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10/29/2010 Boys & Girls Clubs of America
Boys & Girls Clubs of America
WHAT WE DO:
Funded by Charles Schwab Foundation, Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s Money Matters: Make it Count program is designed to build money management skills among teens, ages 13-18. Currently, we are engaging teens though an online pledge available at http://www.makechangecount.com. Money Matters was created to promote financial literacy among teens by building basic money management skills. Through fun, interactive activities and exercises on topics like using a checking account, learning how to budget, managing debt, and saving for college, teens learn practical ways to save, spend, and invest their money.
WHAT WE OFFER:
Teen Personal Finance Guide—includes practical tips and activities to help teens learn the important skills of balancing a checkbook, creating a budget and investing for college and retirement. The guide also provides basic entrepreneurial information for teens interested in starting businesses.
Facilitator’s Guide — contains basic financial concepts that Club staff and volunteers can use to help teens understand the benefits of effective money management. Easy-to-implement small-group activities that are typically completed in less than an hour supplement and reinforce the information in the Teen Personal Finance Guide.
Money Matters Web site—is an interactive, engaging tool that teen program participants can use to balance a checkbook, make budgeting and investment decisions and learn about starting a business. The secure Web site also features a saving and financial aid calculator to help teens plan for college.
Schwab Employee Volunteer Program—provides Schwab professionals with an opportunity to volunteer at Clubs and share their financial expertise with teenage Club members and their families. Employees are encouraged to participate through a variety of ongoing communications.
Money Matters Scholarships and Awards—achievements of each participant are recognized with a certificate of completion, and scholarship and award winners are selected based on their performance. Older teens (16-18) are eligible for $2,000 scholarships from Charles Schwab Foundation, and younger teens (13-15) are eligible to receive U.S. savings bonds. Each year a National Money Matters Ambassador is selected among the scholarship winners, earning one outstanding teen a $5,000 college scholarship. This person serves as the official teen spokesperson for Money Matters during the year.
Money Matters Innovation Awards—recognize Boys & Girls Clubs that have employed highly creative, imaginative techniques to bring the Money Matters curriculum to life. The $3,000 awards are granted annually to one club in each of the country’s five geographic regions, and award winners' best practices are disseminated to clubs nationwide.
WHAT WE NEED:
We need your support to help reach teens. Our two organizations have launched an online pledge campaign called Make Change Count designed to inspire teens across the U.S. to make positive financial choices and help others in their lives. The campaign will encourage teens to “pledge” to commit to four personal steps, as follows:
Save Money. If I don’t already have one, I’ll open a savings account and add to it regularly. That way, I’ll always have money for the important things in life.
Spend Wisely. I'll recognize the difference between needs vs. wants and think carefully about how I spend my money.
Plan for College. I'll explore how to make college a reality, because I know it can make a big difference in my future.
Share What I Know. I’ll help my friends and family understand how to make good choices with their money, too!
You can help by sharing the link, http://www.makechangecount.com, with the teens involved in your programs, sharing the link on social media and encouraging teens to take and share the pledge. Also, please encourage teens looking to deepen their financial management skills to look for a Money Matters program at a local Boys & Girls Club.
WHAT’S NEW:
Make Change Count is a pledging campaign jointly sponsored by Boys & Girls Clubs of America and Charles Schwab Foundation that aims to harness the power of America’s youth (teens) to drive a national movement encouraging financial fitness through healthy financial behavior. The campaign aims to deepen and extend the influence of the successful Money Matters program by creating actionable “next steps” and by aiming to reach teens within our clubs, as well as teens and their families outside of the Boys & Girls Clubs community. Teens can take and share the pledge at http://www.makechangecount.com through March 2011.
Money Matters is redesigning and updating its curriculum and website to ensure that the program remains relevant and engaging to teens. The new website, available in late fall 2010, can be viewed at http://www.MoneyMattersMakeitCount.com
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Jennifer Sibley
404-487-5321
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