At Communities in Schools of North Carolina, we are preparing students to succeed not only in the classroom but to be ready for life beyond high school. Our goal is to help fill the workforce pipeline, equipping them with the skills needed to have a positive impact in their communities. One crucial set of skills is money management and financial literacy.
CIS hosted our annual Financial Literacy event at Nash Community College on January 13 to help students sharpen their money management skills. Volunteers from local organizations, like Truist Bank and Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, as well as our CIS administrative staff, helped middle and high school students from Edgecombe, Halifax, Hertford, and Nash counties learn more about managing finances and making smart life choices. Activities included understanding what goes into a budget, sorting needs vs. wants, and the true cost of being an adult after graduation.
“We are equipping these students to be able to make sound financial decisions,” says Dorothy L. Hinton, State Director for CIS Model Services. “These volunteers are helping guide students, giving them insight and suggestions about what to do in a situation.”
Volunteers manned the stations at the Reality Fair, where students put these skills to the test, moving from booth to booth in a simulation modeled on the popular board game LIFE. Students put their skills to the test in an eye-opening simulation with a hypothetical job and salary alongside a family scenario and everyday expenses to manage. Tough choices were made as students visited booths manned by volunteers, including Banking, Utilities, Mortgage, Car Sales, and more.
Belinda Lewis Wilkins was one of those volunteers. She is a retired teacher and member of the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority. Though she has been out of the classroom since 2009, she donated her time to help students learn these essential life skills.
“These kids need this. Because this is the way the world is,” says Wilkins, who smiled at every student during the event. “It’s real. You know, it’s no algebra, no geometry. You need to know how to use your checks and balances and pay those bills.”
It is never too early to start learning these skills and to start saving. That was a big part of what Kemarius of J.W. Parker Middle School took away from the event. “You have to keep your money safe, take care of financial things first before worrying about entertainment things.”
You can read more about this event at the Rocky Mount Telegram HERE
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