," said Josh Lehman, President 

“More than anything, we could not be more grateful to FedEx and all of its employees for the support they’ve shown us throughout the competition and for the award they so graciously gave us. It truly shows how much FedEx cares when a company of their size goes out of its way to support not just small businesses, but the next generation of leaders. By giving out this award, they’re not just supporting students; they’re changing lives and paving the way for the world’s next changemakers,” said Peyton Craig, COO Calm Canvas.   

To learn more about Calm Canvas, go here.